To pull off many scenes in Terrifier, most of the people involved in its making have to fall on the sadist spectrum--which is great news for us gorehounds. Filmed with a budget of just $100,000, Terrifier is surprisingly impressive and entertaining.
There isn't a complicated story here. Terrifier doesn't need one. The film basically follows a day-in-the-life of the homicidal mischief-maker, Art the Clown, as he causes shenanigans that end in a laudable kill count. If you like splatter films, you'll love this. As expected on a budget like this, sometimes things fall short; the acting, while competent and better than most films of this caliber, leaves much to be desired when people are screaming (I never believed these people were actually in danger or pain). Sometimes you can tell the practical effects are special effects, if only because bony body parts "squish" a little too much or open cavities have an absence of chunky viscera. The film never scared me, and the gore never felt overly realistic, but it's amazing that Terrifier has better kills than the vast majority of modern horror films with a fraction of their budgets. The third on-screen kill of the movie is quite possibly the most gruesome and dementedly creative I've ever seen put to film. Kudos!
Terrifier's shining star is Art the Clown, played by David Howard Thornton, an ex-mime in real life who is having so much fun in the role. I need more of this character! Art combines his sadistically brutal murder methods with dark humor by mocking victims with dances, creepy-cheesy grins, and child-like little waves that had me grinning and chuckling out loud quite a few times. He is quite the little stinker, and I found myself rooting for him just to see more.
I hope to see Art the Clown return in future films. Until then, Terrifier entertained me with its unique mix of copious gore and dark humor more than other B-movies of its type have, and I recommend it to anyone with the stomach for splatter and gorno films. Special shout-out must go to James A. Janisse from the Dead Meat YouTube channel, whose video on Terrifier talking about its kills got me to put this on my watchlist.
There isn't a complicated story here. Terrifier doesn't need one. The film basically follows a day-in-the-life of the homicidal mischief-maker, Art the Clown, as he causes shenanigans that end in a laudable kill count. If you like splatter films, you'll love this. As expected on a budget like this, sometimes things fall short; the acting, while competent and better than most films of this caliber, leaves much to be desired when people are screaming (I never believed these people were actually in danger or pain). Sometimes you can tell the practical effects are special effects, if only because bony body parts "squish" a little too much or open cavities have an absence of chunky viscera. The film never scared me, and the gore never felt overly realistic, but it's amazing that Terrifier has better kills than the vast majority of modern horror films with a fraction of their budgets. The third on-screen kill of the movie is quite possibly the most gruesome and dementedly creative I've ever seen put to film. Kudos!
Terrifier's shining star is Art the Clown, played by David Howard Thornton, an ex-mime in real life who is having so much fun in the role. I need more of this character! Art combines his sadistically brutal murder methods with dark humor by mocking victims with dances, creepy-cheesy grins, and child-like little waves that had me grinning and chuckling out loud quite a few times. He is quite the little stinker, and I found myself rooting for him just to see more.
I hope to see Art the Clown return in future films. Until then, Terrifier entertained me with its unique mix of copious gore and dark humor more than other B-movies of its type have, and I recommend it to anyone with the stomach for splatter and gorno films. Special shout-out must go to James A. Janisse from the Dead Meat YouTube channel, whose video on Terrifier talking about its kills got me to put this on my watchlist.
