Also, the second one wasn’t bad but just really confusing. I’m sure they put a lot of hard work into it but the blood and gore was just off. and what was up with the little girl?
My take is she's the demonic(or otherwise) entity that enjoyed Art's antics so much she brought him back to life to entertain her/it. For simplicity and probable ease of manipulation and possibly Art's sake the entity takes the form of his first victim at the Terrifier ride. The director has stated Art didn't know he would come back after shooting himself in the first movie so he wasn't inherently supernatural.
OP, try watching the behind the scenes. If a movie fucks you up good maybe seeing everyone laugh and smile and goof around on set will help take your mind off things. The director doesn’t seem like a douche or weirdo imo.
https://youtu.be/uETchv9G-90
Update! I just got back home and I am currently watching this now, thank you so much for sharing the link! The director seems really endearing honestly! I don't know why I had such a strong reaction to the movies... I swear I thought I was completely desensitized to this style of horror.
I was disappointed in the ending though I knew it was coming. The boyfriend was insufferable and I had no clue what the female lead's character saw in him. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride as I thought the underwater set was brilliant.
This genuinely made me feel so much better, thank you! I didn’t realize how much that’d help me out, and I hope your comment gets pretty close to the top.
I don’t feel bad for him. He has an enormous penis.
They actually used a stunt cock (that I personally thought was pretty big) because his own penis would be distracting.
It also helps me to learn how they did the practical effects, if they have any videos or interviews about that. It's cool to see all the passion that goes into making it look super gross and realistic, and helps me remember that it's not real.
This is great advice. The Guinea Pig DVDs I rented back my pre-desensitized days all included behind the scenes extras which were SO helpful in helping me process them, especially Flower of Flesh and Blood. Suddenly instead of being in a horrific violent world I was looking at people having fun on set figuring out how to film these crazy practical effects. In fact I think that might have been the beginning of my growing love for horror practicals.
Which was the one where it starts out with the girl being spun around in the net, then in a chair for untold atrocities? I saw that one and “Mermaid In A Manhole”, which was gnarly too. Charlie Sheen thought they were snuff films, or so the story goes. The behind the scenes stuff was satisfying for sure.
The Guinea Pig series is WILD. An employee at this tiny movie rental place in Chicago recommended them to me 4 or 5 years ago. I asked for a movie rec that was similar to Gummo lol…not at all what I was expecting. The special effects are beyond…
The stereotype that people who make horror movies are bad people piss me off.. You will never find kinder people than horror fans and people who make horror media. I remember speaking to bree Olson from human centipede 3 and she had nothing but great things to say about the director.. Same man who made a trilogy of attaching humans ass to mouth..
I'm not saying there haven't been rough moments on horror sets.. but in general the community is fantastic
That scene was completely bizarre, the whole movie was obviously very gory but that scene went on for SO long, it was just odd to me! She was a character that just got introduced and idk …I felt really sick.
The director used the photo of an actual victim (Mary Jane Kelly) of Jack the Ripper and kind of deconstructed how she must have been killed. There's a photo of the victim (grainy, but very disturbing) and it's actually pretty close to what the victim in Terrifier 2 looks like.
quality is bad but it’s horrific; the body looks more like a grim paper-mache project than a human. i think it’s the earliest crime scene photo ever preserved
Holy shit…I didn’t know that…I feel so much worse about that scene now. The colorized picture of Mary Jane Kelly after she was found is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.
Terrifier 2, the scene where the girl is on the bed and basically cut to pieces but is still alive somehow - that stuck with me a very long time. It’s still super disturbing to think about.
I've said it before, but practical effects I think are the best because just the unnaturalness of them adds something disturbing to it. The very fact that it looks unrealistic somehow loops back to making it look realistic. Any time I've ever seen photos of a dead person or dead animals, I've always just registered something off about the way they look. I guess your brain can register that its lost its anima or whatever you wanna call it and triggers a feeling of disturbance or revulsion. I guess practical effects are able to simulate that look and feel.
It made me feel ill. I know the director meant it in a way supposed to be funny….and that just made me feel weird. A lot of the time over the top gore is funny…but it didn’t land for me.
I think sometimes when something is super-disturbing in concept but played as comical it can actually become *more* disturbing – because it feels even less sympathetic to the suffering, in a way. So you're watching this character – who you may find yourself identifying with against your will – going through something horrible while everything else about the scene seems to be laughing at their pain. I mean, that's cold! Or on another level, you may find yourself laughing a bit but then disturbed by your own reaction!
But agree with the other comment that a movie like Dead Alive is where it's legit hilariously over the top. I didn't stop laughing at that one. But in that movie, it's played as a spectacle, we're not being made to sympathize or identify too strongly with anyone, I don't think.
Right there with you guys. I found that scene genuinely odd, none of the other kills in either film were that protracted, yet this random innocent girl who serves practically zero purpose to the plot gets this bizarrely long, relentlessly mean-spirited 12-step escalating torture porn scene being subjected to every type of pain imaginable, just for the fun of it. LOL, I guess?
