Terrifier – 2016

Terrifier is a horror film that brings us back to the golden era of slashers. Or at least to a time when slasher kills were fun and inventive. The kills are fun and brutal as well as witty and brutal. The clown – Art the Clown is a perfect killer as his mask is the clown’s makeup. So, there’s a masked killer in Terrifier. It was a long time since I saw a masked killer dealt with so effectively. What’s funny about it is that Art, the clown never speaks a single word. I don’t know if he’s supposed to be a mime but there is the constant contrast between a clown being funny and a maniac being terrifying. It is a great portrayal by David Howard Thornton.

I’m of course very late with both seeing and reviewing Terrifier. I just haven’t felt up to watching slashers in a long time. I’ve been into other genres and have just recently been able to watch some more movies again. I’m glad I picked this one, and I’m glad I waited till I was ready to watch it. I think the experience became so much better that way. I could give it justice and as a bonus I kind of got into horror and slashers again. I sure will watch the sequel soon.

Surviving Certain Death

There is something special about a reoccurring perpetrator that seems invincible and immortal. If you’ve seen Terrifier you know what I mean. Or for that matter, if you saw any part of the Friday the 13th franchise. You know that Jason Voorhees will survive anything, even certain death. It seems to be the same with Art, the clown which is a concept I really like. Evil is all around us and evil can never die. That’s the main message these films give us.

Despite being kind of a classic slasher, it’s still not very much about sex. Compared to the campfire slashers where the most certain way to meet your death is by having sex. Terrifier isn’t like that. There’s no sex involved, just pure terror. And I must admit that there are certain scenes where it was really ghastly to watch it. There’s something about a figure just standing there and watching without saying a word. There’s no motive for the murders other than pure evil or something that isn’t explained to the audience. I think it’s the right path to go if you want to be really terrifying. Don’t explain so much, let the bad guys be bad guys. They don’t need a motive for killing in gruesome ways.

Highly Recommended!