Terrifier Franchise

Who thought this series of films would work so well? Having attempted to watch All Hallows Eve unsuccessfully, the success of developing Art the Clown seems to be more about the character himself. My personal opinion is that it's the successful use of the art of clowning entwined with horror that has made this franchise what it is.

The performance of Art preparing for his night out in the first film is both silly and horrifying. There is something in the early stages of the movie that makes his grimy dwelling, clothing, and tools look cleaner and sharper for the excessive attention to detail he takes in preparing for his night out. Noticeable again when walking past the principal victims of the film and later in the pizza parlor.

I appreciate the visual choice to make Art’s smile bloody when he makes a big grin. It made me wonder how he smelled when one of the victims draped herself over him for a selfie. When confronted by a woman who appears to be unsound of mind, but kind, who attempts to approach Art with care by asking if he had ever been held before, you get to experience a different aspect to his clowning. A new response in a series of graphically violent deaths. The point is pushed even further by him abandoning his carefully crafted outfit to wear her skin, and play her, uncaring if his victims escape or not as he enjoys his night out.

The same theme shows up again in the second instalment when he goes to a laundry mat to clean his attire. We are introduced to his young ghost clown sidekick who plays patty cake with Art while he appears vulnerable and naked in the laundry mat. While this introduction is taking place, the scene cuts to a 3rd party watching Art playing patty cake by himself, with Art taking no notice as he enjoys his play.

Presumably when Damien Loene got the opportunity to make a sequel he figured he had the opportunity to extend his one contained film into a long standing franchise with mythos that will grow and change overtime. After initially bringing Art back to life he jumps right into establishing a heroine and grounding for many sequels to come. Borrowing a bit from other horror classics you get a real world back story, a bloodline that fights evil, and some mythical items of power. Even though it brings the run time to 3hrs, I was thrilled that they invested so much in the dialogue amongst the characters.

I have a particular fondness for the principal characters Sienna and Jonathan’s mother Barbara. I can’t say the dialogue is good necessarily, but some of it rings true when she can’t stop herself from losing her shit at her children and swearing. Having lost their father/husband to a degenerative brain disease and eventual suicide, you get a close family dynamic with uneasy reliance on each other and uncertainty about the future. The dialogue between Sienna and her close friends is also welcome, as you are steadied in the environment and buy that they have all known each other for a long time. 

The dream sequences and clown cafe song are also very catchy and advances the mystical elements in a really fun nightmare based fashion.

Terrifer 3 continues the story while borrowing a bit of the Scream theory on surviving characters, though there are only Sienna and Jonathan, so guess who eats it (it’s Jonathan, he was too wise in the first film). In the 3rd instalment Art’s constant companion is the mangled Victoria who magically gave birth to his ghost corpse at the end of the last film. From this new sidekick you get an exploration of toxic relationship dynamics and a plot that gave me some Evil Dead vibes.

I am looking forward to the next instalment, hopefully also holiday based so I can celebrate every season with a Terrifer movie. I already have the movie Thanksgiving for thanksgiving, so if we could swing Easter next it would be appreciated.

Written by Natasha Melbrew

May 16th, 2025