The whole point of "Terrifier" is to... terrify, specifically with gallons and gallons of fake blood and gore. It's all macabre movie magic, not meant to be taken seriously – but even the series' biggest fans admit these moments crossed a line.
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00:00The whole point of Terrifier is to terrify, specifically with gallons and gallons of fake
00:05blood and gore.
00:07It's all macabre movie magic, not meant to be taken seriously, but even the series' biggest
00:12fans admit these moments crossed a line.
00:16Slasher villains often stand out among horror characters because they firmly put a face
00:20to the madness.
00:21And few screen killers in recent memory have committed to cementing a more haunting image
00:25than that of Art the Clown.
00:27Oh my God, you're never going to believe what I just heard on the radio.
00:31It's not a ghost.
00:36You've seen your killer clowns, whether from the far reaches of space or the murky depths
00:40of Maine, but you've never seen a clown quite like Art.
00:44Even if you've never seen his movies, you've likely seen his demented face.
00:48Art was initially a through-line antagonist in director Damien Leone's 2013 anthology
00:53flick All Hallows' Eve, which itself was composed of the filmmakers' short films from
00:58years past.
00:59Please stop.
01:05Initially played by Mike Giannulli, it was David Howard Thornton who would secure the
01:09pantomime killer's legacy in 2016's Terrifier.
01:13Where All Hallows' Eve was a sort of test run for the character, Terrifier was where
01:17the Clown Prince of Grime made himself known, and now Art has continued his reign of terror
01:23with Terrifier 2, a sequel that has been eliciting the kind of bodily reactions that even the
01:27most jaded horror fanatic couldn't have imagined.
01:31Terrifier 2 has been making headlines for a number of reasons.
01:34First, it collected over $1.2 million at the box office in one weekend.
01:39But it's the other headlines where things get messy.
01:42According to a report from USA Today, it appears that the film is too extreme for some people,
01:47prompting them to either faint or resort to vomiting.
01:50Even an ambulance had been called to one theater.
01:53It got to the point where Steve Barton, the film's executive producer, had to tweet out
01:57a viewer discretion warning.
01:59Most horror movies wish they could get this kind of hyperbole about how scary or gross
02:03the experience is, but Terrifier 2 is one that actively deserves it.
02:08Saw used to be the gory Halloween splatterfest folks went to see around this time of year,
02:13but even Jigsaw would feel compelled to tell Art to chill.
02:16Terrifier 2 is an ugly movie born in blood that somehow slithered onto the screens of
02:21an AMC theater near you.
02:23It's probably the closest you'll come to a contemporary horror film capturing the sickeningly
02:27sadistic glee of the grindhouse days.
02:30You've seen violent movies before, but this will seriously test your limits.
02:34Stay back.
02:35Stop, please, stop!
02:36Stay away from me!
02:39No, please!"
02:40The first Terrifier features one of the most graphic kills you'll see in any horror movie.
02:45Art has one of his victims hung upside down with their legs spread open, and he proceeds
02:49to saw them in half.
02:51From groin to brain, you witness every gory detail.
02:55If that was too much to stomach for you, skip the sequel.
02:58Terrifier 2 finds more horrifically creative methods of mutilating the human body, discovering
03:03new and unfathomable limits.
03:06The makeup effects in Terrifier 2 are so unnerving because the kills themselves are often agonizingly
03:11slow.
03:13Art revels in the thrill of the kill, and forces you to experience it with him.
03:17Director Damian Leone places a heavy emphasis on practical effects, and they're astounding
03:22stuff.
03:23The incredibly talented makeup effects team deserves all the praise in the world for pulling
03:28these scenes off.
03:29It would appear, however, that Leone himself has mixed feelings on the reports emanating
03:33from his film.
03:35Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Leone says that while he was happy that Terrifier
03:392 was doing well, he's not into the idea of his movie requiring the need of paramedics
03:43at movie theaters.
03:44He said,
03:45"'Listen, I would have loved to have a couple of walkouts.
03:48I think that's sort of a badge of honor because it is an intense movie.
03:51I don't want people fainting, getting hurt during the movie.
03:54But it's surreal.
03:56Here's the thing, it's called Terrifier 2, you should probably see Terrifier 1 before
04:00you jump into this one.
04:01If you see Terrifier 1, you know what you're getting into."
04:05It's easy to see where Leone is coming from.
04:07It doesn't help if you walk into a sequel not knowing that its predecessor already pushed
04:11the limits of gore in horror movies.
04:13But at the same time, both Terrifier films are a provocative spectacle.
04:17And Leone knows this.
04:19It's difficult for people to look at the reports and not want to go see what everyone is talking
04:22about.
