MelliDan

Art the Clown is quickly developing a reputation as the next horror icon. In 'Terrifier 2' Damien Leone and David Howard Thornton take the character to darker and more extreme places than in the original film.

This sequel follows a girl named Sienna and her younger brother Jonathan as they gear up for Halloween season in Miles County...but the town still is creeped out by the legend of Art the Clown's bloody killings and the mystery of where he's gone. Jonathan is obsessed, to the point of wanting to dress like Art for Halloween, which Sienna doesn't quite get, while their aloof mom thinks he's just going through a phase.

Something I really liked about this film is that it spends a lot of time developing the protagonists and making the audience care what happens to them as we get to know them. 'Terrifier' focused on Art the Clown just hacking and slashing his way through underdeveloped characters while 'Terrifier 2' explores the family dynamics of Sienna and Jonathan, and especially the transformation of Sienna as she and Art the Clown eventually face off.

Art the Clown's origins are investigated a bit deeper and while we may not get a clear-cut answer as to who or what he is, or his motives, I think this film does answer once and for all whether or not he is supernatural, so that was cool.

This film is bloooooddddyyy, people. Really bloody. The kills are brutal above and beyond anything we saw in the last film. I mean, that's what we're here to see, so you won't leave disappointed. I'm still thinking about one particular kill involving a friend of Sienna's in her bedroom.... Damn, Art sure got his kicks in this film. He reminds me a bit of Freddy Krueger in the way he expresses the sick thrills he gets out of what he does; yeah he doesn't talk but he doesn't need to -- his expressions say it all and Thornton totally rocks this role. You can tell he loves it.

Man, I really liked the buildup throughout the film leading to where Sienna, Jonathan and Art eventually link up and what goes down. This film feels very epic, and for me it payed off in the end.

I'm excited see what's next in store for the Terrifier franchise. Lauren LaVera did an awesome job as Sienna, she's the next iconic final girl in the slasher world as far as I'm concerned.

Also, this film looks very polished; very studio-produced, which is not a knock on it, because it still does have that late-night grindhouse vibe to it, but you can tell a lot of time was spent in the 6 years it took to get it released for 'Terrifier 2' to be the best film that it could be. Go watch it and enjoy! Congrats to this film for having success at the box office and receiving the recognition it deserves. Slasher greatness!