Art the Clown saws a woman in half—the long way—in Terrifier, writer-director Damien Leone‘s feature-length gorefest featuring the creepy clown character previously seen in his short films The 9th Circle and Terrifier (2011), both of which were included in the 2013 anthology All Hallows’ Eve. This one showcases some grisly scenes of violence and an engaging central slasher, but also a flat narrative that leaves audiences more listless than terrified despite a short 85-minute runtime. Send in the clowns.
Terrifier stars Jenna Kanell and Catherine Corcoran as Tara and Dawn, two women who leave a downtown Halloween night party in the early morning hours and stop for a quick bite at late-night pizzeria. They immediately take notice of the disturbing Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton), who silently stares at them from a corner booth before being kicked out for smearing feces on the bathroom walls.
The two women leave the pizzeria to find their car’s tires have been slashed—perhaps by Art, and perhaps in a benevolent gesture to save them from the perils of driving while intoxicated. Tara calls her sister Victoria (Samantha Scaffidi) to come pick them up, but she also really needs to use the bathroom, and hey, what better place to search for a restroom than this abandoned, darkened apartment block?
Things go predictably south from here, and Terrifier spends a good hour inside this nondescript building as Art hacks his way through the protagonists and assorted side characters, including the friendly exterminator who let them inside (Matt McAllister) and the crazy Cat Lady (Pooya Mohseni) who thinks her creepy doll is a human baby.
Terrifier is strictly by-the-numbers in terms of story, but the graphic scenes of violence and the largely observational way they are presented are what sets it apart.
The showstopper comes when one character is strung up, upside down, and Art saws his way through her—slowly and deliberately, like a butcher in a slaughterhouse. Leone never cuts away, and the procedural way in which this scene is presented almost feels like we’re watching a documentary about a clown murdering a woman.
The sawing sequence recalls a similar moment in the recent Bone Tomahawk, but that film was more restrained in comparison, and more disturbing because of it. Terrifier sticks our face in the violence like a Troma movie, but with a darker tone and more realistic gore effects, toeing an uncomfortable line between comedically over-the-top and repulsively realistic. What you feel about these scenes of violence is largely up to you, as the movie provides almost no commentary to guide you.
Art the Clown meanwhile, laps up all the violence with childlike glee. Unlike the typically stoic Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees type of slasher, Art’s got some real personality: he might be the most expressive killer since Freddy Krueger, and he accomplishes it all through silent mimicry rather than cheesy one-liners. As performed by Thornton, he’s a genuinely memorable villain and the highlight of the film.
The setting for Terrifier isn’t specified, but the film was shot in Trenton, New Jersey, and the downtown location adds some unique flavor for this kind of thing, which typically takes place in more isolated locales. The over-processed, high-contrast look of the film, however—reminiscent of the early Saw movies—feels dated in 2018.
Terrifier is tough to recommend to audiences beyond the extreme horror crowd, who may find enough to like here to make up for the one-dimensional storyline and disposable characters. But at a reported budget of just $35,000, the film serves as a real showcase for Leone, who created the excellent makeup effects in addition to writing and directing duties. Both the filmmaker, and perhaps his creation Art the Clown, have more promising projects ahead of them.
