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Terrifier 2

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Terrifier 2
A black and white clown with a tiny top hat holds a spiked hammer. Below a scene of fire and bodies, and standing among them is a young woman dressed as a warrior angel.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDamien Leone
Written byDamien Leone
Produced by
  • Damien Leone
  • Phil Falcone
  • George Steuber
  • Michael Leavy
  • Steven Della Salla
  • Jason Leavy
Starring
  • Lauren LaVera
  • Elliot Fullam
  • Sarah Voigt
  • Kailey Hyman
  • Casey Harnett
  • David Howard Thornton
CinematographyGeorge Steuber
Edited byDamien Leone
Music by
  • Rostislav Vaynshtok
  • Paul Wiley
Production
companies
  • Dark Age Cinema
  • Fuzz on the Lens Productions
Distributed byBloody Disgusting
Release dates
  • August 29, 2022 (2022-08-29) (FrightFest)
  • October 6, 2022 (2022-10-06) (United States)
Running time
138 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$250,000[1][2]
Box office$2.5 million[3]

Terrifier 2 is a 2022 American splatter film written, directed, edited, and produced by Damien Leone. It is a sequel to Terrifier (2016), and is the second film in the franchise. It features the return of David Howard Thornton and Samantha Scaffidi, who respectively portrayed Art the Clown and Victoria Heyes in the first film, and stars Lauren LaVera, Elliot Fullam, Sarah Voigt, Kailey Hyman, and Casey Harnett. The story follows Art's resurrection and pursuit of Sienna Shaw (LaVera) and her younger brother Jonathan (Fullam) on Halloween night — a year after the events of the first film.

The film originates from a feature film concept Leone began developing shortly after filming his directorial debut short film The 9th Circle (2009). The concept of the planned film focused heavily on a heroine in an angel costume battling the Art character. It ultimately fell apart, but after the release of Terrifier (2016), Leone wanted to bring the heroine back as the protagonist—she would evolve into Sienna, someone Leone describes as the "heart and soul" of Terrifier 2. Leone spent three months writing a character-driven screenplay following criticism of the first film's perceived lack of narrative.

Funding for the film was exacting as the script was more ambitious than the first film and required a bigger budget. Leone secured finances from private investors before filming, and he launched an Indiegogo campaign with a $50k goal to film a practical effects-driven scene. The campaign was a massive success, reaching over 430% of the initial goal with a total of $250k in donations. It is one of the numerous films impacted by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic with principal photography coming to a halt mid-2020 due to the pandemic lockdowns.

The film had its world premiere at the FrightFest on August 29, 2022, and premiered in the United States on October 6, 2022. It was met with positive reviews from critics, with praise being directed at Thorton and LaVera's performances and the screenplay, with many critics considering the film to be an improvement over its predecessor. The violent and gory sequences allegedly led to emergency services having to be called from viewers fainting and vomiting in theaters.[4]

Plot

After being resurrected by an unknown entity following the Miles County Massacre, Art the Clown murders the coroner investigating his dead body. He goes to the laundromat to clean his blood-soaked garments where he encounters a ghostly girl dressed in similar clown makeup.

A year later, Sienna Shaw puts the finishing touches on her Halloween costume: a warrior princess that was designed specifically for her by her late father, who recently passed away after a brain tumor brought forth strange visions. Her brother Jonathan plans on going as Art the Clown. Sienna expresses concern about this to their mother, Barbara. That night, Sienna has a dream where she encounters Art. Following the dream, a fire ignites on her dresser, incinerating the wings she had designed for the costume. A sword that had been given to her by her father remains unscathed.

The next day, it is Halloween. Jonathan sees Art at school playing with a dead possum. The teachers find the possum and suspend Jonathan. Meanwhile, Sienna goes to the costume shop to find a replacement pair of wings. There, she encounters Art who playfully antagonizes a clearly unnerved Sienna. After Sienna leaves, Art kills the shop vendor. Barbara discovers that Jonathan has been suspended and refuses to let him leave the house for the evening, while Sienna plans on going to a party with her friends (one of whom has already been murdered by Art). Jonathan storms off, furious, and appears to vandalize the family car, calling Barbara a bitch. Barbara cleans up the mess, but finds Art inside the car and is shot in the face. Jonathan returns home to find his deceased and mutilated mother being served dinner by Art; Art then incapacitates Jonathan.

