With all the hype around the Terrifier series (the third movie out at the cinemas right now), I thought I’d check out the first film. I’ve always loved splatterpunk (though I think the kids now call it extreme horror)—the gorier, the better, and all the talk was that Leone had pushed the limits of the genre. And while Terrifier is brutal, it’s no more vicious than a Stuart Gordon film or the video nasties of the 80s.* The practical effects are on par with a Stuart Gordon film, though, to be fair to Leone, his budget was tiny.**

It sounds like I didn’t much like the film. Not true. It’s so nonsensical and over-the-top that I couldn’t help but enjoy the silliness and rivers of gore. The cheapness, lack of plot***, poor acting, and ropey effects gave me a nostalgic buzz.

David Howard Thornton, who plays Art the Clown, elevates this film from one of the more forgettable gore-fests of my youth. He takes the familiar horror trope of the creepy clown and makes it so much more disturbing and wrong. Pennywise would shit his dacks if he saw Art. The Killer Klowns would head back to outer space, as for Horny the Clown—pffft. Thornton’s performance, the way he moves, is balletic in its creepiness. But it’s the way he smiles… that will give some nightmares.

I hear the sequel is a better film with an actual story, a budget and production values. I look forward to it and the third film.****