PopHorror Let's Get Scared
I write a lot of news articles for PopHorror, but I don’t review a lot of films. After I wrote up the trailer and poster news for Terrifier, I knew that had to change. Dread Central’s latest film effort grabbed my attention from the word “go.” I had to track it down and watch it…and watch it I did.
The evil clown slasher film is coming soon to theaters and video on demand. Is it worth watching? First, check out the trailer, then read on to find out!
Terrifier Synopsis
Based on a character from the 2013 anthology All Hallows Eve, this gory ‘80s slasher throwback takes place on Halloween night as the demented Art the Clown sets his sights on terrorizing two girls and anyone else that gets in his way.
Terrifier was written and directed by Damien Leone. It stars Jenna Kanell, Catherine Corcoran, and Margaret Reed. David Howard Thornton plays the VERY disturbing villain, Art the Clown. The movie starts out strong. Two attractive young ladies stop by a diner after a night of partying and have a run-in with Art. The whole situation is set up perfectly and it’s creepy as hell. These ladies obviously don’t know who they’re dealing with. It isn’t long before Art goes from being the strong, silent type to the “I’m going to hack up everyone I meet into itty, bitty pieces” type. The results are good ol’ gory fun.
What Works
Terrifier has great atmosphere… a real Grindhouse feel. Maybe not quite as Grind-y as the “Art the Clown” segments in All Hallows Eve, but there’s still plenty of grain and grunge. The music and sound design is also particularly inspired. It feels very ’80s. Very Carpenter. It’s very cool and appropriate to the visual style and tone of the film. This movie is hyper-violent. The kills are brutal and over the top. I did a double take on more than one occasion with a little Keanu Reeves “Whoa!” thrown in for emphasis. Finally, the villain. Art the Clown is one seriously fucked up dude. Normally, clowns don’t bother me, but this guy is flat out unnerving. Depraved. You’ll see what I mean. It’s… dark.
What Doesn’t Work
There are some fairly annoying horror movie tropes at play here, but nothing that ruins the movie. On a few occasions, characters do some pretty stupid things. Head scratching things. But I guess that’s pretty standard slasher fare at this point. It’s a formula. What you see is what you get. Don’t look for anyone to go all “Tommy Jarvis with a machete,” either, when the killer is on the ropes. The ending seems borrowed from a not-particularly-enjoyable latter era Halloween film. It works better here, I guess, but I think I would have enjoyed something a little different, although not a deal breaker.
Terrifier Final Thoughts
If you like your horror gory and your killers creepy, Terrifier is something you’ll really enjoy. If you’re not a particularly big slasher fan, Terrifier is probably not the film that will change your mind. It’s a solid, ’80s style grinder with great atmosphere, decent acting, and very cool music. I dug it.
The cult slasher hits select theaters on March 15th and then hits video on demand on March 27th.