At the party, Sienna is unknowingly given molly by her friend Brooke. As the drug reacts to the alcohol and the Xanax she had previously taken, Sienna has a panic attack when she sees the little girl dressed as a clown. Brooke and her boyfriend are driving Sienna home when she gets a call from Jonathan (whose voice is actually being mimicked by the little girl), saying that he is at an abandoned carnival. There, Sienna investigates the premises, including a haunted house named the Terrifier, while Brooke and her boyfriend are killed by Art. Sienna finds Brooke's dead body in a dingy bathroom, where she also finds Art and Jonathan. After failing to kill the seemingly immortal Art several times, Sienna is stabbed in the chest with her father's sword and dies.

Art tries to wake up a comatose Jonathan and begins eating him. Sienna, meanwhile, is resurrected by the sword and decapitates Art using the same weapon. He appears dead, and the ghostly little girl takes his head and leaves. Sienna and Jonathan embrace.

Cast

  • David Howard Thornton as Art the Clown[5]
  • Lauren LaVera as Sienna Shaw, Jonathan's older sister.[5]
  • Elliott Fullam as Jonathan Shaw, Sienna's younger brother.
  • Sarah Voigt as Barbara Shaw, Sienna and Jonathan's mother.
  • Kailey Hyman as Brooke
  • Griffin Santopietro as Eric
  • Owen Myre as Sean
  • Casey Hartnett as Allie[5]
  • Samantha Scaffidi as Victoria "Vicky" Heyes, The sole survivor of the events of the first film is now in a psychiatric hospital.[6]
  • Felissa Rose as Ms. Principe[5]
  • Tamara Glynn as Shopping Mother
  • Nedim Jahić as Travis Bryant [7]
  • Chris Jericho as Burke

Production

Writing

"...That was my favorite character that I ever wrote, ever. So I knew that character was always there; I knew one day I was going to bring that character back and finally make a movie with her. So she is the heart and soul of Part 2, and everything revolves around that character. So I always knew that seed was there."

— Damien Leone on the evolution of Sienna Shaw[8]

Leone revealed February 12, 2019, in a post on his social media showing the cover page, that the first draft of the screenplay was complete.[9] After writing and directing the short film The 9th Circle (2009), Leone began developing a feature length film focusing on the Art the Clown character and a heroine in an angel costume battling him.[8] This version of the film ultimately got scrapped. After the 2016 film got criticism for its perceived lack of narrative, Leone spent three months writing a character-oriented screenplay for the follow-up film.

He opted to bring back the angel-attired heroine a decade later and adapt her into Sienna Shaw.[8] Leone describes much of the screenplay revolving around the teenage girl.[8] He describes Sienna as his favorite character he has ever written.[8] Leone describes the screenplay as much bigger in scope than the previous film and recollects not considering a budget while writing.[8]

One of the factors during writing was establishing an adversary to Art—something inspired by the relationship between superhero Batman and supervillain Joker.[10] During a lunch with Leone and David Howard Thornton, Sienna's actress, Lauren LaVera, was told of this intended dynamic between her character and Art.[10] Besides Sienna, LaVera recollects the script focusing heavily on Sienna's younger brother Jonathan, their mother, and her friends—all of whom play a crucial part in the story.[10]

Casting

Disfigured woman in mental hospital
Samantha Scaffidi reprises her antihero role as Victoria Heyes from the first film, with an updated appearance[11]
Woman in angel costume
Lauren LaVera portrays the series' new protagonist, Sienna Shaw