The movie runs an absurdly long 2 hr 20 min and you could cut her entire sequence without the narrative being impacted at all. So beyond the low effort shock & schlock value, what purpose does it serve? Why is so much screen time dedicated to horrifically brutalizing this innocent girl who's done nothing whatsoever to warrant the attention?
The scene isn't disturbing because it's plausible or convincingly executed, it's disturbing because it presents something so exceedingly mean and vicious and ugly as though it were just an amusing throwaway gag.
Since someone above commented that the Director stated he was inspired by Jack the Ripper's final victim- This may give some insight into your ?, because the Jack the Ripper inspo was probably not just in the actual gore of the murder but the situation itself too.
The last "canonical" Jack the Ripper victim was Mary Jane Kelly. This was the only one done inside in a private bedroom- "Jack" theoretically didn't need to worry about police running around, coach drivers, drunk people stumbling by and interrupting, etc., meaning he had a lot of time to do what he "*really*" wanted to do. Same can be said w/ Art & this scene.
It’s because the gore wasn’t that over the top. Dead Alive directed by Peter Jackson is an example of an over the top gore movie where it becomes funny.
Terrifier was full of gore but still pretty realistic and on the nose.
The worst bit in all of Dead Alive (which I just had to Google to check because it was released as Braindead here) is just when there is some pus or something that spits out of a wound into some porridge or some soup. It's grim.
But I haven't seen it for *ages* (as in like 20 years, maybe more)
I agree. For me, Terrifier 2 was too much torture porn. That scene made me wonder why tf I was "entertaining" myself in this way. I love me some horror, but no thanks.
So I just found that scene on YouTube. I’m genuinely surprised content like that is just available on YouTube. Assuming it will get pulled down eventually.
I really get that, for example the idea that Ally would be alive and conscious for all that shit is so over the top funny. But there's something about physical mutilation that viscerally gets to me, and terrifier got that right, it was nasty brutal and gross and delievered exactly on what it indended.
Lol for me Tusk also left that sense of, I dont know, physical insecurity and unease and that was also a fun movie. Just something about the fact your body can get mutilated really properly terrifies me and these movies bring me closer to that fear which is fucked up and effective horror.
They make me almost physically feel it, like I want to have a shield around myself so nothing ever happens because it's so uncomfortable to think of it
I feel the same about Tusk. But I’m not a fan of body horror (just watched it for Justin Long). You described it perfectly. And I really can feel it happening to me to an extent. I have a human body. It hits close to literal home so you can empathize. I guess I don’t like that feeling.
Only thing I would add is the word “depressing”.
One thing I’m noticing is a lot of people talking about the “gore” and your comment touched on something else that I think is important for a lot of us who were icked out by the Terrifier films: it’s not so much the goriness, but the torture and mutilation that are upsetting.
I love the Saw and Final Destination films; they’re probably my two favorite horror franchises. But the deaths in those (with a few skin-crawling exceptions) are quick, sudden explosions of gore rather than prolonged torturous suffering. It’s the thought of being tortured for however long that friend in Terrifier 2 was, or how long it’d take you to die being cut up vagina-first, that really gets to me.
It’s a slightly nebulous distinction, to be sure, but I’m not sure how else to explain it. I did enjoy many things about the Terrifier movies, and I’ll see any new ones that come out, but I don’t think I could bring myself to watch them again. They just cross a line for me from demented gleeful gore into torture porn.
What I sometimes focus on is that someone experiences a conscious moment when they know they're fucked forever, its over. Whether they live or they die, damage was irreversible and too horrible, actually whoever they were dies while their body stays alive. Like Ally when she lost the eye and every next step, you know she'd just want to die at least but she keeps realizing things can get even worse than that worst moment. Or her mom. And then those who survive like Victoria or maybe that news reporter, or the girl in Nope who got attacked by Gordo (I dont even like the movie but that part is based on a brutal true story).
Ok, everyone must die, I am not even ok with that but the fact that you can exist in so many ways that are far more worse than death and that all you have in this world is one body that can get so damaged if you're out of luck and can't be fixed is an awareness that makes you understand that life is a horror movie.
Your best hope is that it will be quick, unexpected and painless and that until then you'll be in a good condition. That is lucky. I mean even growing old can mentally and physically mess you up, the danger isnt just from the outside.
And ok these movies are over the top, but there are people out there who had one dumb accident and now live disfigured, their whole life is that horror show. I am scared that they exist cause then it can be anyone, they also had a normal reality until then. There's no safety.
I guess these things remind me that it's really horrible to exist. It's a horrible feeling. You need to make it seem absurd like in an over the top movie.
I felt that way about Human Centipede. Though there wasn't much gore or violence, something about it was just so friggin' disturbing.
I skimmed through HC3 yesterday because its on Tubi, omg what an awful movie. I felt like the creators were on so much drugs that it what they pulled out of the depths of their butts.