04:23Those who aren't even familiar with the first Terrifier will want to see if its sequel lives
04:27up to the headlines.
04:29That's the nature of word of mouth, for better or worse.
04:33Even if you've never seen a Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street movie, you're likely
04:36familiar with Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger, through cultural osmosis alone.
04:41The folks who have never even heard of Art the Clown are rapidly becoming acquainted
04:45with the slasher's existence.
04:47"...Aww."
04:48"...Aww."
04:49It all comes down to the look.
04:58Art checks all of the boxes regarding creepy killer clowns.
05:01He's got the white makeup, the floppy shoes, the face paint, and a jaunty disposition.
05:07Thornton is a force of nature in the costume, utilizing his expressive face to conjure an
05:11ordinary slasher into something uniquely memorable.
05:14Despite checking all of the clown prerequisites, the pantomime slasher never speaks.
05:19Even when he laughs, Art doesn't actually make a sound.
05:22It's Thornton's menacing grimace that ties it all together.
05:26While Terrifier 2 has been making the rounds for its graphic kills and the reactions that
05:29followed, it's also worth noting that the horror sequel has also been garnering positive
05:34reception from both critics and genre fans.
05:37The film's target audience actually likes the movie.
05:40A common criticism lobbied against the original Terrifier was its lack of a story, coupled
05:45with its acts of misogynistic brutality.
05:47For 85 minutes, Art hacks and slashes his way through his victims, with little to tie
05:51it all together.
05:53Terrifier 2, however, switches things up with the inclusion of Lauren Lavera Sienna, a teenage
05:58girl who is actually propped up as a formidable challenger to Art's reign of terror.
06:02The film follows her story just as much as Art's, adding a supernatural intrigue as to
06:07what the demon clown could possibly be.
06:10Lavera's performance is a massive step up from whatever the cast of Terrifier was doing
06:14the first time around, and it actually gives you someone to follow in the midst of all
06:17the carnage.
06:19Since slasher flicks are rarely as long as Terrifier 2, the film has this disorientating
06:24effect where it makes you feel like you're slowly losing your mind as the depravity on
06:27screen unfolds.
06:29It's the kind of movie where every reaction — anger, disgust, and amazement — is an
06:33equally valid response.
06:35You likely won't see another movie as dedicated to making you squirm in your seat than Leone's
06:40demented horror show.
06:42Terrifier 2 may or may not be a movie you like, but one thing's for sure — you will
06:46never forget it.
06:49Art the Clown performed some truly unspeakable acts in Terrifier 2, but one unfilmed scene
06:54was too much for the director to put to camera.
06:57Terrifier 2 is a wholeheartedly better film than its predecessor, as it features Lauren
07:01Lavera's Sienna, an excellent new addition to the Screen Queen roster.
07:05But the truth is that Art and his gory reign of terror struck a nerve.
07:08That's the whole reason the film truly caught on with general audiences — they had to
07:11see what the fuss was all about.
07:13When it came to bringing these stunning kills to the screen, there was one that even Leone
07:16had to put a pin in before it went too far.
07:19Right before Art chases Sienna through the Terrifier haunted house, he has to dispense
07:23those responsible for her ride.
07:25Jeff steps outside of the car to drain the lizard, and instead drains just about everything
07:29else in his body.
07:30Art pulls a nasty sneak attack by stabbing him directly in his nether regions multiple
07:35times.
07:36You get a harrowing close-up of the blade making contact, too.
07:39In a hilarious bit of irony, Jeff is wearing a T-shirt that says,
07:42"'Just the tip.
07:43I promise.'"
07:44While all of this is going down, in an interview with Variety, Leone talks about how the already
07:48brutal dismemberment could have been much worse.
07:51Leone said,
07:53We explored those and joked about it, but then we said, no, that's way too far.
08:00That's too distasteful.
08:01What else could Leone possibly think to do with Art?
08:04As it turns out, he nearly took the stabbing a step further by giving in to his clownish
08:08nature.
08:09Leone offered a suggestion, possibly making a balloon animal out of it or something like
08:13that, but we absolutely can't do that.
08:15It was actually Art the Clown actor Dave's suggestion.
08:18We're always trying to one-up each other and come up with sick things, but that was too
08:21far for me.
08:22Given that Terrifier 2 was already bordering on a two-and-a-half-hour runtime, which is
08:26unheard of for a slasher flick, it really wouldn't have made a difference.
08:29But it's easy to see where they had to draw a line.
08:32If anything, the balloon gag would have worked with Art's ability to make you laugh, while
08:36committing some of the most heinous assaults on the human body you'll see in any recent
08:39horror movie.
