“TERRIFIER 2” (2022) REVIEW & EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH WRITER/DIRECTOR DAMIEN LEONE

Every year around the Halloween season I am anxiously waiting for some new horror movies to catch my attention. Sure, I will do the obvious rewatches of some of my favorites (Nightmare on Elm St, some great found footage movies, and etc) but I always want to add a bit of freshly released horror in the mix. We have a big year for horror in 2022. Such movies as “Orphan: First Kill”, “Pearl”, “Deathstream” and many more have been released to entertain our fictional blood lust. Hell, we even have the highly anticipated “Halloween Ends” this year. It is a good time to be a horror fan.

So, when the opportunity came to watch a screener for “Terrifier 2”, I had to jump on it. “Terrifier 2” from Cinedigm in partnership with Iconic Events, Bloody Disgusting & Scream Box, stars David Howard Thorton as Art the Clown, Lauren LaVera as Sienna, Elliot Fullam as Jonathan, Catherine Corcoran as Dawn, and Samantha Scaffidi as Victoria. The movie was written and directed by Damien Leone.

I am a big fan of the work that Damien Leone and David Howard Thorton have done with the “Art the Clown” character. He is like an absurdly sadistic version of Pagliaccio the Clown if he went above and beyond with his murders, as well as treated his victims like brand-new toys he has to play with. Art the Clown is a sadistic killer with the mind of a child but the cunningness of a precision killer who has been slaying his victims for years. Art is one of the best new horror villains to date.

I must say from the first 2-3 minutes “Terrifier 2” amp’d up the insanity, cranked the gore up to 11, and showed that Art the Clown can’t be stopped. His killings are like works of passionate art that somewhat reminds me of slasher villains like Freddy Krueger or the killer John Doe from “Seven”. Each kill is unique, bloody, and their own artistic expression of their tortured minds. This movie drives the storyline, the insanity, the killings, and more which makes the runtime quickly pass you by.

I know there have been some complaints out there about it but like any horror movie, “Terrifier 2” is an acquired taste. It is the sick and twisted thrill ride that we have all been waiting for since the first “Terrifier”. For those (such as myself) who enjoyed every minute of the first movie, will not be disappointed with the sequel. It had me on the edge of my seat simultaneously being horrified at what I saw on my screen but loving every minute the story kept going.

RELATED ARTICLE: 'TERRIFIER 2' Pulls In A Shocking $1.2 Million At The Box Office

I also got the chance to sit down with writer/director Damien Leone to dig deeper into the world of Art the Clown, his sadistic quests, and all things involved with “Terrifier 2”.

Writer/Director Damien Leone

MD: I love all the Art the Clown films previous to this, but “Terrifier 2” took this character to a whole new level with the gore and insanity. What was your process for writing the storyline and making it different from the first “Terrifier”?

DL: A few things. I have been saying for years that “Terrifier” was a club we were trying to get into. We spoke to the bouncer and now we are in, but now we got to hit the dance floor. You got 5 minutes to show you what we got and are made of. With “Terrifier 2” we had to swing for the fences with this one. I made this as if it was the last movie I was ever going to get to make and if I was going to make a mark it was going to be “Terrifier 2” for better or worse.

Really important going into this one was I wanted to grow as a writer. I take a lot of constructive criticisms to heart. A lot of people complained about the lack of a protagonist that they could get behind in part one and a more integrated plot, things like that. So, I really wanted to tackle that. I have had this character of Sienna played by Lauren LaVera who is our final girl in “Terrifier 2” not necessarily her character at first, but I knew I wanted this striking Valkyrie final girl.

I have had that image in my head for a slasher movie since about 2008 and really wanted to get that character on the screen. When it came time to craft this script where I knew I was going to bring Art the Clown back and have this huge supernatural force surrounding everything be a huge part of the movie, adding an “Old Testament warrior angel” its kind of just wrote itself. Bringing these two characters together who are on two separate roads end up coming together and finally clashing at the end.  It is those myths and tropes that are universal that were really fun, exciting, and felt fresh/original marrying the fantasy battling genre with a slasher movie.

MD: Speaking of Art the Clown, he has this thing in all the films (especially this one) where he is hilarious one second and then extremely terrifying the next. What is your writing process when it comes to weaving those two elements into his character for “Terrifier 2”?

DL: I love that about his character. When I made my first short film with Art the Clown, he was only in it for the first 2 minutes of “The 9th Circle”. From there it turns over into this cult with demons, monsters, and such but everyone who saw it loved Art the Clown. I remember specifically setting it up where he is immediately creepy and off-putting, but he isn’t immediately super-threatening. He is just a clown. It's not like he is standing there with a chainsaw, or a machete or something.

The character just takes off so that you can start building this suspense and have him be playful but off-putting, but at the same time, you know something terrible is going to happen. It just keeps building and building. Hearing the awkward laughs and how the audience would be when showing it to friends or seeing it in theaters really ignited the fire within me to keep doing this with the character. There is something special there with Art the Clown. I purposely try to write scenes with this character as much as I can. One of my favorite things to do with him in any of the films makes people feel awkward or uneasy, but then they are completely horrified and turn their eyes away. It is really sadistic but then I will make them laugh again 2 minutes later. It's fun and conducting that when I can.

MD: I have to say my favorite scene (no spoilers of course) is the laundromat scene. The scene was well written and of course well performed by David Howard Thorton. Did he improvise any part in that scene or any others on set?

DL: I don’t know if he did necessarily in the laundromat scene. Maybe when he is mopping the floor in that scene, he does a little weird dance but that whole laundromat scene was all written. It was written because I love the fact that Art’s outfit always starts out clean but then something happens, and it gets progressively bloodier. I loved that about part 1 but in part 2, he is covered from the start. I was thinking “Oh I want to do that again. Start fresh with a clean suit and then get worse”.

