LogFAQs > #965077618

27. Terrifier (348 points)

Why I Chose It: A stand-alone spin-off of the All Hallows Eve anthology film series, Terrifier represents a conscious effort to create a new iconic slasher for the 2010s - Art the Clown. And it worked. Thanks to a decade obsessed and haunted by clowns, Art the Clown has surely become an influence on underground horror culture and the mainstream as well, from inspiring the music of Ghostemane to providing outfit inspiration on RuPaul's Drag Race, while keeping one foot rooted in a grindhouse, road show style of horror where gore and exploitation are king and important aspects to be explored in the genre. Terrifier's notoriety should only be expected to grow as a sequel releases this year.

Plasmabeam: 7
Snake: 8
FFDragon: 14
red13n: 15
Tom Nook: 16
Johnbobb: 24
Inviso: 26
BetrayedTangy: 29
thesmark: 29
fortybelowsummer: 30
jcgamer107: 30
Lightning Strikes: 30
PrinceKaro: 30
rockus: 30
Suprak: 30

Plasmabeam - Im not a big slasher guy, but Terrifier had me gripped from the moment the clown entered the pizza shop. And what a scene that wasthe suspense leading up to the first kill can only be described as delicious.

Though the plot and characters are simplistic, something about this movie resonates in a way that gives me no choice but to put it in my Top 10. Terrifier reminds me of some of my favorite Richard Laymon novels: sleazy, nasty, andbest of allunsafe.

Snake - Look, deep down, Im aware this movie is pretty dumb. Its got standard slasher tropes, cliches, and idiotic characters. And yet, I love it anyway. A lot of that is definitely due to David Howard Thorntons portrayal of Art the Clown. His mannerisms, black comedy, and pure brutality put him in the upper echelon of horror antagonists for me. One thing Im pretty afraid of are clowns - and Thornton just nails all the aspects of a clown that just make me cringe up and give me goosebumps just by looking at him. Like take the scene in the pizza shop - I would feel so uncomfortable if I was eating there and this fucker dressed like a clown rolled up and sat a table just across from me, Halloween night or not. The Art just sits there - smiling, with his almost bloody looking mouth is the stuff of nightmares. But what also makes it work is the comedy involved - having Dawn interact with Art, taking photos with him, instead of just instantly running away disarms the viewer a little bit - Arts deadpan look as he goes through this cracks me up, as if hes in disbelief himself of whats happening. Its not the type of interaction you really see too much in a slasher film - where a killer is passive and interacting in a normal environment. Some other stuff I love - the disgusting weird apartment warehouse environment, like the rest of the film, its so over-the-top nasty and gives the film a nice sense of location and atmosphere. And of course the kills - Dawns bisection even gives Bone Tomahawk a run for its money, but the non-Art kill by Vicky where she gouges out Monicas eyes is pretty brutal too, and Vickys general make-up as well - wow! Reminds me of No-Face from Twisted Metal: Black. For me, despite some issues, Terrifier is delightfully un-self-conscious, and offers up plenty of scares, whether it's from scary clowns or intense gore, in a way only independent grindhouses can.

FFDragon - I feel like this encapsulates B-Horror nonsense perfectly. It's not a good movie, but I enjoyed watching it.

Red13n - Evil clown thing that can possibly revive itself goes on a murder spree. There really isn't much else to say about this. After standing around ominously for a bit the thing just kind of goes and murders every character you are introduced to. None of them are particularly exciting people, or particularly enduring people, so there isn't much attachment here. You think people might be the main characters but nope they are actually just there to die. This might be the most straight to the point get exactly what you paid for movie on this list. It doesn't make it good, it doesn't even really make it bad, it just is.

Tom Nook - A pure low budget gorefest slasher. There is nothing else this is trying to be. It hits exactly what it aims for. While Art the Clown is yet another silent killer, he really sets himself apart with the way he emotes, which goes a long way at making this better. Plus I really love his visual look. The protagonists are all pretty garbage, which makes Art the one to root for, which is a perfectly fine way to watch a slasher like this. This movie even pulled a Psycho, by disposing of the unlikable 'main' protagonist halfway through and replacing her with her sister. The scene where Art suddenly pulls out and fires a pistol cracked me up, because it was so unexpected and outside of the killer's (and movie's) style prior to that point. I loved that moment! I haven't seen a killer and movie cheat like that since Funny Games! The moment where he actually offed her for good was great too. Just unloading into her fucking face. Take that! Another moment I liked was when Art wore the dead woman's naked body. Art's face already looks a little bit like Marilyn Manson, so in my head I just kept hearing "The Dope Show" play during that scene. I could see a lot of people hating this movie for being too cruel and shallow. That isn't an inaccurate way to describe the movie either. But if you want a mean-spirited gorefest of a slasher, this does the trick.

On a side note, even though there are plenty of low-budget slashers out there, this movie reminded me A LOT of Laid to Rest. In both situations it's a low-budget slasher with a silent villain who looks cool, with tons of gore made from practical effects, set in the modern era yet feels weirdly old timey. Art the Clown is better than Chromeskull though, but Laid to Rest has better protagonists and gore effects.

Johnbobb - I feel like I would've enjoyed this one more if I had seen it when it came out? I don't know, there just wasn't really much here to really make this one stand out to me. Sure, the killer clown is scary and disturbing but everything just sort of seems to happen, and none of it really feels like there's reason behind it. What Terrifier lacks is cohesion. Maybe that randomness is the point? Either way it doesn't quite work for me all that well.