08:40Once the shock of what's happening wears off, you almost find yourself laughing at the sheer
08:44lengths this killer goes to when it comes to making his unfortunate victims suffer.
08:48After all, the bedroom kill earlier in the film goes on for a shockingly long time, as
08:52Art flays Allie beyond belief.
08:55After the scalping, limb-severing, and eye-slicing, she's still alive.
08:58Then, as if he didn't do enough already, Art rushes back into the room with a bottle of
09:03bleach and a container of sodium, literally rubbing salt on the gaping wound.
09:07After a three-minute kill like that, whatever insanity Leone and Thornton have in store
09:11would feel right in line.
09:13Art is the kind of slasher where, if he catches you in his sights, you're likely already dead.
09:18When it comes to his brand of kills, he makes what Pennywise does look merciful by comparison.
09:22You think that guy's still out there?
09:24What's up with you and this clown all of a sudden?
09:26You're, like, obsessed.
09:27Where Terrifier 2 succeeds in being a vastly improved sequel in terms of its story and
09:31characters, the major attraction that everyone is talking about is director Damian Leone's
09:35astounding practical gore effects.
09:38The two-and-a-half-hour slasher epic is an unabashedly graphic ode to the era of grindhouse
09:43cinema and doesn't hold back.
09:45Some of the effects were so gruesome, however, that it nearly made one of its actors sick,
09:50although it's probably not quite what you're expecting.
09:52As it turns out, Chris Jericho is a fan of horror movies, specifically Terrifier.
09:57The AEW wrestler had stumbled upon the first film while scrolling through Netflix years
10:01ago, and it blew him away.
10:03He told ScreenRant,
10:04"...it was the best horror movie I think I'd seen in about 20 years, with what I consider
10:09to be the next iconic serial killer, which we also haven't had in horror movies for 25
10:14years."
10:15From wanting to be a part of the movie, director Damian Leone found a brief role for Jericho
10:19as Burke, a security guard of the Miles County Psychiatric Hospital, who can be seen in the
10:24film's mid-credits stinger.
10:25In the scene, Jericho has to munch on a plate of this Halloween-themed gelatin display that
10:30nearly made him vomit.
10:31"...I think it was a kind of custard with some kind of plastic candy, and I had to eat
10:36like five of them, and they were cold and they were gelatinous, and it was really kind
10:40of getting to me.
10:41It was really gross, and I remember Damian was like, can you just eat one more?
10:46And I was like, dude, I'll eat one more, and then that's it.
10:49Because I'm gonna f----- puke if I had to do another one of these."
10:53Of all of the effects to make people sick in Terrifier 2, this is the last one you would
10:57think would cause a reaction.
10:59But the longer you look at the zombie platter, the more it makes sense.
11:02No one would call this plate of slime appetizing.
11:04In an interview with Variety, Leone talked about how, when making the Terrifier movies,
11:09he wanted to make something that captured the sick imagination of horror folks.
11:12"...What's gonna get people talking once they leave our movie?
11:16We can show things they would never show in a Hollywood slasher."
11:19When you look at all of the effects that make up Terrifier 2, the zombie platter seems tame
11:23by comparison.
11:25Jericho is the only actor in the cast, besides David Howard Thornton as Art, who has to indulge
11:30in devouring anything close to body parts.
11:32But somehow, Leone is able to manipulate us into making it feel more disgusting than it
11:36would under any other circumstance.
11:39Whether it be the makeup crew or the actors themselves, everyone involved with Terrifier
11:432 has some sort of experience with Art's grotesque brutality.
11:46Amid the reports of people vomiting during screenings, it's pretty funny that the only
11:50reason someone behind the camera nearly lost their lunch was due to an unappetizing plate
11:54of monster Jell-O.
11:57Was Terrifier 2's original ending so disturbing that even its director said,
12:01"...too much?"
12:02Or is there a more innocent reason behind the ending being changed?
12:06Over the span of two and a half hours, which is usually unheard of for a slasher flick,
12:10Art torments a teenage girl named Sienna, who shares a mysterious connection with the
12:14demon clown, along with all of her friends and family.
12:18Around the time that we reach the film's gory climax at the Terrifier haunted attraction,
12:22you're waiting for Sienna to finally give Art a taste of his own medicine.
12:26And boy does she let him have it.
12:28The demonic little pale girl walks away with Art's decapitated melon, leaving room open
12:33for a sequel.
12:34The true final moments of Terrifier 2 have something different in mind.
12:38In the film's mid-credits scene, we see a security guard, played by wrestler Chris Jericho,
12:42and a nurse working the graveyard shift on Halloween night at the Miles County Psychiatric
12:46Hospital.