I remember driving around delivering flowers at the time. I get most of my ideas just by driving around and listening to some music on the radio. It is hypnotic to me and very relaxing. I wondered how he was going to get back to that clean costume. I didn’t know at first if he was going to buy a new one or steal one. Then I thought we do so many things that are mundane with the character like where he can walk into a pizzeria or things like that.

I thought “why doesn’t he just walk into a laundromat and clean his suit”? I figured I already had David get naked in part one and he was all right with it, so I wanted him to come into the laundromat in the middle of the night. He doesn’t give a shit so he would just go sit down and wash his clothes. It is those little moments like that where we have all seen a million slasher movies, but you have never seen a scene quite like that in one. That was fun to shoot, and I like that it brings the audience into a whole different world of unpredictable Art the Clown stuff.  

MD: One thing I got asked from people when they were curious about what I thought of “Terrifier 2” was if I felt it was too long (I didn’t because to me it was so good). How did you feel extending the runtime in this one compared to the 1st one?

DL:  When I wrote “Terrifier 2” I didn’t think about runtime whatsoever. With any slasher movie, you purposely have to put filler there otherwise your villain is just killing people non-stop within the runtime. With “Terrifier” we were wondering what we could fill in between the kills to keep it interesting. With “Terrifier 2”, it was never a question of filler for me. This was a genuine and organic story that with every single scene in this propels the narrative where you are learning something about a character or character dynamic. You are raising the stakes so that a bit of new information is given to you. I was really careful with crafting it.

Sure, I could trim it down but there was no way I was going to eliminate scenes that were important to the plot, so regardless the movie would have been over 2 hours. It wasn’t until I got to the editing room that I was like “Oh my god this thing is almost 2 and a half hours”. It probably was with the first cut, but I thought this was unacceptable. There are 2-4 scenes that I didn’t bother cutting because I knew that they were really pushing the narrative. I didn’t want people to be sitting in the movie theater bored but with “Terrifier 2” I don’t think it is a boring movie at all. I don’t think that 2 hours and 18 minutes is an absurdly long movie. I grew up watching movies that were way longer. If a movie is done right, it will just play well for you. I feel like it worked with “Terrifier 2”.

MD: Hopefully we will see those “deleted scenes” with the Blu-ray release.

DL: Maybe……..

MD: As an avid horror fan myself (mainly the 80’s era), I loved that practical effects have always been used in these movies. Are these used because you’re an avid horror fan yourself or where practical effects always your go-to?

DL: I actually do all the practical effects for the movies. That’s actually how I got started in filmmaking, by being a make-up effects artist on movies. Clearly, I have been obsessed with horror movies since I was like 3 years old with characters like Jason, Freddy, Michael Myers and etc. They were like my superheroes.

I was always artistic and made my own comic books. When I was 7, I discovered a VHS documentary called “Scream Greats”. It is an hour-long documentary on Tom Savini and his special effects work. He specializes in really graphic gore and started the splatter craze in the 80’s. He changed the horror game. So when seeing on that documentary some of the stuff like “Friday the 13th Part 4” Jason puppet or Fluffy from “Creepshow” a lightbulb when off. I realized that someone makes these monsters, and it is art.

Maybe 5 years later when I was 12 I went to go meet Tom Savini at a horror convention and a vendor at another table had these starter makeup kits. Another vendor had real machetes that were dull and had a semicircle cut out, which was a classic Tom Savini gag. My mother bought all that stuff for me. So, when I got home and opened that makeup kit I was hooked. I considered that moment the first day of the rest of my life. I never stopped after that. I started experimenting with makeup and then I started making short films with the makeup effects I made in them.

Then I got really into filmmaking with writing stories, and I have been on that trajectory ever since. There isn’t a day that goes by that I am not thinking of filmmaking. I love practical effects and like to think I am pretty good at them. With such low-budget movies we can’t always afford to do what Hollywood does but using practical effects pays off for us. There is also a scalping scene in the movie that is one of many homages to the movie “Maniac” and Tom Savini that people will love.

MD: I like to always ask this of everyone I interview. What is your go-to horror movies to watch, especially during the Halloween season?

DL: I always have to watch all the “Halloween” movies every season. The first “Halloween” is one of my favorite movies. During Halloween time John Carpenter really gives me some of the best atmosphere and vibe that I enjoy. I am obsessed with John Carpenter’s movies. “The Fog” is my all-time favorite horror movie ever. Other ones like “The Lost Boys” are also one of my favorites that I have to watch. I always try to watch horror movies with an atmospheric vibe that gets me in the mood to watch movies every October. The 80’s is a great atmosphere when it comes to horror.

MD: Being a big John Carpenter fan I am curious what you thought of his anthology movie “Body Bags”?

DL: I love that one. The first segment at the gas station is my favorite one in the movie. Great horror atmosphere!

Thanks again to Damien Leone for taking the time to sit down with Macabredaily.com and me to chat about his new movie.

So, no surprise here “Terrifier 2” is highly recommended for me. I am just one of those horror fans that will get giddy for a character I enjoy and filmmakers who are clearly horror fans themselves. Not everyone will have the same opinion as me or the opinions of those who didn’t enjoy parts of the movie.

Like any new movie out there you have to carve your own opinion and focus on what you enjoy about it. Pay attention to reviews (obviously) because they really show you the perspective of others and the reason why we are horror fans. Use reviews as a springboard to go buy a ticket or rent a film you are curious about. Whatever the journey you will have some memories from it.

“Terrifier 2” from Cinedigm in partnership with Iconic Events, Bloody Disgusting & Scream Box is now available in over 900 theaters. Go get your ticket and enjoy this new installment to the Art the Clown mythos.  

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