Terrifier

Art the Clown started back in 2011 with a short movie by the same name, truth be told I didn't like it. The creator Damien Leone would keep Art around in his feature film All Hallows' Eve (2013) but as a small role.

Now here we are and Art has his own movie, but is it any good? Honestly, not really but it's better than his last solo outing.

It follows the standard slasher formula and sees a couple of girls on Halloween night come under attack from a psychotic clown.

So again this is generic stuff, it embraces all the usual tropes and though not predictable certainly has no surprises. It's also pretty ugly and oddly paced throughout.

What Terrifier does have however is sheer unadulterated brutality. This is gory nasty no holds barred merciless stuff, I was quite shocked actually. Considering the budget they make all of it look really good, so kudos to the sfx department.

I love clowns as antagonists but Art doesn't seem to tick enough boxes for me. He's less of a clown and more of a mime and doesn't seem to be an interesting enough character to carry his own film.

Passable stuff but by this time next week I'll have forgotten it.

The Good:

Impressively grisly visuals

Jenna Kanell

Unpredictable

The Bad:

Doesn't exactly flow

Poor cinematography

The overrated "Terrifier" is a horror film with a promising and funny beginning, with the alcoholic Dawn acting like a stupid and the clown accepting the silliness. Until the moment Tara and Dawn are abducted, the film works reasonably well. However, when Victoria drives to give a ride to her sister and Dawn, she hears that there is a serial killer in the area. But even being aware of the dangerous situation, she begins to take a series of very stupid e clichés attitudes culminating in the awful conclusion. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Note: On 20 October 2022, I saw this film again.

Here is a film that will induce a big frown, as a marauding psycho wanders around town, with oversized boots and a dark crooked smile, a bag full of tools to remove and restyle, expresses emotions with gesture and mime, will take all you've got when you've just reached your prime, no mercy or pity, as you beg and you plead, feasting on all features, as you drain and you bleed.

If inflicting and unleashing violence and pain on another individual utilising a range of tools is your thing then step on in and enjoy the disturbing world of Art the Clown as he carves his way through several torsos while teaching Takashi Miike and the butchery trade a thing or two about carcass dissection.

It was average low budget film, it was a little choppy at times but the end result for a budget film was what you expected, very gory, but lacked good acting at times, but we did get the bonus of Art such an enjoyable creep and it's sequel which I had a great time enjoying.

A brutal, barbaric & bestial horror packed with harrowing kills & senseless savagery, Terrifier is completely devoid of basic narrative fundamentals and exists solely to shock, upset, disturb & disgust its viewers with its endless gore & no-holds-barred carnage but for those with a taste for the extreme, this indie slasher may just prove to be a welcome thrill-n-kill ride.

Written, produced, edited & directed by Damien Leone, the plot is merely an outline with nothing of value brewing underneath and only exists as an excuse for the filmmaker to indulge in the old-school tricks that power the violence & viscera. The make-up & special effects are worth noting but with an absent narrative & no characters to support, the film doesn't cover a lot of distance.

Further hampering the journey are the shoddy dialogues & awful performances, not to mention that it's also lacking in tension and is rather predictable & repetitive. The cardboard characters keep making the idiotic choices throughout the film which only diminish our interest in their fate, if there was any. Nevertheless, David Howard Thornton impresses in his role and is sickening to watch.

Overall, Terrifier is as repugnant & repulsive as it is raw & ruthless and often gets carried away with its scenes of torture & terror. While there is an audience for this kind of cinematic offering, the film remains a forgettable ride for the most part. Still, Art the Clown does exhibit promise & potential to become a horror franchise icon but his character & mythology needs to be fleshed out better than how it's done here.