<i>Terrifier</i> More Than Lives Up to Its Name

Terrifier More Than Lives Up to Its Name

Last night I watched Damien Leone's Terrifier (2018), an old school slasher with a modern edge, and I'm still in a bit of shock.

*Mild spoilers ahead.*

If you've read my horror reviews over the years, here and elsewhere, you know that I have a pretty strong stomach when it comes to gore in film. Sure, I have to look away as much as anyone, but it usually doesn't prohibit me from enjoying the movie. Terrifier has some truly brutal and graphic kills, though, meaning that I can't really recommend it to many except the most ardent slasher/horror fanatics out there, i.e., weirdos like me.

Terrifier makes the most of its straightforward plot—terrifying killer mime-clown hunts down and slaughters people on Halloween night. Part of the fun of watching slasher films is figuring out which character(s) will survive the mayhem. Terrifier plays off that well, continually killing off characters you think might possibly be the final survivor, or Final Girl. The film mercilessly leaves almost no one alive or unscathed by the end. It's nihilistic and relentlessly grim, even more so because it all feels so random.

After a truly disturbing introductory scene that certainly points towards just how gory this film is going to be, the film transitions to a couple of co-eds stumbling through town on Halloween night. They're wearing cliched "sexy witch" and "sexy skeleton" costumes, which act as visual signaling towards horror's longstanding promiscuity equals death theme. One is sloppy drunk, while the other just wants to get a slice of pizza and go home. After encountering a creepy clown on the street, they head to the local pizza joint, where said clown shows up soon after. Then the real trauma begins. What follows is the girls' night of terror at the hands of Art the clown, a truly terrifying (there's that word again, sorry) addition to the annals of slasher cinema.

Needless to say, things go from bad to worse for the girls, and for the other unlucky souls who try to help them that night. With each kill I thought, oh it can't get any more brutal than that, but of course I was proven wrong with each additional kill.

David Howard Thornton, as Art the clown, turns in the sort of performance that will haunt your nightmares for weeks. I'm lucky that I rarely have scary dreams after watching horror, because if I did, Art would be front and center in them for a while. The entire performance is silent, as the actor uses his body and facial expressions to convey every ounce of the clown's purely evil intent. The frightening makeup and character design for Art only enhance the effect.

Catherine Corcoran, as drunk Dawn the blond floozy, is a riot in the early scenes. Playing tipsy isn't always easy, but Corcoran seems to be having a ball with it. When Dawn disappears about halfway through—and ultimately meets one of the most gruesome ends I've ever seen in horror—her spark-plug energy is greatly missed. Jenna Kanell, as Dawn's more cautious and sober friend Tara, seems set up to be the Final Girl for the entire time she's on screen. She's skeptical of the clown from the moment they first see him, she's resourceful, and she survives some pretty vicious attacks from Art.

Does Tara survive? I'll leave that unspoiled and simply say, check out the film. Much of the movie is suspenseful and the quieter moments of terror are well executed—the early pizza joint scene when Art mimes scarily for the girls is beyond disturbing. Still, if graphic horror isn't your thing, steer clear of this film, because it will absolutely trigger you.

Terrifier is currently streaming on Netflix US.

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