Last year Pennywise returned to cinemas to haunt the dreams of the masses, now comes deranged mime clown, Art, to terrify us in Terrifier.
Two female friends are on their way home after a lot of drunken Halloween fun when they unknowingly catch the attention of Art the Clown, a mime clown who has a thirst for murder and mayhem. It is then that they realise that their car has a flat tire, an event which places them directly into the clutches of Art, leading to a showdown for survival; can either of them survive the night?
The story has been told before, but Terrifier offers a multitude of inventive massacres, the showpiece being Art performing his warped idea of the ‘sawing a woman in half’ magic trick. David Howard Thornton is suitably creepy as Art, his silence adds an air of unease and menace that has you squirming in places. Trust me, there is nothing more unnerving than a mute clown. Sadly though, his performance is let down a little by the over abundance of gore and viscera. When Art is as sinister as he is when just sat in a pizza restaurant, witnessing him butchering his way through so many victims takes something away from the character. He becomes less Pennywise and more generic Jason Voorhees.
The problem with Terrfier is that it feels like it has been released in the wrong decade. It’s an unabashed throwback to true stalk and maim bloodthirsty films, the kind that got banned back in the video nasty era. Yet rather than being a kitsch callback, it just seems to hone in on one trope that really should have died a death. I’m sure it wasn’t the intention that the film comes off as a little misogynistic, but all the male victims are dispatched quickly and relatively painlessly, whereas the female characters are tortured and slowly tormented. Following the #TimesUp movement, there just doesn’t seem to be a place for a film like this anymore.
An interesting take on the killer clown story, but one that is disappointingly let down by an excessive amount of over-the-top violence.
Terrifier is out to own on UK digital platforms now, with the DVD available from Monday 9th April 2018.
