Every so often there are rumours of a horror movie so deranged, gruesome and twisted that it will cause mass hysteria in cinemas and walkouts at film festivals. Think Fresh, Crimes of the Future or Smile. The latest film to allegedly trigger violent and visceral bodily reactions from its viewers is Terrifier 2, the graphic slasher from Damien Leone as part of his Art the Clown franchise.
As reported by horror movie news site Bloody Disgusting, the film has now been officially submitted to the Academy for Oscar consideration. “In all seriousness, it’s absolutely insane that this ultra-slasher is actually playing in theaters across the country,” writes movie producer Brad Miska, who says that the opportunity to submit T2 was “too funny not to” do. “The film managed to escape into mainstream theaters completely uncut and gory as can be. We broke all the rules and fans rewarded us with tremendous support that shook the system to its core.”
So what is this allegedly vomit-inducing film actually about? What are viewers saying about it, and when can you watch it? Read on!
What’s the plot of the film?
Terrifier 2 follows on a year later from the events of the 2016 “splatter”-genre film Terrifier, where two drunk friends, Tara and Dawn, who have left a Halloween party, and Vicky (Tara’s sister who is on her way to pick them up) are terrorised by Art, an unhinged cannibal clown serial killer (literally the worst combination imaginable), played by David Howard Thornton. In the sequel, having been resurrected from the dead and become an urban legend, Art returns to continue his massacres, terrorising a bereaved family on Halloween night. While the first movie was infamous for face-eating, chainsaw-hacking, shit-smearing, eye-gouging and decapitation, its sequel only continues its graphic legacy, whilst also adding in a supernatural element.
What are people saying about it?
The morbid scenes of the latest movie have often proved to be too much for certain cinemagoers. “Just saw Terrifier 2. It was an amazing, gory mess. The guy behind me passed out cold [and] crashed into my chair, another guy left because he didn’t feel good, I overheard him say, and walking out [the] theatre door I heard a guy puking hard & loud in the bathroom,” tweeted @Bark_4KT, a horror movie stan. “#Terrifier2 my friend passed out and the theatre called an ambulance. Highly recommended,” shared @ratshitbastard, another connoisseur of the genre who also posted a photo of his friend sitting in the cinema lobby and being attended to by medics.
Damien Leone – who introduced the world to Art with the short film The Ninth Circle (2009) and the anthology movie All Hallow’s Eve (2013) and its sequel – has responded to the reports too, and he has mixed feelings. “I would have loved to have a couple of walk-outs, I think that’s sort of a badge of honour because it is an intense movie,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t want people fainting [or] getting hurt during the movie. But it’s surreal. Here’s the thing, it’s called Terrifier 2, you should probably see Terrifier 1 before you jump into this one. If you see Terrifier 1, you’d know what you’re getting into.”
When and where can I watch?
If you’re brave enough to venture to watch the vomit-inducing Terrifier 2, it is currently in theatres in the US before becoming available to stream on the platform Screambox, and will play at multiple “prominent genre festivals” this year. If you’re in the UK, you won’t miss out either: Terrifier 2 arrived straight to Blu-Ray and VOD on 24 October.