Terrifier (2016)

With the relatively recent release of Terrifier 2 supposedly causing people to bring up their dinners in theaters, or be carted off by ambulances after fainting through sheer horror, it seemed an appropriate time to see what all the fuss was about. Surprisingly, the first film of what will presumably become a franchise is pretty effective; we’re offered no backstory for Art the clown whatsoever, making the character particularly chilling, especially in the opening ten minutes or so where he sits staring at a young lady in a late night pizza outlet. The lady in question, along with her friend and latterly her sister, are terrorised for the rest of the night (it’s Halloween, naturally) by Art; a character that in the films’ opening sequence grabs a hammer, a saw, and other implements on his way out into the night. It’s not hard to see where the film is headed. What makes Terrifier work is its scratchy b-movie ethos, and its lead character. There are shades of the Saw franchise (2004-2023), the Hostel films (2005-2011) but also Halloween (1978) and generally it takes the best of those films, making a good fist of what it sets out to do. At eighty-five odd minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome, although ones heart does sink somewhat when seeing that Terrifier 2 is almost an hour longer than its predecessor. 6.5/10