“Terrifier 2” is by no means insightful, but it cheerfully delivers the same gory thrills that fans of the original are seeking. Director Damien Leone returns for a sequel that is far more lavish, and far more grisly, than the first. Although the film is just as devoid of substance as its predecessor, and the relentless pacing of bloodbath after bloodbath may be enough to exhaust or sicken some viewers, “Terrifier 2” delivers on the hype that the first film built: a ridiculous, sometimes downright funny, splatter film.
The plot follows Art the Clown, an absurd-looking murderer in a black and white clown costume played by David Howard Thornton, as he targets suburban siblings Sienna and Jonathan Shaw, played by Lauren LaVera and Elliott Fullam respectively. The Shaw children have lost their father before the events of the film, and they must figure out what caused their father’s death and its connection to Art the Clown in time to stop the next set of murders on Halloween night. LaVera and Fullam are both compelling, as grieving kids who become increasingly determined to stop Art’s rampage, but the former is the true hero of the film. She is terrified without being helpless, devastated without being weak, and tough without feeling like a corporate symbol of girl power. The script does a commendable job at providing a female protagonist in a horror film who does not feel like a bloody object of male gaze, or a pitiful damsel in distress, and LaVera’s nuanced performance adds dimension to the character that makes for some surprisingly compelling moments in the two-and-a-half hour gorefest. Art himself is woefully unscary, but his inexplicable appearance and behavior provides an element of comedy to the film that doesn’t feel out of place in such an exaggerated take on horror, especially because being a clown is his chosen profession.
The film provides a few real creep-outs in the form of the Little Pale Girl, played by Amelie McLain, a previous victim of Art the Clown who now aids in his exploits, but the most outstanding performance by a supporting actress comes from Kailey Hyman as Brooke, Sienna’s well-meaning, but achingly obnoxious friend. Although Brooke is mostly inconsequential in the film, serving mostly as a teenage caricature to contrast Sienna’s serious and straightlaced demeanor, her complete lack of self-awareness provides needed comic relief in a film which can feel grueling at times.
The straightforward title “Terrifier 2” is sure to call into audiences minds the chainsaw mutilation of the original film, and the improved script and acting that the sequel brings does not negate its delivery of even gorier scares than the first. Fans of the splatter subgenre are sure to be entertained by the disgusting ways Art finds to kill and mutilate his victims. Rather than aspiring to some lofty standard of psychological horror, the film revels in shock value and meaningless scares, with the first brutal murder occuring in the first scene of the film. For those with weaker stomachs, this is a film that should probably be skipped, as the camera does not break away from the violence, even in the film’s most nauseating moments.
Leone has already announced that “Terrifier 3” is in development, and in today’s franchise-dominated industry, such an announcement always begs the question: is another film really necessary? For this franchise in particular, though, it doesn’t seem to matter. Each new Terrifier film doesn’t have to be revolutionary. They don’t even have to be discernable from each other. As long as each film shocks and nauseates, audiences will continue to watch. With CGI improving and grosser scares becoming more and more possible, the Terrifier franchise won’t have to end anytime soon. Based on the success of other horror franchises, such as Halloween and Saw, and with Terrifier bringing a special goriness that is rarely seen in theaters, a long series of Terrifier films is well fit to be a box office success.
Written by Naomi Scissors of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo courtesy of Terrifier 2