After causing fainting among American viewers, “Terrifier 2” lands this week in French theaters. Did the disturbing clown Art terrorize the press?
Made in 2016, Terrifier was a low-budget film ($35,000), which remained unreleased in France for a long time. We followed two women who crossed paths with a sadistic killer decked out in a clown costume on Halloween night. Director Damien Leone, who had already staged the clown named Art in a short and two other feature films, returned the cover in 2022 with a sequel entitled Terrifier 2. A sober title that in no way presages the bloody and trashy deluge offered by the film.
Released last October in the United States, this ambitious 2h18 sequel caused some viewers to faint and vomit due to particularly shocking and gory scenes. A buzz that allowed Terrifier 2 to climb into the top 10 at the national box office, collecting $10 million in revenue for a budget of $250,000. Visible in France since Wednesday, does this suite live up to its reputation?
What is it about ?
After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to the town of Miles County where he targets a teenage girl and her younger brother on Halloween night.
Terrify 2 by Damien Leone, with Lauren LaVera, David Howard Thornton, Jenna Kanell…
In theaters since January 11, 2023
What does the press think?
According to Les Cahiers du cinema:
“If the infamies multiply and stretch, it is because Damien Leone, author but also make-up artist, deploys with a greedy genius the range of his plastic discoveries, erecting the special effects into the poetics of the triturated, reinvented material.” (Yal Sadat) 4/5
According to Filmsnews :
“Dizzying, radical and truly disgusting.” (By Henry Swanson) 4/5
We saw the horror movie that made Americans vomit!
According to Mad Movies:
“A gigantic colorful nightmare, thereby reactivating the very particular genre of the supernatural slasher.” (By Gilles Esposito) 4/5
According to Widescreen :
“A big gore and wobbly encore, to which we forgive everything since he broke into the small world of too wise American horror.” (By Mathieu Jaborska) 3/5
According to The Parisian :
“But if its violence is particularly graphic, it is also very “grand guignolesque”, even surreal, and the special effects are as enthusiastic as they are broke.” (The writing) 3/5
According to Les Inrockuptibles :
“By situating its action (once again) on a Halloween night, Terrifier 2 blurs the line between reality and pretense, and systematically refers, both in its outrageous staging and in its fairground imagery, to artificiality of its effects, creating a necessary distance from the abominations shown.” (By Leo Moser) 3/5
24 pictures
According to Cinema Files :
“A very gory pastiche of 1980s horror cinema, this technically honest and well-acted film suffers from a sluggish script and an astonishing lack of rhythm.” (By Gael Reyre) 2/5
According to The Obs :
“Big problem with this B series bathed in an eighties atmosphere and music: the stupidity of the script which, between clichés of the genre and badly assumed oneirism, stretches complacently over… two hours and eighteen!” (By Nicolas Schaller) 2/5
According to Telerama :
“Badly written, badly acted, badly filmed, this gory pensum is only distinguished by the care taken with the enucleations, guttings and other special effects supposed to fill its abyssal void. Not even afraid!” (By Marie Sauvion) 1/5
Find all the press reviews of Terrifier 2
* According to the press panel present on AlloCiné on January 11, 2023.