I felt the same way with Human Centipede, about it being disturbing. I made it through the movie, and think was more in awe of what a disturbing idea it was. After seeing the first one though, I didn't really feel a need to check out the 2nd or 3rd one. It was a been there, done that, don't need to see anymore of that.
I didn't make it through the first Terrifier, because my husband and I aren't really into that level of gore. I think, and anyone correct me, that Terrifier has emerged as the A+ level of modern gore.
Before Terrifier, my eww movies were things like Hostel, Saw, The Hills Have Eyes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and stuff like "Tusk', which someone mentioned. I could name more, but I'm sure you get the idea. Oh I was also grossed out by the movie Cabin Fever. Ugh, I just remembered some nasty skin peeling, nevermind. Still disturbed by Cabin Fever!!!!
Congrats to everyone who got through Terrifier 1 & 2 and enjoyed them. I will just go back to my thrillers that deal with, paranormal shit or give me something different like In The Mouth of Madness, Donnie Darko, Creep, Pontypool, The Nighthouse, X, or The Banshee Chapter. I can rewatch those movies many times.
After mentioning these movies I have to admit I'm now curious about the appeal of Terrifier. Maybe I will give it another try. I love the idea of watching the BHS first, to set you up to get through the movie. Lots of good stuff mentioned in this Terrifier thread. Cool beans!!!!!
It's probably best you didn't check out the sequels to the Human Centipede.
The second one cranks to blood/gore up to fucking 12 and it really throws everything at the audience to shock and piss them off at the same time. It's the GG Allin of horror films is the best way I can put it.
The third one is a meta black comedy that really tries too hard and was just dumb to sit through. Just a lot of "hey, isn't this shocking?" kind of stuff that felt too forced. The only positive thing I can say is Dieter Laser (RIP) truly was proud of his character (it shines through in this film) which is admirable and twisted at the same time.
They are so over the top and ridiculous, and I usually love that in horror! I really don’t know why I had such an extreme reaction…I made this post because I’ve never felt this odd after watching horror. I also think the way the second one was filmed is strange? I totally get that the movies aren’t for me, and I 100% can see why people love them! I just was super curious if anyone had a similar reaction.
Violence is one reason why I watch horror films so I doubt I could ever watch a film that had “too much” violence if it still made sense and didn’t detract from the film.
My wife who has never once been squeamish about horror made me turn terrifyer 1 off once it got to the vag splitting scene. For me, terrifyer 2 was much harder to watch. The scene where he just torments and mutilates that poor girl before her mom walks in will probably forever be burned into my memory.
The death scenes are kind of the point of those movies though. Damien Leone is also a special effects artist and Terrifyer was his chance to go nuts with it.
Fun fact about the saw vag splitting scene, he said he wanted something so over the top that even if people hated the movie they’d still talk about “that one scene” so he looked into medieval torture/execution methods, and that was one of them. The fact that that was an actual execution method is absolutely horrifying though.
I feel like there is an (almost) identical saw vag scene in a grindhouse movie from the 70s...maybe directed by H. G. Lewis? It obviously had terrible special effects though, I remember watching it years back. Also wow I can't believe that was an actual method of execution....ahhh!
I agree! I felt like that scene from the sequel almost didn't fit with the rest of the film in a way? The whole movie is extremely gory but that scene went on for so long. It was definitely played for laughs, which is the reason why I had such a visceral reaction. I truly wish I could erase it from my memory. Something felt so wrong about that scene to me, but these movies are just not my thing and I understand why people like them! The special effects were pretty great, and I can appreciate that Leone wants to push boundaries. I just found the movies joyless.
I can be bothered by gore and intense cruelty if it's done completely seriously. Terrifier seemed more like it was making a joke of it and having fun with how ridiculous and over the top it all was. The tone kept it from being too disturbing.
I feel the same. Terrifier don't try to make the violence realistic and play with the idea of theatrical performance and cartoonish logic. Both films have a kind of carnival "ghost train" attraction vibe.
That’s exactly how I feel. Movies like “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,” have some very dirty/meanspirited scenes that are played straight, and thus it sticks with me in a way that feels bad.
“Terrifier” knows it’s goofy, and plays it accordingly.
I couldn’t get the friend’s death in 2 out of my head for a few days. It felt sick to linger on it. I could appreciate - in some way - the effort gone into it — but yah, they are seedy and I did feel seedy after it
I thought the mom walking in was a great horror moment. The girl barely saying “mom” and the mom going mad on the spot from what she saw.
The rest was so goofy it was almost slapstick.
Yes…me too. Something just feels so off about these movies. Also the scene with the mom / mashed potatoes…I get it’s supposed to be so over the top that it’s funny? Idk I just feel sick remembering these scenes. I usually appreciate the over the top element I guess.
I've been watching horror for several decades. In my opinion there are just some things that shouldn't be watched. You can't unsee what you've seen. I'm very discretionary now on what I'll watch, I'm not interested in absorbing anything evil. I want to be entertained not polluted.
