Terrifier (2016)

Rating – 3/4

**SPOILERS**

Although a common fear of people, I’ve never had a problem with clowns, though I admit they can be creepy. But I’ve always seen clowns as fun and silly. So, why not combine them into both? Add loads of blood, carnage, and chaos and you’ve got a pretty gory movie starring the newest killer clown. 

From the twisted mind of Damien Leone comes Terrifier, a movie I thought I wouldn’t enjoy because I’m not a gore person nor is it always particularly scary. But then curiosity got the better of me and I watched it. 

Well, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.

In a small town, a killer clown is on the loose and things are going to get bloody. Sweet, innocent, and pretty girls are going to die horrific deaths. Again, it’s been done before.

And admittedly, I didn’t care too much for the main characters, but it’s clear they were just meant to be fodder. But it’s not good when you don’t care about the main characters, especially in a horror movie. I mean, you want them to survive, right? It’s mindless and brainless in both its plot and execution.

But despite this, why did I like this movie?

Because it’s a knockabout of pure, disgusting fun!

The best performance by far that makes the whole movie is David Howard Thornton as the delightfully creepy and hammy killer clown. With no dialogue, he’s able to convey his emotions through actions and facial expressions and it’s clear he (and Art) is having a great time with the role. It also helps that Thornton was a mime at one point. And it’s the over-the-top behavior that makes Art an icon. Everything he does is gory, but exaggerated to the point of hilarity. He’s a cold-blooded killer, but also a child who just wants to play with his new victims and goof off. Thornton gives personality and deadly charm to a new horror icon.

You almost want to cheer for him because he’s so hilariously terrifying.  

A girl is hung upside down and sawed in half from her genitals to her head? Disgusting! Art taking a selfie with the dead body? Hilarious. 

Art gets stabbed in the foot with a spike? Painful. Him angrily flipping off his assailant as a reaction? Funny. And understandable. I’d be pissed too.  

And blood and guts and death and dismemberment all around. And boobies. Those are always mandatory in a slasher. And for once, not in a “fanservicey” way by any means. Just watch that scene and cross your legs. 

And I loved every second of it.

It knows exactly what it is and commits fully to its pulpy, B-movie roots. Plenty of horror movies fail because they take themselves too seriously with cheesy effects, bad acting, and forgettable characters. But Terrifier embraces its goofiness because it doesn’t try to be anything else and never gets boring as we wonder how Art is going to kill his victims. It might have familiar pieces from the genre, but it never goes beyond what it’s supposed to be.  

You want innocent victims hacked to pieces? Here they are!

You want an original slasher villain? Here he is!

You want fountains of blood? Enjoy your shower!

It’s a mindless gorefest with endless slaughter…and it’s a lot of fun!