Notable Cast: Lauren LaVera, David Howard Thorton, Elliot
Fullam, Sarah Voigt, Kailey Hyman, Casey Hartnett, Catherine Corcoran, Amelie
McLain, Charlie McElveen
Although I was inherently struck with the original Terrifier
with its stylish and utterly nihilistic take on the slasher genre, it’s a film
I had not revisited since reviewing it for Blood Brothers in 2018. Not that it
didn’t do an admirable job in modernizing the genre while simultaneously
delivering a throwback 80s over-the-top slasher, but the genre just isn’t my
personal favorite. However, the now infamously cult favorite villain Art the
Clown did deserve a sequel in true slasher fashion, and the fact that it took 5
years for Terrifier 2 seemed like it was unjustifiably long.
It’s a damn slasher, how hard is it to write and direct a
sequel? The first film was devilishly simple, so the sequel could do very
little and still be successful.
Now that Art is back, returning with writer/director Damien
Leone who gets his name above the title, it became very apparent why it was
taking so long for Leone and company to deliver the sequel. Terrifier 2
is so much more than its predecessor. Not only does this brutal beast run a
whopping 138 minutes (an unheard-of length for a slasher film) but it’s taking
the franchise in some bold new directions. It’s still hitting the elements of
success from its predecessor, but it’s smartly pushing the franchise forward
into some gloriously delirious and vicious new places - and nailing it.
One might say that too often films sacrifice their
simplicity for world-building in the sequel (that one is me - by the way), but
in the case of Terrifier 2, it’s justified and oddly fitting. After a
standard slasher opening - which finds Art the Clown surviving the events of Terrifier,
obliterating the morgue attendant, and making his way to a laundromat, the film
proceeds to spend a lot of time building up its protagonists some one year
later. Art the Clown might be a major draw as such a strange and effective
antagonist, but Terrifier 2 smartly builds protagonists to balance out
the narrative.
Our teenage protagonists, blissfully looking
age-appropriate, are Sienna and Jonathon. The brother and sister duo, played
impressively well for a low-budget slasher by Lauren LaVera and Elliot Fullam
respectively, are out to celebrate Halloween night, but Terrifier 2
spends a lot of time developing their relationship and building in a mysterious
connection with the Clown Prince of Slash. Although most of their relationship
runs the gamut of classic cinematic brother/sister characterizations (the loss
of a parent, misunderstandings in miscommunication, bullies, etc.) it’s
remarkably well crafted here for a slasher. It helps that the duo has some
acting chops to carry the film through its tropes and the film has plenty of
time to develop it - I did mention this thing is 138 minutes right? - but it’s
still a pleasant surprise throughout.
In particular, the focus on developing Sienna into the final
girl of the film, in some thoughtfully heroic manners, feeds well into creating
a slasher heroine icon that’s damn near as narratively (and visually) impactful
as Art the Clown is as a villain. Perhaps the “valkyrie” Halloween outfit she
dons for the third act helps out a bit, but it’s a smart maneuver by Leone to
capture the essence of the tonality he’s aiming for in the film.
Despite the strength of its villain and heroine (and her
brother) in Terrifier 2, the biggest surprise does come from the new
tonality of the picture. While the previously mentioned opening sequence
reminds the audience about the first film’s motivation-less villain and
brutality of its violence, it also adds in the first inkling of how things in
this sequel will change. Art the Clown has an invisible friend. His new friend,
credited as The Little Pale Girl, shows up in the first handful of sequences
and brings in a more dream-like vibe to the rest of the film.
It’s this dream-like quality that takes the foundation of what Terrifier was playing with - think of a more brutal spin on the concepts of Halloween and pushes it fully into Nightmare on Elm Street territory. Punctuated by a very extensive (read: a bit too long) dream sequence where Sienna ends up in a commercial for a clown-themed food truck that ends in some delightful gore, the ethereal tone seeps further and further into the film so that its finale ends up feeling like a full-on nightmare, popping with carnival-inspired visuals that are only a half-step from some of the better dream sequences of the Elm Street saga with hints of giallo inspired moments.
When it is all boiled down, Terrifier 2 does deliver
on what fans loved about the predecessor. Art the Clown is darkly comedic and
brutal, the gore is impeccably well-crafted special effects that will make the most
hardcore fan gag a bit, and the film grinds its teeth to the gums on the
slasher tropes with vicious glee. What sets it aside and raises the stakes are
the new focus on developing its protagonists, creating a much larger world for
this universe to live in, and manipulating the tone to create a nightmarish
narrative that bleeds over the black-and-white lines of its formula like a
watercolor tapestry.
If you could not tell, Terrifier 2 ends up being one
of the biggest shocks of the year and one of the most effective horror slasher
sequels in the history of the genre. It’s bolder, bigger, and bloodier.
Stay for a mid-credits bonus that teases an even more
mind-boggling expansion of this franchise - if we are so blessed to receive a Terrifier
3.
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