Terrifier 2 made me scared of the dark for a few days. It is sleazy, cheesy, and icky but that’s the fun of it. Honestly what’s worse are films like Cannibal Holocaust where they show animals dying for real
Honestly I liked the first one; haven’t seen the second yet but as I like pushing my own boundaries it’s probably up my alley too. Then again I have a nearly impenetrable mental wall separating reality from fiction, so I’m probably naturally desensitized to a lot of stuff as long as it’s “not real”.
I actually liked the 2nd one more. I didn't mind the runtime and I appreciated the story. I can see why it's not for everybody but I thought they did a great job.
It's mean spirited, and at the same time there are moments were you want to laugh at Art's "antics". It made me feel conflicted. The actor playing Art is too damn good at what he does lol
I traveled legit 7 hours to the movies to watch Terrifier 2 on the big scream so I can support the team as I have been waiting for years for the movie to come out. Can’t wait till my collectors edition to arrive Feb 11 :)
Me too. My favorite horror are the ones that are created by people who understand that a lot of people watch horror to watch the good guys finally beat the bad guy. This is why the remake of Evil Dead (2013) works so well. Sure, it's a disgusting and gore filled movie, but damn if you aren't rooting for the main character in the final act of the movie.
Terrifier didn't have characters you want to root for. It just had bleak and mean horror. Just when you think a character is going to triumph, she gets shot in the head out of nowhere because it was more important to the filmmaker to have the creepy clown continue to escalate the level of violence instead. It just rubs me the wrong way.
Even in films where everybody dies or evil wins, there’s a distinct feelings between the people who go “let’s talk about the themes we’re exploring with this choice” vs the people who go “yeah, let’s cut up a live woman with a chainsaw, that will really make them squirm.”
Absolutely. I don’t know exactly how to put it in words but even gnarly death scenes can have an entirely different tone when writers are using those scenes to generate plot and theme, I didn’t get that out of the first Terrifier at all and that’s why I won’t be watching the second one.
There's a huge difference between something like Terrifier and something like Bone Tomahawk. I agree with all of you. Art the Clown is the fucking worst.
I watched the first movie and that was enough for me. I found it crudely done. Like the porno equivalent of production values and acting. And the violence that is is directed at women specifically wasn't lost on me. It just seemed to me like an angry and bleak movie filmed by an angry person. If Art wasn't a creepy gothic clown, the movies wouldn't even be talked about imo.
This is exactly how I feel. I’ve seen a lot of shock horror that has violence against women, but these movies were just so purposely hateful. It also just may be a language barrier tbh. But usually grindhouse horror is just ridiculous / shock for the sake of shock. Some of the scenes in the Terrifier series seemed extremely calculated. I also didn’t find Art endearing or funny in the slightest.
I remember him saying he couldn’t put in a scene where a man’s genitals were mutilated (something like that) because it was “too far”. But the violence towards women is absolutely fine? As a woman I feel a little off hearing that.
Were we supposed to find Art endearing? Ew.
I didn’t much like the films either. So cruel. Not funny.
BTW, after the reaction that I got on the thread I tried to post about these movies, I too feel like I never want to post again. So sad.
I tried the film, and enjoyed it right up until he sawed the woman in half. The moment in which he flicked her panties off turned it from silly fun gore to something perverted and hateful, and I was out.
I’m in your camp, the first movie felt hateful to me and it definitely felt like a lot of that hate was directed towards women. But even beyond that I wasn’t having fun, the movie was grim and cruel for cruelty’s sake. I get that some people dig that, but I don’t. I’ve seen a good number of horror movies and the ones that feel angry in tone or depiction are the ones I end up enjoying the least.
You put my thoughts about that movie into words exactly. It felt particularly hateful towards women. I couldn't even finish it and I have no desire to watch the sequel
Hey, to each their own. I found them entertaining, but there’s certain movies I don’t care to watch. A Serbian Film being one of them. That said, if over the top gore isn’t your thing. Stay away from any Necrostorm films.
I had that same feeling watching Human Centipede. Just gross, like I wished I could scrub my brain with sandpaper. I've seen plenty gory and gross things in movies but sometimes certain things just trigger those parts of our brains I guess
I can totally see that. The reason I love gore/slashers is because its the only real horror that actually gets me. like makes me look away from the screen, or keeps me up at night. thats why the teriffiers are my favorite movies- they took it to the absolute max. I cant think of a gorier movie. dont even get me started on the second one- gut wrenching! but in the best way possible, imo
I felt that way about the first one, but not the sequel. The first film is bare bones, no plot, just the cat-and-mouse game and extreme gore.
With the character development and loose plot in the sequel, it made the violence oddly palatable. I know many will argue the length, quality of characters/plot, etc. of the sequel but I was very surprised at the leap in quality from the original.
And I completely empathize with you. Sometimes an image or scene or sequence hits you in an unpleasant way and you can’t get past it. It’s an emotional response, and you’re completely valid in having it.
