Terrifier (2017)

Director: Damien Leone

Writer: Damien Leone (Screenplay)

Starring: David Howard Thornton, Jenna Kanell, Catherine Corcoran, Katie Maguire, Samantha Scaffidi, Pooya Mohseni, Margaret Reed, Cory DuVal

Plot: A maniacal clown named Art, terrorizes three young women on Halloween night and everyone else who stands in his way.

Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Blood Soaked Horror

Story: Terrifier starts when two girls Tara (Kanell) and Dawn (Corcoran) are planning to find a way home from a Halloween night of partying, the two stumble across a mysterious clown (Thornton) that doesn’t look our of place on this night, making them uneasy they see him as harmless.

When they car gets damaged Tara must call on her sister Victoria (Scaffidi) to save them, but the wait for her to arrive will let the clown, do what he does best, take bodies in his twisted desire or murder.

Thoughts on Terrifier

Characters – Art the Clown is the silent clown, he uses his expressions to get attention, he has a dark side which gets unleashed once he starts piling up the bodies while hunting down the girls. He has different styles for kills, some are planned and calculated while others are able to show his adaptability to the situation. Tara is the more responsible of the two-party goers, she won’t drink and drive, though she does think food will make herself sober enough to drive. Dawn would be considered the one that gets all the guys trying to hit on her, while batting them all off, can’t handle her booze either. Victoria is the sister of Tara, that instead of studying for her test ends up coming to help her sister in the time of need. It would be far to say the girls are traditional for the horror and are not portrayed with any strength.

Performances – David Howard Thornton gives us one of the most disturbing and eye watching performances in horror, you want to see just where the character will go next. When it comes to Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidi and Catherine Corcoran are all good even if they do fill the normal for a horror film.

Story – The story takes place over one night as Art the Clown goes on his killing spree through the night. The idea is simple as we see how Art has different plans for different victims, though this could also be considered somewhat of a weakness because certain kills seem like they have a lot of preparation while others can be just what is at hand. The story keeps us playing along the idea of a killer keeping one step ahead of their victims and just how they can make sure they aren’t put in a position of weakness. This is also an extension of the story told in All Hallows Eve where we see the same clown do sadistic acts to his victims. This won’t be for the weak hearted and will only appeal to the horror fans out there.

Horror – The horror side of this film follows Art the Clown on his rampage, we get different kills per victim each more unique than the last, there is blood and gore throughout which checks the horror boxes well.

Settings – The film is mostly set in an old warehouse, not a location chosen by the killer, but a place where safety is searched for, the victims each have their own reason for being there which does make sense to the story too.

Special Effects – When it comes to the effects we are mostly looking at the practical ones that were used and they were brilliant for the body cutting, slashing and piercing scenes.

Scene of the Movie – Art’s actions in the dinner show us just how twisted he is going to be.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The preparation kills seemed like they did take too long to prepare for the time we watching Art do his thing.

Final Thoughts – This is one for the horror fans to smile about, the kills are blood, brutal and the killer is one you won’t be forgetting any time soon.

Overall: Horror fans enjoy the bloodbath.

Rating

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