Both Thornton and Scaffidi were confirmed to reprise their respective roles of Art and Victoria,[12] becoming the only returning cast members of the prior film, other than a brief voice cameo by Michael Leavy (who played Will the Exterminator in the original film) as the Club Announcer and DJ voice. There were also reports of Steven Della Salla and Jason Leavy, the two cops in the original film, returning in cameo appearances as well; the three are all producers on the second installment.[13] On September 11, 2019 it was announced that actress Lauren LaVera was cast in the lead role of Sienna Shaw. On October 15, it was announced that Felissa Rose, Chris Jericho and Tamara Glynn had joined the cast in cameo roles.[14][15]

Filming

While Leone had secured full funding for the film from a handful of private investors prior to filming, he launched an Indiegogo with a $50k goal to finance a practical effects driven scene and to attach a well known actor to the project. The campaign was a major success, grossing over $125k in the first week.[16] It reached a total of $250k by the end of the campaign, 430% more than the initial goal.

Filming began in October 2019.[17] While a majority of the film's main storyline has already been completed, principal photography was halted due to COVID-19, becoming one of many films impacted by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. On September 7, Leone revealed that he was in the process of working on the prosthetic makeup for Victoria's disfigured face in preparation of filming Samantha Scaffidi's scenes.[18] As Sienna's costume received a positive reception when production stills were officially released, when asked about the attire, LaVera described liking it on the first day of wearing it but began to feel disdain for it throughout the course of filming as it was uncomfortable to wear. She even obtained blisters from wearing it.[19] Filming quietly resumed and wrapped on July 10, 2021.[20]

Marketing

A teaser trailer for Terrifier 2 was released on July 24, 2020.[21][22] MovieWeb's Jeremy Dick commented on the teaser, stating that "the teaser is pretty exciting to watch for anyone who enjoyed the first movie."[23] Matt Joseph of We Got This Covered also reviewed the trailer, writing "This trailer, though brief, does at least promise a bigger, bloodier and more terrifying sequel, one that should have no issue pleasing those who found much to like in the original."[24]

It was also announced that a three issue limited release comic book series would be issued prior to the film's release.[25][26][27]

Release

Terrifier 2 had its world premiere at the Fantastic Fest on August 29, 2022,[28] and was shown on the same day at Fright Fest in London.[29] It was theatrically released on October 6, 2022 by Bloody Disgusting.[28] The film is intended to later stream on Screambox, as well as play at various "prominent genre festivals" prior to its official release.[30] Leone had previously expressed a desire to release the movie "road show style" once it is finished.[31][32]

Reception

Box office

Terrifier 2 was released in 900 theaters in the United States, grossing $400,000 on its opening day.[33] It went on to debut to $805,000, and then made $1 million the following weekend (an increase of 28%). Variety called the film's success a "shock" to the industry due to its low budget and limited mainstream marketing.[2]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Terrifier 2 outdoes the original in every way -- which makes it bad news for the squeamish, but a bloody good time for genre enthusiasts."[34] On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 based on four critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[35]

Jeffrey Anderson of Common Sense Media described the characters as memorable, particularly Sienna, due to her character development. Because of this, Anderson states that "human life starts to matter more here than it did in the first film."[36] Matt Donato of IGN while stating the film has "underdeveloped subplots and themes" noted it as an improvement of the original film and highlighted the performance of LaVera, writing that she "rules as Sienna in her angel-winged fantasy armor as a final girl fighting for family, facing her demons, and screaming bloody war cries in Art's mocking face."[37] Similarly, Matthew Jackson of Paste wrote that "LaVera, tasked with injecting humanity into the sequel, lives up to this task with pure star power."[38] Trace Sauveur of The Austin Chronicle praised the "sense of physicality and comic timing" of Thornton.[39]

Audience response

Following its release, there were several reports of viewers vomiting and fainting during their screenings of Terrifier 2, with one instance allegedly having emergency services be called.[40][41] Speaking on the audience reactions to the film with Entertainment Weekly, director Damien Leone remarked "Listen, I would have loved to have a couple of walk-outs, I think that's sort of a badge of honor because it is an intense movie. I don't want people fainting, getting hurt during the movie. But it's surreal."[42]

