Going into a film like Terrifier 2, audiences can’t help but be versed in the news surrounding the film that has largely focused on just how spectacularly gory this thing is and the fact that such splatter has caused American cinemagoers, who have pushed the micro-budgeted horror film to rope in over 5 times its budget from its screenings, to either vomit or pass out from the witnessed carnage.
They say that too much of something can never be enough though, and if that “something” for you is boundary-pushing gore that wholeheartedly revels in how bloody mean it can be, then Terrifier 2 truly should simultaneously satisfy whilst keeps you wanting more. The first film, simply (and appropriately) titled Terrifier, was deliriously blood-soaked (one sequence involving a poor lass getting sawed in half surely tested even the strongest of genre stomachs) and had a nonsensical mentality that leaned into the slashers of the 1980’s. If it was your bag, then this hyper-nasty, extended horror treat (it clocks in at 138 minutes!) will be equally as enjoyable. If not, well, stay away. Stay far, far, away.
Of course, a film like Terrifier 2 hasn’t really been constructed to appeal to those unversed in the original’s temperament, picking up moments after the first film ended and offering very little in terms of just how the original film’s twisted villain – a permanently grinning clown named Art whose aesthetic makes Pennywise look like a Sesame Street character in comparison – has survived his supposed demise. Art (played with a wicked silence by David Howard Thornton), naturally, disposes of the coroner – this scene setting the violent tone that only escalates as the film progresses – and heads out into the streets, taking a moment out of his killing schedule to wash and dry the blood off his usual crisp black-and-white attire. It’s here in the laundromat that Art, stripped naked momentarily and finding macabre pleasures in reading the death reports in the newspaper, slips into something of a fugue state and interacts with a ghostly young girl whose appearance likens itself to his own. Her presence will ultimately tether itself to Art, accompanying him on the remainder of the film’s brutal set pieces; one extended sequence involving a girl being scalped and flayed, among other monstrosities performed, standing as the likely catalyst for many a viewer to have their stomach strength tested.
Moving a year on, Terrifier 2 then introduces us to this film’s “final girl” archetype, high-schooler Sienna (Lauren LaVerna), who’s eagerly awaiting the Halloween season so she can wear the costume she’s been meticulously crafting – a warrior princess aesthetic based off a comic drawing her late father created. Meanwhile, younger brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) has the desire to dress up as Art for the spooky season but, as expected, is shut down at every turn. Given just how long Terrifier 2 is, it makes sense that writer/director Damien Leone would inject the film with bouts of background information on his players, namely that Sienna’s late father was starting to draw images of Art towards the end of his life and that her own mental health is something of a concern; nothing the drugs her friends supply her with won’t fix. Right?
With Halloween now officially in play, it makes sense that Art the Clown will wreak havoc on more unsuspecting victims, this time around all mostly connected to Sienna, with the knife/saw/scalpel-happy hands of Art seemingly leaving her until last. Just why he’s so hellbent on Sienna isn’t entirely explained – perhaps the late father’s drawings and the knife he left her as a gift have something to do with it – but the film’s closing shot certainly alludes to a third go-around with Art’s more supernatural inclination being cemented.
Fans of the first film are likely to embrace the lunacy of Terrifier 2, even if when you strip away the shock factor there’s not much of a strong plotline to embrace. In that regard Terrifier 2 isn’t a great film. But, is it still bombastically enjoyable in a sick way that leans into what fans wanted more of from the first? Yes. And that’s going to be enough for anyone ready to have their nerves tested this Halloween weekend. Grab your popcorn, maybe a sick bag, get your similarly-minded friends together, and enjoy the digusting nature that is Terrifier 2. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Terrifier 2 is screening exclusively in cinemas over the Halloween weekend (October 28th – 31st) at participating cinemas; click through to find your closest location.
