TERRIFIER

US, 2016, 85 minutes, Colour.

Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidii, David Howard Thornton, Catherine Corcoran, Matt McAllister, Pooya Mohseni.

Directed by Damien Leone.

The Terridier horror (somebody suggested they should be Gorror films) films have built up something of a reputation, the first appearing in 2016, a small budget modestly timed thriller, then, in 2022, Terrifier 2 with a running time over two hours. Then there was Terrifier 3 in 2024, also running over two hours, and a Terrifier 4 is in preparation. And, in 2024, David Howard Thornton who plays the title role in this franchise directed A Special Terrify a Christmas.

The films have been written and directed by Damien Leone, an editor and special effects producer and designer.

The original Terrifier, small-budget, a number of grisly killings and close-ups of gore, splatter and the brutality, sometimes staying on screen just some moments too long, other times cutting away, that gave the film something of a reputation and turned it into a cult movie leading to the sequels, with Terrifier 2 getting favourable reviews.

As regards Terrifier itself, the IMDbs succinct summary is clear: A maniac named Art the Clown terrorizes two friends on Halloween and everyone who gets in his way.

The audience sees Art the Clown getting dressed with his make up, going out on the prowl, accosting two young women at Halloween, going into the diner and doing mime processes with his face, some sinister, some happy, one girl alarmed, the other not. And he is ousted by the owner. Then, the abducting of one girl, then the other, the murder of the owner of the diner and his associate. The abducted girl seems to be the star of the show but is killed half way through, having phoned her sister to come to the rescue, then the pursuit of the sister, and several more killings.

Then, the police confrontation, shootings, taken to the morgue, the doctor of the morgue becoming victim because Art the Clown seems unable to die.

The screenplay does, in fact, work on very conventional lines in terms of plot development, introduction of characters, dispatch of characters – and the acting not particularly startling except for the strange Catwoman with the baby doll, some mania, played by Iranian born actor and transgender activist, Pooya Mohsen, who has the most humane of the scenes.

Clearly, a film that only horror enthusiasts would want to follow (and, initially, the comments on the IMDb were highly critical).