Terrifier
Year: 2016
Director: Damien Leone
Starring: Catherine Corcoran, David Howard Thornton, Jenna Kanell & Samantha Scaffidi
Runtime: 86 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 30/11/22
Director: Damien Leone
Starring: Catherine Corcoran, David Howard Thornton, Jenna Kanell & Samantha Scaffidi
Runtime: 86 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 30/11/22
I hadn’t heard of Terrifier until its new sequel was making the rounds on festival circuits supposedly making people faint and throw up because of its excessive gory violence. That was enough to pique my interest and so I bought the double pack Blu-Ray the first opportunity I could. Promising buckets of blood and some grisly kills, did Terrifier deliver?
When friends Tara (Jenna Kanell) and Dawn (Catherine Corcoran) become stranded after a night out they find themselves being stalked by Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton). Desiring nothing more than to brutally kill anyone who crosses his path, Art makes the young girls his primary targets, as well as Tara’s sister Vicky (Samantha Scaffidi) who comes looking for them.
There’s not an awful lot to say about Terrifier other than it does what it says on the tin. It’s a grindhouse style slasher movie where gory kills are the main attraction…or the only attraction really. If you’ve come looking for story or characters then Terrifier will leave you sorely disappointed as any character that isn’t Art serves no other purpose than to be a body to be mutilated for our viewing pleasure.
Art has the most characterisation done to him which is kind of funny considering he has no dialogue. But Thornton’s menacing presence and genuinely horrifying performance give Art so much character and make him a killer that will stick in your mind long after the credits roll.
When friends Tara (Jenna Kanell) and Dawn (Catherine Corcoran) become stranded after a night out they find themselves being stalked by Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton). Desiring nothing more than to brutally kill anyone who crosses his path, Art makes the young girls his primary targets, as well as Tara’s sister Vicky (Samantha Scaffidi) who comes looking for them.
There’s not an awful lot to say about Terrifier other than it does what it says on the tin. It’s a grindhouse style slasher movie where gory kills are the main attraction…or the only attraction really. If you’ve come looking for story or characters then Terrifier will leave you sorely disappointed as any character that isn’t Art serves no other purpose than to be a body to be mutilated for our viewing pleasure.
Art has the most characterisation done to him which is kind of funny considering he has no dialogue. But Thornton’s menacing presence and genuinely horrifying performance give Art so much character and make him a killer that will stick in your mind long after the credits roll.
Made with a modest $35,000 budget, Terrifer puts as much of the budget as it can into its gory practical effects. Featuring such delights as decapitations, crushed skulls, exploding gunshot wounds, scalping, and sawing someone in half from groin to head, Art is a one of the most creative killers I’ve seen in a number of years.
The high contrast in the image does leave a lot to be desired though. I think it was done to make the blacks appear darker, but it has an adverse effect on skin and blood making them look washed out because they’re so bright.
Paul Wiley’s score was also a standout, reminiscent of old school video nasties with a modern edge to it, Terrifier sounded as grim and grimy as its kills.
Terrifier lacks any kind of substance, and the resulting film can seem cruel and mean spirited as a result. But it certainly delivers where it counts, if you’ve come for gory kills then Terrifier definitely will not disappoint. Along with a genuinely scary performance from Thornton as Art, and a great score from Paul Wiley, there is enough here to satisfy grindhouse fans. But Terrifier may be missing basic components like a real story, and proper characterisation to be taken seriously by anyone wanting anything more than blood and guts.
Terrifier knows what it is, and it does it well, and that’s really all you can ask for.
The high contrast in the image does leave a lot to be desired though. I think it was done to make the blacks appear darker, but it has an adverse effect on skin and blood making them look washed out because they’re so bright.
Paul Wiley’s score was also a standout, reminiscent of old school video nasties with a modern edge to it, Terrifier sounded as grim and grimy as its kills.
Terrifier lacks any kind of substance, and the resulting film can seem cruel and mean spirited as a result. But it certainly delivers where it counts, if you’ve come for gory kills then Terrifier definitely will not disappoint. Along with a genuinely scary performance from Thornton as Art, and a great score from Paul Wiley, there is enough here to satisfy grindhouse fans. But Terrifier may be missing basic components like a real story, and proper characterisation to be taken seriously by anyone wanting anything more than blood and guts.
Terrifier knows what it is, and it does it well, and that’s really all you can ask for.