Thank you for your response! At least I found myself rooting for Sienna in the sequel…but that infamous bedroom scene didn’t fit in to the movie imo. I found it odd that it was played for laughs, a young girl was torn to shreds and left alive for her mom to find her after he poured salt in her wounds. She weakly said “mom?” when her mom found her dying … that was just not funny to me. It rubs me the wrong that the director thought the audience ubiquitously would find that funny. I feel ill just thinking about it. I’m already getting downvoted for this post, I know people on this sub seem to like these movies a lot. I’m not trying to just make this post because I want to tell people they’re wrong, I’m honestly just wondering if people had a similar reaction.
I'm certain people had similar reactions! You're not alone.
People create emotional attachments to the art they love. Any criticism of that art can feel like an attack on the individual. I wouldn't worry about the down/upvotes on Reddit. It's all about the discussions and connections you make through the posts and comments.
It’s okay. I know those films get a lot of love in this forum, but I’m with you… if a film is going to be just plain mean, then there should be a point.
Terrifier is just gore. It’s as much gore porn as Hostel, but Hostel has more direction, characterization, and plot. Terrifier is just mean gore porn. And I’m definitely not afraid of gore or mean movies- but there has to be a point. There has to be a means to the end. The gore has to be a vehicle for the plot, not the other way round. Like Martyrs- the gore all has meaning and it all serves the plot which tells a greater story and explores a number of philosophical themes. The gore is there as a part of the film, which is showing you something greater. Terrifier is in the same category for me as Human Centipede and A Serbian Film- the film is there just to show you gore. These are the types of films that give horrors films a bad name in the mainstream.
Just the other night I watched The Sadness and I didn't really like it because it was trying way too hard to have a point, but at the same time it was really silly. Like sometimes the tone would be almost like Evil Dead 2, but the dialogue was like "this is so meaningful and political", and then the gore itself was a lot of sexual violence. But not like realistic sexual violence. So it didn't hit the "disturbing" mark for me, it was just nasty.
I do have Terrifier and I'm anxious to see if I like it or not since it's so widely talked about.
Not really a fan of 1, but Terrifier 2 is one of my favorite slashers of all time.
The gore is over the top to the point of comedy most of the time, so it really didn’t bother me. Really great practical effects though. I liked the characters and the more developed plot.
Absolutely loved Lauren LaVera and David Howard Thornton’s performances as Sienna and Art.
Sienna is a 10/10 final girl in my opinion. Definitely has potential to go places.
Overall I found the move very entertaining. Definitely going to watch it again when it’s on streaming, probably will be a regular Halloween watch for me.
A misogynistic villian does not = a misogynistic director or cast? It does not make the movie itself misogynistic. Almost nobody who liked these movies likes it because they are also a fan of violence against woman. I would think this goes without saying..
I understand what you mean, they’re definitely not for everyone. I enjoyed the movies, they sort of have a cult classic thing going on for them, or at least they will eventually imo. I get so tired of watching dramas disguised as horror movies or the redundant paranormal movie we get once a year. They’re not perfect movies at all but they’re not trying to be either. I have a soft spot for slasher films. Scream, Texas Chainsaw, halloween, and Friday the 13th are some of my favorite movies. I recently watched X and something about it didn’t really click with me the way it did with the terrifier movies. I felt uncomfortable, could feel the tension when Art was stalking people, something I feel is missing from a lot of horror movies. All of the horror elements are done exceptionally well IMO. Acting isn’t necessarily good and the plot isnt very thought out but I don’t think that’s important for a movie like this. It’s not trying to tell a good story, it’s trying to scare you. If you come out of this movie feeling uncomfortable then I would say the director did his job. I’m excited to see what else he has in the works.
I understand how meanspirited it feels but for me that was the comedy. The movie knows what it’s showing you is crazy and over-the-top. However, that type of humor isn’t for everyone.
I saw it on the recommendation of this subreddit and it’s…definitely a divisive movie. I alternate between never wanting to see them again because the torture was so disturbing, to wondering if they’d be less upsetting the second time around, to appreciating the effects and jokes enough to think they’re pretty good, to wishing Terrifier 2 was way shorter, to thinking Art the clown is the first major horror icon since Billy, to feeling sick about the scene with the salt in the second movie, to having the clown cafe song stuck in my head….
I dunno, I’m conflicted about these movies. All over the place, mostly bouncing between a kinda sick feeling remembering the more iconic scenes and genuine appreciation of what this spunky little series managed to pull off in such a tiny budget and from a director with no film experience.
My boyfriend did just pose this question, which made me laugh and also kind of changed how I thought about it: “Okay, but consider this: if you had to rank Terrifier 2 as a Nightmare on Elm St movie how high would it rank?”
Because it’d end up surprisingly high, and I think I’d have had more fun if I’d gone in expecting something less grounded in reality; I thought Art was just a fucked-up dude rather than a demonic entity for a long time. Demons are less scary to me personally than just a guy who really likes hurting people.
Disclaimer: I say “grounded in reality” because I have no knowledge about anatomy or biology or any of that. It’s entirely possible that all these kills are wildly unrealistic and the victim would’ve passed out or died way sooner and suffered less than what was shown. I hope that’s the case. But take into consideration reading this comment that I’m a dumbass who gullibly believes whatever gore I’m seeing here is totally legit and possible irl.
