Cast:
Jenna Kanell (Tara), Samantha Scaffidi (Victoria), David Howard Thornton (Art the Clown), Catherine Corcoran (Dawn), Pooya Mohseni (the Cat Lady), Matt McAllister (Mike the Exterminator), Katie Maguire (Monica Brown), Gino Cafarelli (Steve), Cory Duval (the coroner), Michael Leavy (Will the Exterminator), and Erick Zamora (Ramone) Written and Directed by Damien Leone.
Review:
"The main reason we put that violence in is that I wanted it to really stand out. Since I’m a special effects artist, I knew that was going to be one of our strong suits going into the movie. So just packing it with special effects and making them as graphic as possible, I knew that we would stand out. I wanted it to be as graphic and as grisly as possible. I knew people were going to leave the movie talking about the hacksaw scene. It’s so insane and graphic that you know people are going to talk about it. I just tried to put as many things like that in the movie as I could. Nowadays you don’t really have to worry about the rating board unless you’re in Hollywood, which is the one percent. No one is in Hollywood anymore.
Sure, even the indies should get the spotlight. Actually, I was interested in covering Terrifier because its sequel had actually made it onto my local theater two years ago. I didn't have enough time to look into Terrifier and I didn't want to look really dumb in just watching a sequel. So, here we are with making up for lost time. The concept of Art the Clown first came with a short film done in 2008 called "The 9th Circle" by Damien Leone, who had honed his craft as a special effects makeup artist after seeing a VHS tape (called Scream Greats) that covered effects done by Tom Savini and Rick Baker. His love of older slasher films (in particularly "the more graphic ones, the grittier, the more violent ones") influenced him in his pursuit to make a fresh and modern slasher, particularly with a clown. That film, along with another short film "Terrifier", were included as part of the direct-to-video anthology film All Hallows' Eve (2013), which had the framing device of a babysitter discovering some tapes involving the clown (as played by Mike Giannelli), as scripted and directed by Leone. He directed another video feature with Frankenstein vs. The Mummy in 2015, but Terrifier would become his first film to go out in theaters. He made an attempt to crowdfund a film involving Art the Clown (now played by David Howard Thornton when Giannelli retired from acting) on Indiegogo, which interested producer Phil Falcone enough to give them the remaining money needed to make the film. In addition to directing/writing, Leone also edited the movie. The movie was played mostly in festivals but picked up a limited release a few years later. The sequel received more funding (private and campaigning) that resulted in an a more substantial theater release in 2022. The third film is set to be released in theaters tonight.
The best credit that comes for a film like this is that for the money it was made, it sure was worth every penny. I will go on the record by saying that critiquing films as being some sort of "torture porn " is extremely disingenuous. The critique was incredibly stupid when hacks tried to apply it to the Saw series, and I sure as hell am not going to let it go unguarded just because a movie wants to rumble someone's stomach with what *horror* is. Yes, you can have your light, "suspenseful" movies get balanced out with films interested in brutality. You might say it is strange to put some defense for a movie that is really just "fine", but if you can't find a good argument for an average movie, what chance does one have when trying to cite the virtues of a truly great one? The atmosphere of grime that comes from such a small locale is fascinating to me, particularly when it is combined with a horrific threat that has to use pantomime to drive home the point of basically making a "greatest hits" slasher as a film. Sure, there isn't much to the characters (Leone has gone on record as regretting the lack of character development with the lead girl), but I don't find it too much of a big complaint mainly because of the pained delight I had with the film. Thornton is a quality mime that manages to make the art of collecting blood (and other things) onto that delightful suit come off with a dark amusement, at least to me (how does one see a scene where he decides to use a gun and decide, no, I hate this?). The saw sequence is particularly stark in its execution of, well, cutting down someone with certain patience. The climax in particular is quite unnerving to me when it comes to being distinct from the usual "final" survival and escape. I look forward to finding time to see the second film and maybe even the third one when it comes to tests of a certain type of extreme horror and having fun seeing the craft come to life.
Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
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