Horror Movie Review: Terrifier 2 (2022)

Created by Damien Leone, horror has a new icon and his name is Art the Clown.

First appearing in the 2008 horror short, The 9th Circle and then the 2011 horror short, Terrifier. Most got to know the demonic killer clown when both shorts were incorporated into the anthology horror, All Hallows’ Eve. The mime-like qualities of Art’s behaviour and gleeful enjoyment of violence made the monster standout.

So much so that Art would become the star of his own feature-length movie in 2018 called, Terrifier. A blistering and ballsy slasher horror that put the maniac front and centre and delivered a riotous experience of blood and guts.

Fans couldn’t get enough of Art and finally, in 2022, we all got to experience his return with the sequel, Terrifier 2. A movie that matches the original’s insanity but also delivers a much more detailed story and a protagonist that is very likable.

Picking up directly after the events of Terrifer, the movie begins in bloody fashion as Art (David Howard Thornton) escapes the morgue, mutilating a coroner on his way out. If you had any doubts about how far Terrifier 2 would go in regards to brutality, this opening will shut most up. It’s also this opening that sends the film off in an interesting new direction. As Art visits a laundromat and meets a young girl who seems to be quite similar to Art, even down to his blood-thirstiness. A young girl that only he seems to be able to see.

One year later, Halloween is approaching and we’re introduced to Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera), her younger brother, Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) and their mother, Barbara (Sarah Voigt). The family are a little dysfunctional, all three struggling to cope since the death of their father/husband. He had a brain tumour and it caused him to have visions, most of which he sketched out in a notebook that Jonathan has kept.

One such picture is a warrior princess that he drew Sienna as, and she has been making it to wear as a Halloween costume this year. Another though, is much more sinister. A sketch of Art the Clown. It seems as though the late Mr Shaw knew of the demonic clown’s existence. Useful, because Art is back and about to start a bloody night of mayhem.

Terrifier 2 improves on the original in many ways. The most notable being stronger focus on the human characters of the movie. Here, we have characters that are detailed and have backstories. Characters you can get behind and hope they survive. It’s such an important development because, as entertaining as the bedlam is, every good antagonist needs a good protagonist and Lauren LaVera’s Sienna is a good one. Playing the role impressively, she is backed up by an excellent cast, all playing their roles with gusto and glee.

None more so than David Howard Thornton whose mannerisms and twisted performance makes Art simply unforgettable. The amount of dark humour he injects into the silent killer is impressively horrifying and the physicality of his performance is delightful.

Here, we get a deeper look into the clown and the story takes us into much more fantastical realms. Terrifier 2 is more than just a slasher and you can see that Damien Leone has a lot more to show and tell about Art. Hence why Terrifier 3 is already confirmed.

Of course, no review can talk about this movie without touching upon what has allegedly led to emergency services having to be called because of viewers fainting and vomiting in theatres. Yes, Terrifier 2 is intensely violent and super-gory with the effects to back it all up. Some of the sequences are eye-widening in their savagery and you really will have to have a strong stomach to get through them. If you thought Terrifier was a bloody movie, Terrifier 2 might shock you.

It’s a sequel that nails the three Bs that all sequels should strive for. Bigger. Bolder. Better. Terrifier 2 is an excellent movie, on par with the original and a lot of the time, surpassing it.