Terrifier 2
Year: 2022
Director: Damien Leone
Starring: Elliott Fulham, David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Amelie McLain & Sarah Voight
Runtime: 138 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 06/12/22
Director: Damien Leone
Starring: Elliott Fulham, David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Amelie McLain & Sarah Voight
Runtime: 138 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 06/12/22
I had heard so many stories about Terrifier 2 that I simply couldn’t ignore it. People fainting in cinemas, paramedics being called, being hailed as one of the goriest films of all time. I mean it practically had my name all over it. So, not knowing anything about the series, I bought the double pack Blu-Ray (hopefully you’ve read my review of the first film) and, well...here it is I suppose. I’ll tell you what this certainly isn’t winning any end of year film awards.
One year after the events of the first film, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) has resurrected himself and is out on the prowl for new victims. His bloody rampage brings him to Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera), a teenager who along with her younger brother, Jonathan (Elliot Fulham), are prepping for Halloween festivities. As the pair are stalked by Art, they must work together to piece together how to kill Art for good and work out why their deceased father had drawings of Art long before the clowns murderous rampage began.
One year after the events of the first film, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) has resurrected himself and is out on the prowl for new victims. His bloody rampage brings him to Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera), a teenager who along with her younger brother, Jonathan (Elliot Fulham), are prepping for Halloween festivities. As the pair are stalked by Art, they must work together to piece together how to kill Art for good and work out why their deceased father had drawings of Art long before the clowns murderous rampage began.
The biggest criticism levelled at the original Terrifier was its lack of plot. But for a less than ninety-minute indie grindhouse film what was there served its purpose. In response to this, writer/director David Leone worked hard to ensure that Terrifier 2 had a proper story with actual characters in it...unfortunately that becomes one of the films weakest aspects for a whole other reason. Terrifier 2 is two hours and twenty minutes long, that’s nearly double the length of the first film, and the vast majority of what happens is kind of pointless.
Sienna is a well fleshed out leading lady and her transformation from shy outcast to battle angel (quite literally) is one that Leone worked hard on, and LaVera’s performance is one of the films stronger elements. But there is so much time dedicated to a sub-plot revolving around her dead father that serves no purpose to the plot or even her character development, and it ends up being completely forgotten about in the third act anyway.
Jonathan is annoying, and I get the feeling Leone wanted to make him this misunderstood intellectual but instead he’s just kind of useless. Fulham’s performance ranges quite vastly from reasonably decent all the way down to laughably bad. But he’s a relatively new young actor so I’m sure he’s just trying to find his feet in the business.
I have to say I did actually hate their mother though, Barbara (Sarah Voight). Honestly this woman is a shitty mother, and no wonder her kids are ‘problematic’ when she treats them like that. What’s worse is Leone keeps trying to give her redeeming qualities, implying she’s just stressed and at her wits end, but really, she just doesn’t listen to her kids and has a short temper. Voight does do her best with the script she is given, but unfortunately the character is written so bad that she’s not got a lot to work with.
David Howard Thornton is the star of the show once again though. Art lives up to the title of the film and Thornton’s performance truly is terrifying. I’m going to have nightmares about this guy for weeks. Once again, Art has no dialogue and so Thornton put his all into the characters physicality. Art is not alone this time though as he works alongside The Little Pale Girl (Amelie McClain) who delivers an equally unsettling performance. If one creepy clown was bad then two certainly is worse, and the duo have excellent chemistry with each other.
Sienna is a well fleshed out leading lady and her transformation from shy outcast to battle angel (quite literally) is one that Leone worked hard on, and LaVera’s performance is one of the films stronger elements. But there is so much time dedicated to a sub-plot revolving around her dead father that serves no purpose to the plot or even her character development, and it ends up being completely forgotten about in the third act anyway.
Jonathan is annoying, and I get the feeling Leone wanted to make him this misunderstood intellectual but instead he’s just kind of useless. Fulham’s performance ranges quite vastly from reasonably decent all the way down to laughably bad. But he’s a relatively new young actor so I’m sure he’s just trying to find his feet in the business.
I have to say I did actually hate their mother though, Barbara (Sarah Voight). Honestly this woman is a shitty mother, and no wonder her kids are ‘problematic’ when she treats them like that. What’s worse is Leone keeps trying to give her redeeming qualities, implying she’s just stressed and at her wits end, but really, she just doesn’t listen to her kids and has a short temper. Voight does do her best with the script she is given, but unfortunately the character is written so bad that she’s not got a lot to work with.
David Howard Thornton is the star of the show once again though. Art lives up to the title of the film and Thornton’s performance truly is terrifying. I’m going to have nightmares about this guy for weeks. Once again, Art has no dialogue and so Thornton put his all into the characters physicality. Art is not alone this time though as he works alongside The Little Pale Girl (Amelie McClain) who delivers an equally unsettling performance. If one creepy clown was bad then two certainly is worse, and the duo have excellent chemistry with each other.
Gory kills were the main attraction in Terrifier, all done with gruesome practical effects in the most absurdly over the top fashion possible. Terrifier 2 certainly doesn’t hold back here either and uses the sequels much larger budget to good use. Whilst there were reports of people fainting and vomiting during festival screenings of Terrifier 2, I can’t say that I personally found it quite that extreme, but Terrifier 2 does include some of the most brutal and sadistic executions I’ve ever seen. There is one in particular that happens around halfway through the film that is excruciatingly drawn out and showcases some truly incredible makeup effects. But from that point on you're just totally desensitised to anything that comes next, it’s a shame because the effects are really quite spectacular, but between the excessiveness of the gore and the overlong runtime you just start to grow tired of it in the back half of the film.
Terrifier 2 may be bigger and go harder than its predecessor, but I’m hesitant to say it’s better. Had approximately forty minutes been shaved off the runtime then I think Terrifier 2 would have been considerably tighter and more enjoyable, but as it stands it’s flabby and the violence as a result becomes mundane come the latter half of the film. I was constantly checking how long I had left of the film, and when it was over, I was generally quite relieved that I could go and do something else. I do like Terrifier 2, but it’s not an experience I’m willing to subject myself to again for a very long time, and it’s a film that I would only recommend to the most bloodthirsty gorehounds.
Terrifier 2 may be bigger and go harder than its predecessor, but I’m hesitant to say it’s better. Had approximately forty minutes been shaved off the runtime then I think Terrifier 2 would have been considerably tighter and more enjoyable, but as it stands it’s flabby and the violence as a result becomes mundane come the latter half of the film. I was constantly checking how long I had left of the film, and when it was over, I was generally quite relieved that I could go and do something else. I do like Terrifier 2, but it’s not an experience I’m willing to subject myself to again for a very long time, and it’s a film that I would only recommend to the most bloodthirsty gorehounds.