Terrifier 2
Directed by Damien Leone
USA 2022
Plot
The film opens exactly where the first episode ended:
Art awakens in the morgue and vanishes without a trace, leaving behind yet another trail of blood.
Exactly one year later, again on Halloween, the killer clown returns, but this time heโs not alone. His attention is now focused on a family with whom he seems to have unfinished business, deeply rooted in the past.
Considerations
A natural sequel to the first Terrifier, it picks up where the first chapter left off, significantly increasing the runtime, splatter, and innovative elements.
Damien Leone is fully aware of the strength and appeal of his clown Art, crafting a screenplay designed to once again showcase him at his best.
What immediately stands out is the film’s length: an hour longer than its predecessor, totaling 160 minutes, which, by average standards, is a lot for such a violent and extreme film.
Furthermore, the splatter and gore levels, already remarkable in the first film, are taken to truly noteworthy heights here: Art no longer limits himself to killing in bizarre ways but pushes even further into torture and sadism.
The details are explicit, the makeup and effects are well-crafted, and thereโs no shortage of creative methods: the sadistic clown will scalp, throw acid, tear off limbs, gouge out eyes, emasculate, smash heads, whip, and flay, almost as if it were a tutorial demonstration of extreme splatter cinema.
Yet, despite the incredibly high levels of blood and violence, the film remains watchable, and this, credit to Leone, is due to the quirky clown character and the humorous interludes he continuously creates.
Art’s smile, his parody, miming, sketches, constant irony, clumsy movements, and his entire repertoire make the frequent and disturbing horror scenes “tolerable.”
Beyond this significant factor, two new characters are introduced, adding depth to the screenplay: the Shaw siblings.
Jonathan is the defenseless younger brother who senses Artโs presence and tries to warn his sister Sienna (played beautifully and brilliantly by Lauren LaVera). Initially skeptical, she eventually reconnects with her brotherโs theories through their father’s past, leading to a climactic confrontation with Art filled with tension and energy.
Another element that characterizes this chapter is the presence of the supernatural.
It was already apparent at the end of Terrifier that Art was not entirely human, as he rose from the hospital bed and massacred the medical team despite the โmortalโ wounds inflicted on him.
Here, this happens even more frequently, but the reason for his “immortality” becomes clearer when a terrifying clown girl appears out of nowhere and supports him throughout the story.
Moreover, the mute clown starts appearing to the Shaw siblings through visions, nightmares, and other dreamlike moments that nonetheless have repercussions on their reality. Not to mention, his superhuman strength and resilience, even when severely wounded, are impossible to ignore.
Thereโs no doubt that for this second chapter, Damien Leone took a significant leap forward in both ambition and quality. The film’s ambition paid off, as evidenced by its unexpected success at American box offices for such an extreme product. As for quality, while opinions may vary, the improvements over the first chapter in terms of screenplay, character depth, music, cinematography, and even set design (particularly in the final amusement park sequence) are undeniable.
Terrifier 2 is an ambitious project, but at present, itโs undeniably a winning bet: the villain has already reached iconic status, and this status elevates extreme horror cinema from niche to the possibility of breaking into mainstream audiences and larger distributions.
Itโs no coincidence that the film is currently only available with subtitles, but it seems poised for wider distribution and will soon be released in theaters in more regions, including ours.
Pandemonium Moment
Jonathan rushes home, sensing danger, only to find his mother sitting at the table with her head completely pulverized. Art appears with dinner ready and shoves food into whatโs left of the womanโs face, right in front of her sonโs eyes.
Terrifier 2 is a must-watch!
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