Dir. Damien Leone | Now Streaming On: Prime | Rating: 2/5

You know I had to come back from hiatus with a bang. Let’s talk about our dear friend Art the Clown, and Damien Leone’s gorefest Terrifier 2.

My review of the first Terrifier (technically second if we count All Hallow’s Eve) is one of my most controversial in the community. In short, I wasn’t a fan.

Terrifier 2 attempts to remedy two of my qualms from its predecessor, the male gaze and the skimpy storyline. It features a larger cast and tries to add substantial story, particularly for our female lead. However, it fumbles the ball. The film is excruciatingly long. This did not need to be 2+ hours, especially with shaky dialogue. Somehow, Leone doubled the cast size and still only included one person of color, who doesn’t even get a name.

Now to our pal Art and his new sidekick Emily. Thorton and McLain are insanely talented character actors. These two are maniacally enchanting in the best way, stealing the spotlight in every scene. I wish they had been given more to work with, because this flop is no fault of theirs.

The gore is gratuitous, but not in a way that feels outwardly exploitative. It falls victim to one of my biggest qualms of contemporary horror, kills that go beyond any semblance of reality and take me out of the scare entirely.

Our dynamic duo, the synthwave soundtrack, and the skillful cinematography give this a leg up from its predecessor, but not by much in my book.

Know Before You Watch: Features death, blood, extreme gore, flashing lights, drug use, mention of suicide.