Future

Both Leone and Thornton[43] have confirmed that a Terrifier 3 is planned, along with further installments that will slowly build on Art's background and motives. With the heroine of Terrifier (2016) having been driven insane, Terrifier 2's protagonist is set to be a franchise lead and return in future films and related media.[44] Leone has also stated himself that he may have more than enough material for Terrifier 3 to warrant a Terrifier 4. [45]

References

  1. ^ "Fan Demand Brings Brutal Slasher 'Terrifier 2' Back to Theaters This Weekend". www.collider.com. October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Zack Sharf (October 18, 2022). "'Terrifier 2' Is Making Moviegoers Vomit and Pass Out, but Its Director Says: 'I Don't Want People Getting Hurt. It's Surreal'". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  3. ^ "Terrifier 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  4. ^ Mustaqeem, Syraat (October 12, 2022). "New horror film Terrifier 2 is reportedly making viewers faint and vomit in the cinema". Evening Standard. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d McAndrews, Mary Beth (January 6, 2022). "Dread Central's Most Anticipated Horror Movies of 2022". Dread Central. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  6. ^ Squires, John (May 12, 2022). "'Terrifier 2': Damien Leone Previews Gruesome Return of 'Terrifier' Character". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  7. ^ "Terrifier 2: New cast announced for Terrifier 2". bloody-flicks.co.uk. September 14, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Artz, Matt (April 14, 2021). "[Interview] Damien Leone Talks 'Terrifier 2', Creating a Horror Icon, and More (Part 2)". Halloween Daily News. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  9. ^ Hamman, Cody (February 13, 2019). "The first draft of Terrifier 2 has been completed". Arrow in the Head. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c Evanson, Landon (August 9, 2020). "An Interview with Terrifier 2's Lauren LaVera". Nightmare Nostalgia. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  11. ^ Squires, John (May 12, 2022). "'Terrifier 2': Damien Leone Previews Gruesome Return of 'Terrifier' Character". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  12. ^ Squires, John (May 6, 2020). "New Shot from 'Terrifier 2' Covers Art the Clown in a Whole Lot of Blood". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  13. ^ Scott, Ryan (July 1, 2022). "TERRIFIER 2 Hits Theaters This Halloween Season". Fangoria. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  14. ^ Millican, John (October 15, 2019). "HALLOWEEN 5 Actress Joins Cast of TERRIFIER 2". Dread Central. Retrieved October 29, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ Morse, Chris (October 15, 2019). "Terrifier 2 Adds Three Stars, Including Sleepaway Camp's Very Own Felissa Rose". Dread Central. Retrieved October 29, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Cavanaugh, Patrick. "Terrifier Sequel Earns Twice Its Crowdfunding Goal in One Day". comicbook.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  17. ^ Juvet, Aedan (May 18, 2021). "Terrifier Director Gives Update on Sequel Release, Run-Time, and More". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  18. ^ Leone, Damien. "Terrifier 2". Instagram. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  19. ^ LAUREN LAVERA INTERVIEW - STAR OF TERRIFIER 2. Stop The Internet Podcast. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  20. ^ "Damien Leone on Instagram: "And that is officially a wrap on Terrifier 2 🔥 🥳 Ending on a bit of a whimper while grabbing an insert with these two champions late last night. These two were by my side in the trenches throughout this entire production. They battled the elements, time, disgusting locations, covid, blood, blood, more blood, and all of the unimaginable stresses that a film throws at you while never complaining and constantly making me laugh my ass off @monstarproductions @fuzz_fotos and @fuzz_on_the_lens 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻 Only wish my buddy @pjfalcone was in this shot with us after all of his unfathomable hard work, especially as of late 🏆 You're my hero and one of the most amazing and genuine people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. You're the only one who was truly by my side every single step of the way. I hope you're as proud of yourself as I am, Phil. You're the only person who truly knows how much work we both put into this film. No one has worked harder than you on this project and that's a fuckin fact. I can't wait to watch our "fruitful" work on screen with you pal 🥃 as you guys know the movie is already edited and is currently in post production. Sound/Color correction and VFX