12:47While they converse, the disfigured Victoria Hayes, Art's final victim from the first film,
12:52starts profusely bleeding in her room.
12:54When the nurse goes to check on her demented laughter, she discovers a horrifying sight,
12:59as Victoria has given birth to Art's head.
13:01As bonkers as this is, the ending looked entirely different at one point.
13:05In an interview with ComingSoon.net, Jericho talks about how they had to retool the ending
13:09they actually shot, because a recent horror flick beat them to the punch.
13:13That scene was actually a lot longer, which led to the actual ending of the movie.
13:18Another horror movie came out in the same time frame over the last year that had the
13:21same ending, so we had to recut it and reshoot it.
13:24So it was actually a longer scene than that.
13:26But it did seem odd that Jericho just kind of comes and goes.
13:30The AEW wrestler is a massive fan of this franchise.
13:33He doesn't even rush to come to check out Victoria's demon spawn.
13:36There's something that feels incomplete after spending that whole scene with him at the
13:39front desk, only to not give his character any sort of reason for being there.
13:44Jericho was vague when talking about the movie that made Terrifier 2 cut the intended finale,
13:49but director Damian Leone gave a very strong hint as to what it could be.
13:53While doing a Reddit AMA, Leone was asked to clarify Jericho's statements.
13:57While he didn't outright say the exact movie that mirrored his original ending, Leone name-dropping
14:02the director of the project made it much easier to connect the dots.
14:05He said,
14:06"...they didn't steal our idea.
14:08We just happened to have the same one.
14:09It may or may not have had something to do with a recent James Wan film."
14:13You heard that correctly.
14:14Leone has all but confirmed that the original ending to Terrifier 2 would have closely resembled
14:19that of James Wan's Malignant.
14:21Baby Art is by no means a bad conclusion, but it's difficult to think of losing the
14:25demon clown going full Gabriel.
14:27Leone didn't elaborate on how closely the two films' endings were.
14:31Going off of how Wan's film concluded, however, you have to wonder if Art instead sprouted
14:35in the back of Victoria's head before going on a destructive killing spree throughout
14:39the asylum.
14:40It's easy to see why Leone went in a different direction, though.
14:43Terrifier 2 is its own grimy beast of a grindhouse flick.
14:47"...Is that bad?"
14:48"...Let's just say her face doesn't stimulate one's appetite."
14:52Most will remember the grotesque mutilations as an extension of Art, but Malignant is also
14:57its own thing.
14:58In the span of a year, Gabriel has been embraced as a figurehead of the horror community.
15:02There's truly no separating the parasitic killer from that incredible police station
15:06rampage.
15:07With that said, it would be very interesting to see what Leone exactly had in mind for
15:11Art's final impression, with whatever footage still exists.
15:16The horrifying clown from the Terrifier films causes a lot of violence on screen, but did
15:20you know the costume alone almost got a man shot behind the scenes, and cops were called
15:24a second time, too?
15:26While Terrifier wasn't as well-realized a film as its sequel, the makeshift visual
15:30effects, most of which were crafted by director Damian Leone himself, were undeniably impressive.
15:35However, one of the biggest issues with using practical visual effects while shooting a
15:39low-budget independent slasher is that you will frequently upset unwitting members of
15:43the public.
15:44Somewhat unsurprisingly, that's exactly what happened with both Terrifier films.
15:51Speaking to Smash or Pass Indie Filmmaking, Thornton recalled how one scene in particular
15:55almost got him shot by police.
15:57The $35,000 production was shooting in Trenton, New Jersey, when things took a turn.
16:02As the actor recalled,
16:03"...there were two ladies arguing under the window of where I got my makeup on.
16:07I went over to watch the argument while they were filming a scene on set, forgetting how
16:10I looked.
16:11I looked up and saw this blood-covered clown looking down at them and ran off screaming."
16:15Thornton went on to recount how, half an hour later, Leone and producer Phil Falcone asked
16:20him to come outside, where he was greeted by over a dozen police officers in full riot
16:24gear.
16:25He explained that the area they were shooting in was not particularly safe, and that the
16:28women he'd seen earlier called the cops to report a bloody clown.
16:32Luckily, his explanation saved Thornton from a bullet, as he told the outlet,
16:36"...they laughed their butts off when I came out and told me that I better be glad
16:40that I did not come out before my director and producer did or that I would have been
16:43shot on sight."
16:44Thankfully, nothing as horrific as an actual shooting happened on this specific occasion.
16:48As Thornton went on to explain, he actually ended up taking pictures with the officers,
16:52though some kept their distance due to their own personal fear of clowns.