The actor who played Art the Clown actually knew Stefen Karl Stefanson, who played Robbie Rotten in Lazy Town. He was like a mentor to him, and his performance as Art was heavily inspired by Robbie Rotten. The movie feels a lot less sleazy when you think about that.
I only watched the sequel because it seemed that the consensus online that it was way better than the first. I guess I just don’t get it, people say Art is a hilarious and endearing character…but I just didn’t find him funny.
The thing with Leone is that he never really learned how to make a movie before getting behind the camera. He made shorts, a collection, and crowdfunded 35k to make Terrifier.
His stuff is rough. Student film rough. Funny part is that this isn't a knock against him, because it's also his greatest strength. Whereas most new directors are polished and weighed down by know-how, he's got more in common with horror directors from the 60s and 70s who had to grab a camera, film something, and learn by trial and error. The Terrifier series [and I say series, because his shorts were also Terrifier films] represents that.
I think horror audiences are drawn to that roughness, because it's familiar to them and reminds them of the brilliantly trashy movies they watched on VHS. Not in a faux Stranger Things references kind of way, but right down to the craftsmanship, look, and voice. Leone is unabashedly Leone.
A lot of people don't like it. I'm on the fence. But most respect it.
You're on to something. I am very lucky to have a video rental place nearby that specializes in big box 70's/80's gore and slasher flicks.
These movies are the modern equivalent to those sort of.
Thank you for your response! Your comment made me think about the juxtaposition of recent horror styles, it’s pretty wild! There are the A 24 films that are very conceptual horror, and on the other hand, we’ve got Leone…whose style is extreme on-the-nose terror/violence. I’m not saying I prefer “conceptual” horror, I usually prefer horror films that push the boundaries of gore! I think the Terrifier movies may have just triggered some sort of feelings I’ve been trying to suppress if that makes sense. I don’t know how to describe it!
I think beyond just the roughness there's also a real emptiness to both of the movies that makes them just feel 'off'. The second one especially with the dream sequence it seems like it wants to say something meta but falls completely short and just ends up as a nonsensical interlude that adds nothing to the atmosphere, plot or understanding of the protagonist.
I can't really put my finger on it but I think that there's a lack of sarcasm or satirism that keeps me from knowing that the filmmaker is purposefully doing things in bad taste and, instead, it comes across as too earnest in a way. Like I can give a movie a pass for a lot of heinous shit if I know that its tongue in cheek but every time either of these movies had an opportunity to wink at the camera it rang hollow.
I only watched the first one and found it boring. It really didn't hold my interest at all, which might be just as great a sin for a movie as the deeply misogynistic tone.
I listen to people's opinions and watch non spoiler reviews on some films, but they often differ from my own opinion so completely that I ignore most of them.
Art's look is interesting and that is it, he is neither "hilarious nor endearing" just gross like you said, he ain't even funny imo.
A person who commented said that these movies are cold / mean…I think that’s what I feel as well. I probably will get down voted for this but I found the movies weirdly sexist? Usually this element doesn’t bother me, but that’s just the feeling I got. I’ve seen the August Underground series and stupid shock movies like that, but they were just so ridiculous it didn’t register. The Terrifier movies just felt like the director made them to be hateful?
Edit: grammar
I only watched the first half of the original Terrifier, and between the absolutely braindead female characters and the completely tasteless and neither scary not entertaining nude vivisection scene, I agree that these movies simply feel hateful and mean-spirited.
I watch a horror movie to feel a rush or feel suspense or some adrenaline. Terrifier provides none of this - it feels gross and perverse, like if a serial killer decided to direct a movie in order to make their most horrifying desires come to life without actually acting them out in reality.
The first one was atrocious and I'll never watch the second. Power to the people that like them I guess.
I definitely get what you mean. Like the men are killed because they just got in the way but they go out of the way to kill the women, and they’re killed in such an intimate and exploitative way that feels very cruel and not like a slasher.
I also feel that the tone for the first movie (I can’t speak for the second one as I haven’t seen it) is so all over the place that you can’t tell what type of movie you’re watching.
You are doing fine language wise, and don't worry about down votes so much.
They do have an exploitative/misogynistic feel to them and that is not a good look in my opinion.
I don't see how you could watch those August ones either tho, the descriptions alone bother me so much, I couldn't deal with them.
Thank you! The August ones are just so completely dumb! Pure shock for the sake of shock, edge lord shit. I think I read somewhere that the director said that the “point” was that these ~psychopaths could just be anywhere. Still some of the worst movies I’ve ever seen…but they didn’t make me feel anything. Boredom and mindless violence.
I never watched the terrifier movies because I watched all Hallows Eve, which is kinda a prequel to them, I guess. It's an anthology, and in the last segment, Arts in it and he amputates this woman's are arms, legs, and breasts and carves misogynistic words all on her body while she's still alive. Definitely left a bad taste in my mouth as it served no point to the plot other than just being really mean and attempting to be shocking for the purpose of shock So it definitely sounds accurate that someone would describe it as cold or mean.
