TravelingbeebryantRN & Flicks_withNick

BOO! After Christmas, Halloween is my wife’s favorite holiday, so that means for the entire month of October, we are watching horror movies. I came across a new movie coming out soon,  Terrifier 3, and realized we haven’t seen the first two. So for the first movie for the month, we watched the 2016 slasher movie Terrifier. The movie stars Jeanna Kanell as Tara, Catherine Corcoran as Dawn, Samantha Scaffidi as Victoria, and David Howard Thornton as Art the Clown. Movie is directed by Damien Leone who’s other work is the other Terrifier movies, and the spin offs All Hallow Eves movies.

Spoilers ahead!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Halloween night both Tara and Dawn are a little tipsy, and hold off on driving home, by deciding to get pizza. While debating in the car, they are encountered by a mysterious clown. The girls yell at the clown from a distance, and antagonize him. He then follows them to the pizza place, along with his huge trash bag. What’s in the trash bag? We’ll eventually find out. As Dawn continues to antagonize the clown at the pizza place, he just stares at Tara. At this point the clown is giving me chills  down my back. He just continues to stare at Tara, and at this point her fate is doomed. There’s even some comedy in this movie, as the clown gets a plastic ring for her. 

The girls have called Tara’s sister Victoria to come get them, and while they are waiting,  they find a guy fumigating a nearby apartment complex. Tara asks to use the bathroom, and the guy lets her in. After attempting to leave, she encounters the clown again. I love the awkward pause when she sees the clown, and the camera zooms in on her face. He eventually tries to chase her, and now the movie is a cat and mouse game. 

The rest of the movie takes place in this Condemned apartment building. Anytime someone new enters in, we think it’s someone that can save Tara, but one by one the clown kills them. The most chilling kill scene is when the clown reveals that he has Dawn to Tara when she’s tied up. The cut back scene of the clown killing her in a horrible fashion, and Tara tied up, as she’s screaming bloody murder. Tara escapes, and finally has Art the clown pinned. When you think she’s going to win, Art out of nowhere pulls out a gun and shoots her, and eventually kills her. Victoria is now lured into the building, and Art is after her now. 

The last 30 minutes of the movie Victoria is now hiding and running away from Art the clown. This includes the clown wearing a bodysuit, and probably the creepiest scene for me, when he’s riding a tricycle for no apparent reason. Am I crazy, or did this scene remind you of the doll from the Saw franchise? After seeing her sister dead, and getting beat up by Art, she’s finally saved by the exterminator! Let’s get to the truck to freedom! Nope how about the exterminator gets killed while looking for an unlocked door. Cops are called, and Victoria is in a safe place, and the sirens are in the background, as the cops approach. She can smell freedom. But Art had grabbed the truck, and ran her over. He gets to jam out to music as he waits for the cops. The cops show up, and when Art is pinned, he shoots himself. Unfortunately he was eating Victoria’s face when they came. She survives, but she’s the disfigured woman from the beginning of the film. 

It was a little predictable that when Art is at the morgue, he would kill the mortician, after the bag was unzipped. It didn’t really bother me though, I’d rather have him alive, so he can be in the sequels. The movie provides a different take on the slasher genre. The two main characters don’t survive, and the only one who does is Tara’s sister, but only after being disfigured. I appreciate the fresh take on this genre. Movies in this genre can be very formulaic, and repetitive. 

This is arguably one of the more gruesome horror/slasher movies I’ve seen in a long time. Art makes Pennywise look like Bozo the clown. The way he never yells or never speaks, gives him even more of a spooky allure. Even when he’s hurt, he doesn’t make a sound. The movie  even sprinkles some humor after some kills. He is a clown after all. I don’t know if I’m supposed to laugh, or supposed to be grossed out. Let’s just say I’m more towards the laughing part, I can handle any horror film. 

This movie is a fresh new look for the slasher franchise. They managed to take a low budget indie film that is contained to only a handful locations, and make it a worthy film to watch. Art the clown is such a memorable character, that I believe in 10 years he will be on the same level as Freddy or Jason. They can make 100 Terrifer movies, and I’ll continue to watch them all. I would recommend this movie to anyone that can stomach a gory slasher film. 

I give Art the Clown a 4.5 / 5, and the movie Terrifer 3.7 / 5

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