Terrifier 2has become a certified sleeper hit. The horror sequel, centering around Art the Clown, has now made more than thirty times its original budget, making it wildly profitable for Bloody Disgusting and director Damien Leone.
Art the Clown first appeared in a few short films directed by Leone; in 2008’sThe 9th Circle,he drags a young woman away from a train station to be killed by a cult. In 2011’s short film, also titledTerrifier,he terrorizes a woman who witnessed another one of his murders. Art then makes his feature film debutin 2013’sAll Hallow’s Eve,ahorror anthology moviethat incorporates the previous two short films as a mysterious VHS that eventually spawns Art for real. In 2016’sTerrifier,Art commits a gory massacre on Halloween before being killed (though it doesn’t take).
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According toVariety, Art the Clown has continued to grow in popularity. Though it came in eighth place at the box office, the film collected $1.8 million from 1,550 cinemas. This brings the total haul of the film to $7.63 million against a $250,000 budget. Box office figures for the originalTerrifierdo not appear to be publicly available, but it is known that that film was made on a budget of only $35,000. Part of the appeal of the franchise is undoubtedly Art the Clown, who has the potential to be one of thesilliest horror movie villains, but whose gruesome kills are even more over-the-top, gory, and sadistic than the average horror movie slasher.
It has been reported thatTerrifier 2has caused vomiting and fainting in some viewers. It’s easy to see why, for those in the know. Art the Clown has become something of a contender for anew, iconic slasher villain. As some sort of demonic creature, Art takes delight in making his victims suffer. And the effects for the film are practical - so when audiences are seeing Art saw someone in half, the production crew uses meat to simulate what would realistically happen to someone.
Art continues the demonic clown genre with flair. Magnetic and terrible at the same time, the character continues to entrance audiences in greater numbers with each passing entry to the franchise. He’s the other side of the coin toStephen King’sIt-while Pennywise has a monopoly on using humor to terrify his victims, Art is a silent slasher relying solely on his own flair to scare those unlucky enough to cross his path.
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