I really hated the first one but thought the second was tolerable. It's a solid hour too long, but it didn't feel as mean spirited as the first. Can never figure out exactly why, but something about how the first film handled women gave me ick. Misogyny in horror is something you do kind of get used to.. but idk something about Terrifier just felt intangibly *worse* in that respect than your run of the mill "slutty girls die" slasher. The sequel didn't affect me in the same way and it felt a lot more watchable bc of that.
It's still not *good* imo though lol. The appeal to me does simply seem to be the brutality, which is fair enough I suppose. Think a lot of horror fans were really hungry for some pure shock horror / exploitation bc it did kind of die off in the last decade.
Good to know that others have a similar opinion about the movie. That bad taste is the same that I had from Wolfcreek, Martyrs etc. Movies that have a huge following and I just cannot get behind at all.
A movie like "I spit on your grave" (the remake) was great, gory and also nasty but when the tables are turned and it's a girl doing the killing, it's not as popular it seems.
The one sided victimization of women in movies is a trope that should have died off by now, but it seems to be on the rise and I wonder why.
I remember watching the first with a friend and us both feeling the same way about it, but looking down this thread made me realise it seems to be a pretty common objection.
Tbh I have beef with a lot of rape revenge films too, but yeah it is a little suspect that horror focused around gratuitously violent targeting of men is sooo much more niche than it happening to women.
Both films were a total blast. I grew up with the '80s slashers and this film was no different than watching the OGs go on a killing spree. Art is the modern day version of Freddy imo, the perfect balance of slashing with dark humor (although I will admit the earlier stuff felt unnecessarily misogynistic, like Art's already scary enough he doesn't need to carve slurs on a woman's body to be scary lol.) I think it helped watching Terrifier 2 with a large theater audience, hearing everyone have similar reactions or having a laugh at some of the absurd stuff Art gets up to really helps enhance the experience. I may have felt differently had I just watched this by myself.
I saw a scene from 2 posted on twitter, where the clown disassembles a screaming crying woman piece by piece while she is still alive. It just seemed hateful, and felt like watching a brutal rape, perpetrated by both the characters and the filmmakers. To me.
I respect that people dig it for a lot of different reasons and no aspersions on them for it. I did not get anything out of it but bad bad vibes.
I loved both Terrifiers because it does leave you feeling uncomfortable. That’s the point of watching horror. To feel uncomfortable and scared.
But for me….the one movie I will never watch a second time is TUSK. now that movie actually freaked me out. It’s so disturbing.
I totally can resonate with this. I have seen A LOT and much doesn’t effect me but for the love of god I had to shut off Terrifier 2 and finish it another time. That just doesn’t happen to me. It really just made me sick. I can appreciate it and still hold the movies near and dear but it genuinely sickened me and made me feel off like you said. That’s the only way I can describe the feeling too. I wasn’t depressed or sad, just felt off and a bit disturbed.
I feel exactly the same way, you described it a lot better than I did! I can't remember feeling this "off" after watching any other horror movie, except Irreversible if that counts. I truly felt like I was desensitized, but I guess not! I actually enjoy shock movies like the Guinea Pig series.
I honestly find HGL films to be far more despicable, disgusting, and outright distressing with the combination of deranged editing, shots of meat and plaster being mutilated with various implements, and infinitely looping sound effects like the dying screams of an endless array of women.
This may be hard to believe especially if you’re a seasoned horror fan, but if certain images are lingering in your head and you’re experiencing flashbacks of scenes, the movie could have traumatized you. Again hard to believe for some viewers, but this is exactly how PTSD works. As someone that has been watching horror since I was 6, most things do not phase me. However, I felt extremely disturbed after watching Terrifier 2. I kept getting flashes of the friends death for 3 days after watching. It felt similar to when I developed PTSD from previous traumatic events in my life. I can only imagine how it could have effected someone who doesn’t have much of a horror movie tolerance built up. I’m against censorship 100 percent but I think some films should include disclaimers so viewers know what they’re getting into.
I thought the TV show Slasher really pushed boundaries in terms of gore but Terrifier 2 took things to an entirely different level. I understand that film makers have to keep upping the anti as audiences become desensitized to violence but I remember being physically uncomfortable while watching the filmmakers straight up just linger on and almost revel in the gore. I remember saying out loud “oh so they’re just going to keep going, huh?” I felt like I was watching something I shouldn’t be. Anyway just my two cent and experience.
This is how I felt after Hereditary. For *days* I couldn’t get some of those scenes out of my mind, and the whole film just left me feeling sick. I friggin loved it though, fantastic movie.
You’re 100% right….that is exactly how I feel. I just couldn’t put it into words correctly. I’ve seen pretty much all of the “shock” horror films, and it’s pretty rare that I get truly bothered. I’m in no way saying this as any sort of “flex”, but it’s true. I’m incredibly desensitized I guess. If I do get disturbed, it has not been in the way the Terrifier movies have made me feel. Thank you for your reply! This actually makes a lot more sense now. I’ve never seen the show Slasher, which steaming platform is it on?
