Creeptober Day 10: Terrifier 2
If you can handle the gore, join us as we revisit Terrifier 2 as part of Creeptober, and as preparation for Terrifier 3 hitting theaters this week!
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Day 10 of Creeptober takes a violent, gory shift away from the tone of the previous few days in our month-long movie marathon. Today’s film is Terrifier 2, a surprise horror hit of 2022. Like the previous Terrifier, this sequel takes place on Halloween and has a throwback appeal for slasher and splatter fans. Squeamish viewers might need to look away, but for fans of blood and guts, Terrifier 2 is a solid choice for seasonal viewing.
Read on for our thoughts on Terrifier 2 as well as a recap of the movie, and join the conversation on our Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram!
Reacting to Terrifier 2
Terrifier 2 isn’t for everyone. However, for fans of splatter movies and gory slasher flicks, it’s great to see something like this getting the adulation that it’s received in the couple of years since its release. It’s also wonderful to see a new, original slasher villain capturing people’s attention like Art the Clown has. And it’s equally gratifying to witness the rise of a new final girl in Sienna Shaw (and new scream queen in Lauren LaVera). So, despite all the naysayers who think Terrifier 2 is gross and awful, it has done many great things for horror cinema.
I enjoy Terrifier 2, but I will gladly admit that I prefer Terrifier. The previous movie is grittier than the sequel. It feels grimy in a way similar to watching trashy (I use that term in a positive way) slashers of earlier decades. There is less in the way of story, which, in my personal tastes, makes it feel more focused on the horror and violence. To me, Art is scarier in Terrifier than in the sequel. The Art of Terrifier 2 is great, but the tone is different.
So why did we pick Terrifier 2? Because, despite preferring the earlier, I still enjoy this sequel immensely. For practical reasons, we put Terrifier 2 on the tenth of October because Terrifier 3 comes out on the eleventh. But this movie was always going to be part of Creeptober regardless of whether or not a new sequel was being released. That’s because Terrifier 2 is one of the best Halloween movies for fans of gore. meaning, fans like me, and hopefully some of you reading this.
To be fair, there is a lot more to the movie than just the gore. As I was watching it this year, so close to having just watched A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 as part of Creeptober, I noticed that Sienna’s introduction in this movie is a lot like Kristen’s introduction in Dream Warriors. They’re both up late working on an art project, they both have a horrible nightmare (Sienna’s happens later in the movie than Kristen’s, but it still happens), and they both wake from their nightmare in the middle of a dangerous situation that they are blamed for and that infuriates their mother. I don’t know if this was an intentional allusion by writer/director Damien Leone, but I cannot unsee it now. And I love it.
The entirety of Terrifier 2 feels like a classic (as in, from the 1980s to 1990s) supernatural slasher to me. The movie does a good job of looking somewhat timeless in that way. Sure, we see modern technology and know the story is set in recent years, but I’m talking about the overall tone. The color palette, the way the scenes are framed and shot, the editing, the gore effects. They all feel older in a way that evokes the feeling of a previous decade, while still looking as sharp as we’d expect modern movies to appear.
As for the story of Terrifier 2, I think it’s fine. It definitely feels like part one of something longer. I understand that’s the intention, but leaving a lot of things unresolved (for example, how Sienna’s father is connected to all of this) means the movie will be better after more sequels are released. The lore being created with this movie is mildly interesting to me, but it’s not what I care about most. Still, as a single story about siblings being stalked by a killer clown, I like it. It works to get us where it needs to go.
Not surprisingly though, the best parts of Terrifier 2 are when it’s just being a slasher movie. Art the Clown is creepy and fun to watch. Sienna is instantly likable and easy to sympathize with. And the kill scenes are nasty and brutal. This is where the joy in Terrifier 2 comes from, the stalking and the slashing. It’s an extremely fun modern slasher movie that gives its fans exactly what they want.
Terrifier 2 – A Recap
Terrifer 2 begins with the continuation of Art the Clown’s resurrection as seen at the end of the first Terrifier movie. We watch as Art attacks a morgue technician and takes his eye to replace the one Art lost earlier in the night. After a quick trip to the laundromat where Art meets a Little Pale Girl who is also dressed like a demented clown, Art is whole once again.
The rest of the events of Terrifier 2 take place one year later. The story follows 17-year-old Sienna Shaw and her younger brother Jonathan. Sienna and Jonathan’s father passed away due to a brain tumor, and their mother has become overstressed and quick to anger. During the day on October 31st, both Sienna and Jonathan have unnerving encounters with Art the Clown. Sienna is particularly shaken due to a nightmare she had about Art the previous night, and because a fire mysteriously broke out in her room. In the afternoon, she dismisses Jonathan’s claims that their father knew something about Art, despite the fact that he shows her pictures of Art their father created before his death. However, Sienna confides in her mother that she believes Jonathan.
That night, Sienna goes to a party with her friend Brooke. Their friend Allie was supposed to join them, but they are unaware that she was brutally killed by Art earlier in the day. Jonathan, who was suspended from school, gets into an argument with his mother. He runs away after she slaps him, and while he’s away Art kills Jonathan’s mother. Art and the Pale Girl kidnap Jonathan. Perfectly imitating the boy’s voice, the Pale Girl calls Sienna and begs her to come find her brother at an abandoned carnival.
Brooke’s boyfriend Jeff drives her and Sienna to the carnival’s location. As Sienna goes inside to find her brother, Art kills Jeff. Art follows Brooke as she tries to escape, and he kills her as well. Sienna finds Brooke’s body and is confronted by Art. Jonathan arrives at the scene, which leads to a chase and a prolonged battle. In the fight, Art is injured, and Sienna is stabbed in the torso by the blade her father gave her before his death. As Art tortures Jonathan, Sienna is magically healed and resurrects after spending time in what appears to be an alternate dimension. Sienna kills Art by cutting off his head with her sword. As Sienna and Jonathan embrace, the Pale Girl leaves with Art’s severed head.
In a mid-credits scene, Victoria Heyes, the survivor of Art’s murder spree the previous year, suddenly gives birth to Art’s living head.
Keep Up with Creeptober!
- The entire list of 31 movies is here: Join Us for Creeptober: 31 Horror Movies in 31 Days
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