- Release year: 2022
- Director: Damien Leone.
- Producer: Phil Falcone.
- Screenplay by: Damien Leone.
- Cinematography by: George Steuber.
- Music by: Paul Wiley.
Synopsis: remember the mime from the previous instalment. He’s given the name of Art the Clown by the media and, after resurrecting, he goes on another Halloween killing spree.
Shotgun Commentary: juicy bucket of gore and guts… with a slight attempt at an actual plot.
Review
Terrifier 2 is the result of increasing the budget of a splatter slasher. Same blood and gut’s party on a flashier venue with a more complex theme. But not too much, let’s not get carried away.
A new piece of the puzzle
The feature begins where the first instalment ended, at the morgue, with Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) killing the coroner. Only the morgue has transformed from a dingy garage to an actual place where corpses could potentially be investigated and stored. This scene is quite procedural, really, nothing too crazy other than Art getting the coroner’s eye to replace his. However, it is arguably one of the most relevant of the saga, as it finally reveals…his name?
The mime writes the word ART with blood on the mirror, and the media in the film assumes that is his name but, is it really? Considering the amount of preparation and care he puts into each and every one of his murders, and his love for mise en scènes, one could also understand it is more of a statement. Is his name Arthur, or is he just an artist trying to make people understand what his massacres are all about? Personally, this author is more than happy to believe it’s both.
Mise en murder
In this instalment, Art seems to be attending his second course of murdering arts, while he’s still very far away from Dr. Lecter (Hannibal, 2013-2015), certainly showcases some improvements from his burning “pumpkin” skull moment in the previous film. Still, none of his murders come close to his twisted drag performance in Terrifier (2016). Nevertheless, it’s not for lack of trying.
Karma has been mentioned a few times on Cut to the Take, the latest example being Oddity (2024). Well, this is the film to counter all that “what goes around, comes around” nonsense. The depravity of the murders will be completely at random, leaving you to watch the most likeable character suffer one of the slowest, more painful deaths of the franchise so far, and the most loathsome character have an anticlimactically swift death.
Losing the grip on reality… even more
Speaking of which, let’s get into the characters. On top of the ol’ reliable Art, there is a little-girl version of the mime now. Who is she? Is she real, or a spirit? What exactly are her abilities? Who can or can’t see her and why? Tons of questions pile up around this character, and most of them aren’t resolved at all. She is a girl who died at the carnival, possibly at the hands of Art. She is a sort of spirit that, for some reason, can only be seen by the two protagonist siblings. As for the reason behind this selective vision, no apparent reason, nor do we expect it.
Still, this strange creature, whose existence serves only to fix plot holes and add that lovely creepy-kiddie vibe to the film, is nothing in comparison to the “because f*ck you” moment at the end of the film. Remember how in the first film Art never dies despite injuries that should’ve cost him his life? In fact, remember how ALL villains in slashers never seem to die, no matter what you do to them? Well, final girl Sienna (Lauren LaVera) has decided to take a page out of that book, delivering one of the most surreal moments in a slasher ever.
Source: Terrifier 2 (Damien Leone, 2022).
All in all, Terrifier 2 is a decent sequel for the first instalment, better than Terrifier 3 (2022), for sure. It provides a little more gore and goo, which is to be expected from a sequel, but also has a slightly more realistic feel to it, which smells like a bigger budget. It has all the signs you hope to see in a saga with a future, really, so no more notes here.
Advice to take from this movie:
- Giving drugs to your friends without their express consent is illegal. And a sh*tty thing to do.
- Realising you’ve been drugged, whilst drugged, won’t make you laugh. It will very likely give you one of the worst experiences of your life.
- Kids, don’t do drugs, a clown will come and chop your d*cks off.
What’s your take? Have you watched Terrifier 2? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