Terrifier 2

"Terrifier 2: Grossin' you out old-school." - Stephen king

Horrific cinema has managed to create iconic characters like Matt Cordell, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhes, Charles Lee Ray (Chucky), Pinhead in the 80s. Of course, the films were not always successful but these movie monsters managed to remain anchored in our collective memories to the point that some of them were also adapted in the form of series, video games, comics and derivatives of all kinds. It is certain that after Terrifier 2, the character of Art the Clown will join this bestiary of serial killers that have become cult. 

The character of Art the Clown was created by director and writer Damien Leone and appeared in the short film The 9th Circle (2008) and then in the sketch horror film All Hallows' Eve (2013) before appearing in the film Terrifier (2016) (currently available on Prime Video). This highly violent debut film was noted more for its many truly horrific scenes rather than its effective direction and breathless suspense. After the success of the first film, Art the demonic killer clown after being killed in the previous installment is back and will again bring in his wake a multitude of gruesome deaths showing the overflowing imagination of his director and writer Damien Leone. This silent clown who expresses himself as a mime only seems to perpetuate his murders on Halloween nights just like Michael Myers.  This time Art the Clown has targeted a teenage girl Sienna (Lauren LaVera) and her younger brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam). 

While many horror films would tend to cut out the most violent scenes so that viewers can imagine them (which makes them even stronger), director and writer Damien Leone doesn't go all the way with them, which inevitably leads viewers not used to horror films to some unpleasant and striking sensations. This is the strength and the weakness of Terrifier 2 which really succeeds in scaring and showing scenes of a striking cruelty, all filmed with a certain pleasure of the director to push the limits of what has already been shown on the screen. 

When discovering Terrifier 2, one will think of Peter Jackson's first films but also of the Nightmare on Elm Street saga (a certain homage of the director to the horror films of the 80s). In the same way, some horror films are cruelly lacking in care in terms of photography, whereas the director Damien Leone takes great care of the image of his film and knew how to surround himself perfectly to make these gory scenes models of the genre. The ferocity of these scenes undoubtedly made the success of Terrifier 2 which is a real cinematographic experience for genre film enthusiasts reading Mad Movies and l'Ecran fantastique in France. While the first part was cruelly lacking in the presence of a strong person to fight against this evil clown, this second part benefits from the presence of a real heroine capable of facing Art The Clown. Nothing new indeed from the point of view of the story but the real strength of Damien Leone is to totally master his subject and to play on the deepest fears of the audience. Despite its almost abnormally long duration for a horror film (138 minutes) the story holds together and the pieces of the puzzle come together to bring the audience into a spectacle of unparalleled atrocity.

While Terrifier, which was first screened at the London Frightfest festival at the end of August, is currently a real success in the United States to the point of having earned no less than 5 million dollars for a budget of 250,000 dollars (obtained through a crowdfunding campaign), We can only salute the director and writer Damien Leone for having succeeded in his mission and inventing a character as memorable as Michael Myers to celebrate Halloween, even if in this case John Carpenter's sharp thriller has become a film playing on an unparalleled violence as a calling card.

Terrifier 2
Written and directed by Damien Leone
Produced by Damien Leone, Phil Falcone George Steuber, Michael Leavy, Steven Della Salla, Jason Leavy
Starring Lauren LaVera, Elliott Fullam, Sarah Voigt, Chris Jericho, Kailey Hyman, Casey Harnett, Samantha Scaffidi, David Howard Thornton
Cinematography : George Steuber
Edited by Damien Leone
Music by Rostislav Vaynshtok, Paul Wiley
Production companies : Dark Age Cinema, Fuzz on the Lens Productions
Distributed by Bloody Disgusting (United States), ESC films (France)
Release dates : August 29, 2022 (FrightFest), October 6, 2022 (United States), January 11 2023 (France)
Running time : 138 minutes

Seen on October 22, 2022

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