amazing_sincodek

But, N.B., nothing more than that.

"Terrifier" is a nonsensical film where a nameless guy in a truly spooky clown costume commits a variety of atrocities. The atrocities, as well as the spookiness of the clown himself, are the purpose of the film. Two faces get wrecked in the first half hour alone. The film embraces the ethos of exploitation, specifically as developed in low budget horror films in the 1970s - 1980s, and exceeds any reasonable expectations you can have from that perspective.

Incidentally, though the real draw is the frequent and copious gore, there's a bit of subtlety as well. When re-watching a couple of key sequences, I was surprised to notice how rich the sequences were beyond the immediate dismemberment. For example, in an early face-mangling sequence, there are quick cuts away to beauty products, emphasizing that this isn't just a physical injury, but also a sentimental injury for a victim who takes great pride in her physical beauty.

Anyway, it's bloody and spooky and worth your time if you've watched classic gore movie and wonder why they don't make them like that anymore.

This action-horror film changes directions about once every 15 minutes. On the whole, I enjoyed it.

The downside is that every twist kills the momentum. There's not much continuity, and the last five minutes or so are quite arbitrary. I was expecting something to tie it together at the end, but there was nothing like that.

It's never dull. Instead of a gradual build up, this film dives into the action fairly quickly and never slows down. I enjoyed it as a way to burn a few brain cells.

...I have to write more lines to get this review to post. There's a bit of classic Kevin Smith dialogue at the beginning. It's nothing brilliant, but it's fun.

Starting a short film is always bittersweet; while excited about the contents, one also anticipates that it will be over too soon.

In this case, I was more surprised than usual when the credits started rolling prematurely. There's about 5 minutes worth of content stretched over a 25 minute running time, and when it ended, I couldn't believe that 25 minutes had passed without any substance. The heavy-handed statement that "SUBURBIA IS A LIE AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD" is presented most elegantly in the opening sequence, but then it is repeated a few more times as a series of clumsy clichés, and then the film ends. There's an uncomfortably silent and distant dinner scene, there's a bit of overheard child abuse that appears to be drawn directly from the filmmaker's extrapolation of the "don't let anyone touch your private parts" snippets from Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons, and the big punchline is, quite literally, an episode of cutting oneself for attention.

It's all poignant, mind you. I did find the cutting-oneself-for- attention to hit close to home, and I will acknowledge that the film accurately recreates many snippets of dysphoric nightmares I've had over the years. The value of the film, if any, is in the (inconsistent) emotional resonance.

But it's too abrupt when the credits start rolling. wat? Was that it? Paradoxically, I did, indeed, find that it was over too soon. I had expected a 25 minute runtime to be long enough for a hint of development. Instead, the statement made in the first 30 seconds was all the film had to say.

For the type of film it is, it seems shallow to discuss the gore factor, but I am a horror fan, and most of you have been drawn to this film after hearing that it is exceptionally disturbing. Regarding the gore factor: there is next to none. If any gore happened on screen, I've already forgotten it. The camera cuts back and forth to show the aftermath of the injuries, but it won't have much impact on the contemporary horror fan.

I won't discourage you from watching it, because it really is over so quickly that you don't feel like you've wasted much time.