Terrifier [Blu-ray]
Written and directed by Damien Leone, Terrifier is a mega-gory slasher movie in which the star of the show takes the form of an intensely creepy clown called Art, who we were introduced to in All Hallows’ Eve.
Opening with a scene showing Art’s sole survivor being interviewed by news anchor Monica Brown - played by Katie Maguire, who you might recognise as All Hallows’ Eve’s babysitter, though in a new role this time - talking of her experience a year ago when she came up against the crazed killer, and the way people react to her face after his attack left her face severely wounded, rendering her completely unrecognisable. Monica’s questions are somewhat invasive and harsh - asking her guest what her first reaction was upon seeing her face. Afterwards, she goes on to call her partner from her dressing room, continuing the tirade about the victim’s appearance, before she herself is attacked by the victim.
It’s Halloween night, and Art - this time played by David Howard Thornton, who did a phenomenal job at retaining the creepiness of Art from his previous iterations, but adding a whole other layer of physicality and silent emotion to the role - has his eye on two drunk, young women as potential new victims. One of the pair, Tara (Jenna Kanell), instantly sobers up the moment she catches sight of Art, with his unsettling appearance and behaviour ringing alarm bells for her right away. Dawn (Catherine Corcoran) however, does not seem fazed by him at all, instead opting to sit on his lap for a selfie.
Now, obviously whilst watching this - I know who Art is, and what he is capable of - so every fibre of my being was absolutely screaming at the girls to just get away from him, and commending Tara’s stranger-danger radar for getting her back up. But no, no - that would just be too easy for a horror movie. Instead, after obliterating a pizza place’s toilet with shit-graffiti (and I mean that literally) - Art finds himself in a hunky-dory little killing spree. The death scenes here are once again grisly with fantastic, visceral gore effects for such a low budget movie. If you’re unable to handle a lot of gore in movies, then Art the Clown’s escapades are quite simply not for you.
Terrifier uses to its advantage some unbelievably absurd elements that work brilliantly, elevating the fear and creepiness. Art is completely surreal in his behaviours, with a strange, silent joy emanating from him that makes everything 10x more unsettling. The environments are really well chosen, with rot and decay seeping out of the woodwork - despite the outside of the building appearing relatively normal, if a tad creepy. There are loads of callbacks to All Hallow’s Eve, from weapons utilised and killing methods - using Art’s precious flail with the scalpels and scissors attached again, and attempting to suffocate victims with plastic wrap.
As the story progresses, Tara puts up a good fight against Art - offering the closest we’ve seen so far as to a potential victor, rather than victim. She’s like the Terminator - she takes so many brutal attacks, and somehow manages to keep on fighting for as long as she does. Other characters that cross paths with Art don’t last quite as long, and seeing the variety of creative ways that Art deals with them is entertainingly macabre. One of the deaths results in Art wearing a victim’s flesh in a startling display that again, vastly increases just how unbelievably unpredictable his actions can be.
Overall, Terrifier is a fantastic time - though it is definitely not a movie for the faint of heart (or weak of stomach). A 20-minute long Making of featurette is included on “The Bloody Duo” Blu-ray, which offers a great insight into some of the practical effects used. It really shows how well crafted that everything is - and how Damien Leone might just be a new master of gore.
In the end, we decided to give Terrifier the Collecting Asylum rating of 7.5/10.
Are you interested in Terrifier? What do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Signature Entertainment for the Terrifier - The Bloody Duo Blu-ray!
