Chad

Undeadcow

Despite all the weaknesses I found myself enjoying Terrifier 2. It's well paced, got slick direction, and filled with seasonal spirit even if sometimes a stretched thin parade of set pieces and eye rolling developments.
The Art character works better here because it's more balanced with dramatic moments. The clown (similar to Freddy Krueger) is an interesting contrast to the blank faced killer or gothic shadows typical of horror movies and here his pantomime gag seemed to work better than the first (and as a duo). Here Art feels implausibly all powerful which helps some of the brainless shock.
The surreal dream imagery and more carefully constructed suspense go a long way in the sequel, but makes it feel even more random at times - like the characters dont even have a motive, they're autopiloted by dream and destiny. They really beat us over the head with foreshadowing about the dad (I expected more from the dad subplot considering its screentime) or the redeeming angel character.
I appreciate the unwaivering gore - the mom's head candy bowl with trick r treaters is a brilliantly bloody scene as is the shotgun exploding head in the garage. Its a film thats not afraid to be mean, sometimes to a fault.
I hated the first film. I think the scene where the kids are poking at an obviously fake dead possum trying to trick a girl into seeing it is a good metaphor for these films. Even here at times there's little development other than people implausibly obsessing over the clown, a year later - which feels too much like the crew self congratulating.

Spiderbite

I hated this movie and won't be revisiting it. This is what I wrote about it previously/////


The first one is decent but still kinda dull. The second one is just plain out boring. These movies should be 80 minutes tops if they are going to have a one note story and the highlights are the gore.

The effects are impressive, especially for the budget, but there is only so much gross-out effects I can stand. If the story doesn't intrigue me, then what is the point of the gory effects if I am bored the other 90% of the time?

Give me something like the original Martyrs. An hour and 40 minutes, gory as fuck but with a fascinating storyline that grips you throughout.


/////So no thanks...no interesting watching this again. My rating: * out of *****

clckworang

I liked this well enough. I think I was more forgiving of the first compared to others around here. I'm a bit of a gorehound, and there is certainly plenty of that. It's nice to see so much practical effects. While Art is kind of a fun character, it also sort of annoys me how all-powerful he is. It gives me more of a feeling of "what's the point" than other comparable slashers.

But the movie also isn't doing itself any favors when it has such a long runtime. Damn. I guess the filmmakers really fell in love with some of the gags and just couldn't bring themselves to cut. The movie needed more focus. That being said, I'll probably revisit it.

Mike86

Watched it when it first came to streaming. I think Art the Clown is a cool looking character and has potential to be a horror icon, but I really don’t like either of the movies.

The second one is probably a better movie technically in terms of having a story but for me it was just too damn long for its own good.

Plus the big death scene that’s talked about to me was just too drawn out and after a certain point it was like we get it, Art is a fucked up guy and likes torturing his victims. Just not my thing really.

joe_b

Same. Didn't really feel either one... be it the acting, the cheap digital look - plus the over reliance on extreme gore. If The Asylum started making X-rated horror, it might feel like this (just with computer generated blood splatter). But would I still buy an Art the Clown action figure? If it was well done, probably. I know there are a few out there already. He's a memorable character with a creepy design

My brother purchased a signed 8x10 from David Howard Thornton at the Scarefest convention last weekend. The writer/director and all the main cast of the second movie were there and charging around $40 each for autographs (selfie not included). I'm not sure how much of a draw they were, since even Thornton only had one person ahead of us when we got to his table. Still, there were several cosplayers dressed as Art and the dealer booths were full of Terrifier artwork and apparel.

Anyway, he was nice. A bit distracted at first because he was placing a food order. My brother's nickname is Scotty, so David softly started singing "Scotty Doesn't Know" from EuroTrip - then told him "You've never heard that before, huh?"

Spiderbite

So, I said I wouldn't rewatch this but since I decided this year to view every subset movie, even if I had seen it before...so...well...I rewatched it.

I didn't hate it this time as much as I did on the first viewing. I think I went it with WAY too high expectations due to its astounding popularity, so I expected so much more.

Instead, you get 2+ hours of torture porn with a pretty nothing plot. I will say I do like the "personality" (for lack of a better word) of Art The Clown and how he acts so sheepishly after killing someone giving the camera an Alfred E Neuman "What Me Worry" look.

Him giving candy to the kids out of a "real" decapitated head is hilarious and horrifying at the same time. But the kills seem just too extreme and cruel. I guess it sounds silly to say something like that when I am a fan of the majority of Halloween, Freddy & Jason films but these run really close to the Saw level of taking cruelty just a little too far. Though I guess one can argue that killing anything is taking it too far so what is the difference on how you get there?

And I do like that they still wholeheartedly with practical effects. Especially the blood. Almost nothing worse than CG blood in movies.

I have been preaching this forever but goddammit Hollywood...listen! Every movie doesn't have to be 2+ hours. Fuck that. I wish movies would go back to being 70 to 90 minutes tops. In and out. Everything isn't The Godfather and doesn't have to be that length. Learn to tell your story better and learn to edit. For fuck's sake!

I upped my rating to: ** out of *****

mallratcal

I thought this was very disappointing. Way too long for the nothing plot that it was.

Trevor

I’m ok with outrageous gore if the story if halfway decent. But this was just completely gratuitous sex and gore, the laziest sort of movie making and a 0/10 for me.

Spiderbite

Gratuitous sex?

You sure you watched the right movie? 🤔

jholmes

There was a lot to like about this. The characters were interesting, the acting was good, and production values high-end. In general, I liked the Art the Clown character. I had to look away from the gore. It was too much. I like it better when a little is left to the imagination. A bigger issue, though, is the run time. It just went on way too long. The climax, especially, felt endless and, to me, taxed the viewer, lost the viewer. It certainly lost me. I was screaming at her to find the f'ing knife they spent so much time setting up and kill him already. It really was a shame. The director really needed a good editor.

WillieMLF

This was just WAY TOO LONG for what it was. We were at the park, and there was still 45 minutes to go! I think the editor got killed by Art at some point, because he was nowhere to be seen. Someone mentioned this had more of a story than the first one, but I just didn't see much of a story here. This was a showcase of a bunch of kills strung together. The effects were great, but I was just looking at my watch more than focused on the movie, so it was a real miss for me.

The friend answers the door, and Art wants some candy. I thought this 'teenager' was the mom she looked so old. This scene really threw me and I lost a good bit of time getting back on track. Yeah, I know! Getting a 35 year old to play a teenager is a novel concept in horror movies.

Gratuitous sex? I think you mixed this up with another movie Trevor.

Agree the head as the candy bowl was wicked and brilliantly done. 'My candy is sticky. Just put it in your bag.' LOL This is one twisted dude.

Trevor

Guess being awake 45 of the past 48 hours to finish the checklist made me confuse my movies. Think it was one of the other subsets that had the double dose of gratuitousness. This was still an easy 0/10 for me.

Undeadcow

"Good news" - there will be a Terrifier 3 that will "return to the tone" of the first and followup on all the dangling plot threads from this sequel...

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...235636718/amp/