Announced in France for next December 28, “Terrifier 2” won a surprise success in the United States with, as a result, many discomforts and vomiting.
In cinema, horror has never been so popular. You only have to see the surprise successes of Smile, The Black Phone and Barbarian – released directly on Disney+ in France – to be convinced. Another nightmarish trip, much more extreme, has slipped into the cards of the year 2022: Terrifier 2 by Damien Leone.
Sequel to a low-budget film released in 2016, this second part was made possible thanks to crowdfunding. With a budget of $250,000, it grossed over $10 million. Why such an interest ? In the United States, Terrifier 2 leaves no one indifferent. And for good reason, he turns the stomach of his audience. Discomfort and vomiting forced some to leave the room.
Thanks to word of mouth, the phenomenon crosses the Atlantic to come to France. Here, the film has the luxury of a theatrical release – scheduled for December 28. A rare decision for this type of production. To top it off, Damien Leone’s feature film was even submitted, not without irony, to the Academy of Oscars.
Does Terrifier 2 live up to its reputation?
The story takes place during the Halloween party. Sienna and her little brother become the targets of Art, a crazed and bloodthirsty clown. After this rather simplistic postulate, Terrifier 2 goes into overdrive to offer an ambitious horrific spectacle of 2h15. The film does not spare its characters and even less its spectators with cruel killings, but not devoid of humor.
The violence is so extreme that it becomes burlesque, if not cartoonish. There is, for example, this poor victim who, after being scalped, has his bones broken and his skin cut up. You think you’ve seen it all and yet: the killer comes back with a bottle of bleach and salt to finish it off. Sadism elevated to the rank of a work of art.
dark age cinema Art, the clown, the star of “Terrifier 2”.
Needless to say, these sequences look even more impressive on the big screen. No wonder some viewers weren’t strong enough to take the shock. In Terrifier 2, there is so much bloodshed that the walls always end up painted red.
dark age cinema
On screen, the monster is played by David Howard Thornton.
For the most sensitive, the trip may be complicated and that’s without counting on Art, the star of the film. With it, director Damien Leone plays with childhood fears and creates a new horror icon. Beyond her immediately recognizable look, it’s her tense smile that makes your hair stand on end.
Brilliantly played by David Howard Thornton, the mute character takes on the appearance of a mime and goes from laughter to fear in the snap of a finger. The actor has a field day and it shows. What to pass the clown of Stephen King for a small player.
Terrifier 2, at the cinema on December 28 in France.