TERRIFIER 2 is a 2022 horror slasher film written, directed, and produced by Damien Leone. It is a sequel to the instant cult classic for horror fans, Terrifier (2016). It had its world premiere at the FrightFest on August 29th, 2022. The third film in the franchise, TERRIFIER 3 (preview and trailer here), is set to debut in theaters October 11th, 2024.
After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to the timid town of Miles County where he targets a teenage girl and her younger brother on Halloween night.
The cast includes David Howard Thornton and Samantha Scaffidi, who portrayed Art the Clown and Victoria Heyes in the first film, and also stars Lauren LaVera, Elliot Fullam, Sarah Voigt, Kailey Hyman, and Casey Harnett.
TERRIFIER 2 released in select theaters on October 6th, 2022.
When I first heard about the original Terrifier film, I was intrigued just because I am a horror junkie but I fully expected it to be a corny B-movie horror. After finally watching the film once I found it streaming, I was actually pleasantly surprised. Now, it was for sure B-movie horror quality as far as production value, the acting, etc., but it was actually very creepy and definitely not for the faint of heart as far as the gore factor. Right away I could tell why the film was earning its place as a cult classic, which would eventually lead to TERRIFIER 2 getting a much more mainstream release 6 years later. So, where did TERRIFIER 2 land for me? Keep reading to find out!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but TERRIFIER 2 was a big swing and a miss for me. What made the first film so good was the fact that the bad acting and weak story was just a placeholder for all of the gore and the overall creepy and disturbing presence of Art the Clown. For reasons I will never understand, Damian Leone decided to double down on the bad acting and terrible story making for a much too long, and more often than not, painful to watch sequel. The acting is brutal and the story is basically impossible to follow with any level of common sense because it was just too ridiculous. The gore is still at a 10, which is great, but just the fact that I was forced to suffer through acting that you would find in a middle school play, left a very bad taste in my mouth. I couldn’t even enjoy some of the wild scenes with Art the Clown because the poor acting pissed me off.
THE VERDICT
An example of exactly what not to do when attempting to build on the success of a predecessor, Damien Leone’s TERRIFIER 2 is a jumbled mess of brutal acting and mind-numbing backstory taking away from the glorious trail of carnage left behind by Art the Clown. You could basically cut every scene without Art the Clown and this movie would easily be 10x better than it is. I just can’t wrap my brain around why Leone would create a gem like the original Terrifier, which had no story to speak of, only to add an absolutely unnecessary additional hour to the sequel. I don’t know who he decided to take advice from or what the so-called critics who are praising this movie are smoking, but poor decision making wasted a ton of potential.
I loved the original and wanted so badly to enjoy TERRIFIER 2, and while I thought many of the kills were as creative as they were brutal, I ended up spending the majority of the movie with a “what the fu** is happening” look on my face while waiting for it to finally end. Oh and the “post-credit scene” that seemed to last 10-minutes, I just don’t even know what to say at this point. I really, really, really hope Leone redeems himself with TERRIFIER 3.
TED TAKES RATING - 2/10
TERRIFIER 2 is now available VOD and streaming on Prime Video. Check out the latest trailer below.