16:56Interestingly enough, it wouldn't be the last time the police were called to a terror
16:59fire set.
17:00In fact, having the cops show up to set seems to have become an occupational hazard of Leone's
17:05brand of indie slasher filmmaking.
17:07During an interview at Creep.ie Con 2023, Thornton recalled how during filming for the
17:12laundromat scene in Terror Fire 2, he once again found himself face-to-face with a New
17:16Jersey police.
17:17He explained,
17:18"...I'm sitting there naked, covered in blood, and the cops said,
17:21"'We hear there was a bloody clown that came in here.'
17:23And I'm like,
17:24"'Hi, it was me.'"
17:26At least on this occasion, Thornton wasn't confronted with an entire riot squad ready
17:30to shoot, though he did face the uncomfortable situation of needing to reassure cops while
17:34wearing nothing but a newspaper.
17:36If anything, these reactions from unsuspecting passers-by just legitimize the horrifying
17:41nature of a figure like Art the Clown.
17:43The original Terror Fire came out around the time that the United States was experiencing
17:46a spree of creepy clown sightings.
17:48In fact, Rolling Stone published an article chronicling this phenomenon just weeks before
17:52the first film came out.
17:54It's not surprising that Terror Fire 3 is making people sick in the same way that Terror
17:58Fire 2 did back in 2022.
18:01But is it bringing people to the breaking point even faster than before?
18:04This time around, Art is rampaging at Christmastime, and if you thought that the spirit of the
18:08season would tone things down a bit, you were gravely mistaken.
18:11According to Ladd Bible, at the U.K. premiere of the film, nine people walked out of the
18:15screening during the opening scene alone, and at least one person threw up.
18:19"'That is so messed up!'
18:21Representatives for the film later confirmed that there were 11 total walkouts, in addition
18:25to the person who got sick.
18:26Director Damian Leone took to X and addressed the situation, saying,
18:30"'I did personally witness some crazy stuff at this U.K. screening.
18:34These are not the first reports of the film's over-the-top gore.
18:36Actor David Howard Thornton, who portrays Art the Clown, was nearly sick over one scene
18:41he had to film for Terror Fire 3.
18:43Leone tweeted at the time,
18:44"'Can honestly say we just filmed one of the most insanely horrific scenes of the Terror
18:48Fire franchise, and you'll never believe who couldn't handle it on set.'"
18:51Thornton later admitted that it was him, and added in a thread,
18:54"'This was the first kill that almost made me vom.
18:56That's a first.'
18:57Those are the people making the movie.
18:59For certain uninitiated audience members, the sheer amount of gore in an unrated slasher
19:03such as this is going to come as a surprise.
19:06Without getting into spoilers, we can confirm that the opening minutes of the film are rather
19:10disturbing.
19:11Hardened fans of horror, and this franchise in particular, are likely anticipating that.
19:15Casual viewers, on the other hand, need to be prepared for what they're about to get
19:18into.
19:19Leone previously warned us in an interview with The Independent,
19:21"'If you thought Art the Clown's reign of terror in Part 2 was extreme, you haven't
19:25seen anything yet.'"
19:26"'We both know this isn't over.'"
19:28This is why he avoided making the sequel with a major Hollywood studio after the success
19:32of Terrifier 2.
19:33He wanted to keep the franchise as gory as possible, and Hollywood studios weren't having
19:37it.
19:38As he told Ladd-Bible,
19:39"'I got to meet with studios, like legit Hollywood studios, who wanted to make Terrifier 3.
19:43I knew they weren't going to let me make this movie based on the first pages.
19:46Like, that's how insane Terrifier 3 is.'"
19:48The official Terrifier 3 social media accounts recently posted an in-theater message that
19:53reads,
19:54This film contains extreme violence and excessive gore.
19:57If you are feeling unwell, please find a member of staff.
19:59Staff trained in first aid are on site."
20:01Those involved in making and distributing the film are doing their best to prepare audiences
20:05for what's to come, which is not for the faint of heart.
20:07To that end, the reviews for the film have been largely positive, while also highlighting
20:11the extreme levels of gore.
20:13Slash film's own Jacob Hall gave Terrifier 3 a 7 out of 10 review out of Fantastic Fest,
20:18while also cautioning,
20:19"'It's the gore that will test most viewers, fascinating some and sickening others.
20:23The walkouts are only going to further encourage the intended audience for this film.
20:27As Terrifier 2 proved, that audience is surprisingly large.
20:30At the same time, anyone who is merely curious as to what all of the fuss is about, these
20:35warnings should be taken seriously.
20:37It is just a movie, but it's one that is designed to test the limits of what viewers can endure."