are being worked on as we speak but there were a couple of final inserts needed to finish this giant puzzle piece and we spent the last few days grabbing them. This was the hardest working and most dedicated cast and crew I ever had the pleasure of working with. Years have now gone by and the determination to deliver something great has never diminished. It is all gonna be on the screen. I promise 🙏🏻🤘🏻 I also promise I will announce a release date ASAP and the next order of business is shipping perks out to indiegogo backers! This shout out goes specifically to my incredible #truegrit crew without whom, this film wouldn't exist - @olgaturka @jackieohmakeup @leavisisland @jaybirdd83 @scottklausen @therealfayjo @dollihaze @jpmilstein and especially @lil4_lyfe and @_ddashh for allowing me to destroy your house for years 😭🙏🏻 I promise we're done. Love you all ❤️🙏🏻 #terrifier2 #thatsawrap #missionacconplished #terrifier #arttheclown"".
  21. ^ "Terrifier 2: What The Trailer Reveals About The Sequel". ScreenRant. July 30, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  22. ^ Squires, John (July 24, 2020). "Art is Back (and Covered in Blood) in the Official 'Terrifier 2' Teaser Trailer!". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  23. ^ "'Terrifier 2' Teaser Trailer Reveals Art the Clown's Next Killing Spree". Movieweb. July 24, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  24. ^ Joseph, Matt (July 24, 2020). "Watch: Art The Clown Returns In First Terrifier 2 Trailer". We Got This Covered. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  25. ^ Squires, John (August 13, 2020). "'Terrifier': Official Three-Issue Comic Book Series in the Works". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  26. ^ Andrew Marshall (August 18, 2020). "Terrifier Comic Book Series On The Way To Precede Terrifier 2". We Got This Covered. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  27. ^ CAVANAUGH, PATRICK (August 18, 2020). "Terrifier Getting 3-Issue Comic Book Series". ComicBook.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ a b Scott, Ryan (July 1, 2022). "Terrifier 2 Hits Theaters This Halloween Season". Fangoria. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  29. ^ "'Terrifier 2' – Reactions from FrightFest Premiere Praise "Utterly Insane" and "Bloody Terrific" Sequel". August 29, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  30. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (June 30, 2022). "Genre Streamer Screambox & Bloody Disgusting Acquire "Ultra Gory" Slasher Movie Terrifier 2". Deadline. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  31. ^ "Video: TERRIFIER 2 Writer/Director Considering a "Road Show" Release". Dread Central. July 6, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  32. ^ Squires, John (October 2, 2020). "'Terrifier 2' Will Not Be Releasing This Halloween Due to COVID Delays". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  33. ^ Miska, Brad (October 7, 2022). "'Terrifier 2' – Uncut and Uncompromised, Indie Slasher Carves Out $400,000 Thursday Night Box Office!". Bloody Disgusting.
  34. ^ "Terrifier 2 (2022)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  35. ^ "Terrifier 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  36. ^ Anderson, Jeffrey (October 6, 2022). "Terrifier 2". Common Sense Media. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  37. ^ Donato, Matt (September 23, 2022). "Terrifier 2". IGN. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  38. ^ Jackson, Matthew (October 4, 2022). "Terrifier 2 Review". Paste. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  39. ^ Sauveur, Trace (October 7, 2022). "Terrifier 2 - Movie Review". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  40. ^ Pauline Villegas (October 15, 2022). "'Terrifier 2' director reacts to reports of viewers vomiting, fainting". Insider. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  41. ^ Segarra, Edward. "'Terrifier 2' has fans vomiting. Here's why the 'brutal' clown slasher movie is so hard to watch". USA TODAY. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  42. ^ Clark Collis (October 14, 2022). "'Terrifier 2' director on reports that horror sequel is making people vomit and faint". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  43. ^ Dressler, Jacob. "'Terrifier 2' and 'Terrifier 3' In The Works Says Art The Clown Actor". ScreenGeek. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  44. ^ DiMoro, Anthony (July 31, 2019). "Exclusive: David Howard Thornton Talks 'Terrifier' Sequel, Art the Clown". Fright Nerd. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  45. ^ "Terrifier 2 Isn't Out Yet, but Terrifier 3 is All but Guaranteed [Exclusive]". September 23, 2022.
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