The villainous Art the Clown returns in Damien Leone's Terrifier 2, a fun movie that isn't quite as bold as it thinks it is.
Where to even begin with a film like Terrifier 2? If you’re at all familiar with Art the Clown’s appearances in Damien Leone’s previous movies, you’ll likely have an idea what you’re getting yourself in for. If not… well, some would say you’re better off that way. But for the curious among you, Terrifier 2 marks the latest escapade for the aforementioned Art, a sadistic serial killer with no apparent rhyme or reason to his killings and who, you guessed it, dresses as a clown.
There’s been a lot of buzz around it from the States, where it got a limited release in early October, with reports of people vomiting and passing out in the cinema and emergency services being called out to several locations. Perhaps it’s due to it being somewhat overhyped by such reactions, but, in a slightly disappointing turn of events, there aren’t all that many surprises in Terrifier 2. It’s undoubtedly a fun romp with some gory kills that are deliberately meant to provoke – but there sadly isn’t much here we haven’t seen before.
The film first picks up immediately after the events of its predecessor, with Art being resurrected by some unknown supernatural entity after his death, and his subsequent escape and disappearance. We then jump forward a year where we meet Sienna, a high school student preparing for a Halloween party with her friends, and her younger brother Jonathan, who’s developed a strange obsession with Art in the year since he first made the news. Little do they know that Art is on the hunt again, and he has the two siblings right in his sights…
It's worth stating outright that if you don’t have a particularly strong stomach, this is not the movie for you. There are brains, blood, guts, torture, and cannibalism. Weapons used range from surgical blades and kitchen knives to whips with blades attached and furniture legs with sharp cutlery knocked into them. There’s a particularly nasty torture scene in which Art is purposefully playing with his victim, peeling, ripping, slashing at their body with the clear intention of pain before death. There’s a moment in which Art shoves mashed potatoes into the blown-out face of a dead woman, and another in which he takes a woman’s decapitated head and uses it as a bowl to serve Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters (which, for those of us with a particularly wicked sense of humour when it comes to horror movies, is actually rather funny).
This is a movie that is meant to provoke an extreme reaction from its audience, and, to its credit, it doesn’t try to hide that fact. It’s shock horror purely for the shock of it, and when it’s admittedly this fun, there’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s something missing from Terrifier 2… and it’s quite hard to figure out what. Is it because it doesn’t necessarily feel bolder than the first, a movie which sawed a character in half from crotch to head, and had the guts to kill off its protagonist at the halfway point? Maybe so.
The bigger budget is happily on display, but parts of the film feel overly drawn out
Or maybe the reason it feels like something’s missing is because of the runtime. Clocking in at a whopping two hours and eighteen minutes, Terrifier 2 is nearly a whole hour longer than its predecessor. And does it justify that length? Well, not really. The film’s pacing isn’t dreadful, as there’s a nice growing sense of tension as it moves towards its (genuinely excellent) conclusion, and the kills are interspersed well enough to keep things mostly interesting… but there’s just no need for a movie like this to be so long. The bigger budget over the first film (a crowd-funded $250k, as opposed to the miniscule $35k of the first) is happily on display, but parts of the film (namely an extended nightmare sequence and a Halloween party at which Sienna’s ‘friend’ puts ecstasy in her drink, which isn’t something you should do unless you want to very quickly lose yourself a pal) feel overly drawn out, leaving the final product feel like it doesn’t necessarily have enough ideas to fully support itself.
And honestly? That’s a shame – because the stuff that works here really does work. In addition to the aforementioned gore and humour, Terrifier 2 boasts some pretty great performances from its leads. David Howard Thornton continues to excel as Art – he’s just a big ol’ bastard intent purely on mayhem, and there’s a lot of fun to be had in his physicality, especially given the character’s lack of speech. There’s a particularly neat piece of recurring sound design that replaces Art’s silent laughs with the sounds of screams from off-screen. It’s a simple trick, but nonetheless effective in some of the film’s chillier moments.
Opposite Thornton is a rather large supporting cast for a movie of this size, all of whom vary between good and great. Of particular note is Lauren LaVera as Sienna, who is easily the standout. Spending much of the film in a very uncomfortable-looking costume (think Xena meets Wonder Woman) and taking one hell of a beating from Art, it’s beyond satisfying when she finds the courage to fight back against him in a final act that’s a great meeting point between character and action.
There's a lot to like about [it], but you couldn't be blamed for wanting a little more
But this bond is something of a missed opportunity for the film: it’s clear that Leone wants to set Sienna up as an adversary for Art, someone for him to clash with time and again – but their relationship is rather unclear. In many other slashers (and, indeed, the first Terrifier), the Final Girls are simply there, victims of unfortunate circumstance more than anything else, but that isn’t the case for Sienna. Art is deliberately gunning for Sienna and her brother, but we never find out why. There’s an underbaked plot thread involving the pair’s father (who died by suicide about a year before the events of the film) that reveals a knowledge of Art he couldn’t possibly have had, and seems at more than one point to imply Art is their father. This might sound a little silly and far-fetched, but in a Terrifier film could absolutely have worked, and would have added some much-needed depth to Sienna and Art’s relationship. Sadly nothing is done with this thread, which is instead left dangling unresolved.
There’s undoubtedly a lot to like about Terrifier 2, a movie which will satisfy gorehounds above all others, but you couldn't be blamed for maybe wanting a little more from it. Taken as a whole, it’s certainly an enjoyable little horror flick that’ll go down great with a crowd this spooky season, just sadly not a lot more. Come for the gore, stay for the gore… and maybe temper your expectations a little.
Signature Entertainment presents Terrifier 2 on Digital Platforms, DVD and Blu-ray alongside Terrifier 1 & 2 Blu-ray box-set 24th October.
Images courtesy of Signature Entertainment. All rights reserved.
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