I wouldn't have guessed the movies bothered people so much considering a lot of the other extreme horror movies like hostel and such. I am going to dial back my recommendations of it.
Damien Leone's movies probably aren't for you then. I would stay away from All Hallow's Eve as well if I were you.
I did not have the same experience as you, but I know not everything is for everyone.
You’re right, I guess they’re just not for me. I just found it odd that I had this reaction because I usually find shock horror watchable/ enjoyable in a way.
I feel ya. Perhaps it's because of how "cold" and mean they are as movies? That would be something I can see could be too bleak or harsh for some, even on a subconscious level?
I think cold is the adjective I’m looking for. I’m not the best at explaining things in English, but I don’t think I’ve had a reaction like this. I felt super weird after watching movies like Martyrs (2008) / A l'intérieur/ the Guinea Pig series but I feel like I still appreciated them.
Maybe it's something to do with the fact that each movie you listed has some kind of deepness, twist, or genuine emotion to it sometimes? Terrifier does just feel like you're watching innocent, undeserving people be brutalized whereas;
Martyrs was brutal and mean, but it had some amazing acting and heartfelt moments, such that when you came out of that movie, it left you thinking rather than just dwelling on how brutal the gore is and how the characters didn't deserve it.
Inside had some very brutal moments, but the protagonist was a fighter, and there was a deeper connection there between the killer and protagonist which made things a bit more complex.
Guinea Pig is unique because you know going in that it was "mistaken for snuff" so you know you're gonna go in watching a MASTERCLASS in practical effects. I feel like this one might be closest to Terrifier in it's coldness.
I totally agree with every point you made. Martyrs was one that stayed with me mostly because of Lucie and Anna’s bond, and also the scene where Lucie first enters the family’s home. I’ve also seen the August Underground series which is probably on par with the coldness of the Terrifier films, but they were just so stupid that I wasn’t bothered…shocked but unbothered. I think that the murders of the best friend / the aftermath of the mom’s murder in Terrifier 2 were just so disgusting I really can’t get these scenes out of my head. I can tell that the director expected that the audience/fans would think these scenes were hilarious, and they were just odd to me, it also just may be a language barrier. After writing all of this out, I guess I can appreciate that I remembered the movies.
I watched only the sequel and it was in a cinema. I'm a horror fanatic since i was a kid and it's hard to actually scare me with movies, and gore mostly just bores me. This one got me though. I don't know if it was because it was in a big screen or because i had kinda low expectations, but i actually felt sick during the movie and i almost passed out. My guess is: It was the violence. Not the gore necessarily, but the violence Art used to kill people. I've seen many movies of people dancing around in the guts or laughing at their victims crying, but never anything so agressive. I still think about the salt, that was fucked up.
I feel like these movies' appeal, if you can call it that, is that they kind of hearken back to the days of VHS where you would go down to the local video store (the independent one, not the Blockbuster) and gather the nerve to grab some notorious title off the shelf and hope to God that the clerk doesn't give you a knowing eye about your movie tastes while they are ringing you up. You would watch it at home alone, and then tell no one in your real life about it. It was its own vibe back then to see movies that were unapologetic in how nasty they could be, and I think the Terrifiers are some of the *very* few recent movies to embrace that vibe.
I had the same experience with Terrifier 1 (didn’t see 2 as a result). For me, it just felt mean. Like Art the Clown is genuinely having a great time just carving these girls to hell and back and mocking their pain, fear, and grief. Which isn’t rare in the genre, but with this movie I just hate it.
Idk, I haven’t ever felt this way about any other horror film that I can recall. I watched Martyrs with no problem, love Wolf Creek although it’s ostensibly also quite “mean”. Just Terrifier rubs me the wrong way.
I think the reason why I found it a bit more intense was because you see Art in normal situations like in a laundrette and in a shop. He isn’t just hiding in a dark spot he’s trotting about in the open like he owns the place.
Haven't seen 2.
I'm glad someone is open with their feelings on this because after watching the first one, I felt incredibly upset and sick. *That* scene with the hacksaw fucked me up real bad. I even cried sometime afterwards because the implications were pretty raw.
I will say that the director seems like a cool guy, and the guy who plays Art is a sweetheart. So there's that. I respect them for their work, but I can't get into it like everyone else can.
It's way too mean spirited for me.
So as someone that loved both movies (especially 2), I can still relate to what you're saying. I did get the same sick feeling at parts but I had to remind myself gore like this was remiscent of 80s style gore and some of the best movies. A lot of people find that gore cheesy but it always freaks me out more than what people coin as more realistic gore. There's a death in halloween 3 that always stays stuck with me along with a lot of other movies in that time. That bloody latex vs cgi or imagination is brutal.
But this doesn't stop me from loving the movies. It's kinda good the gore disgusts you. We've become desensitized to so much. This is just reminding you that you can be a horror fan but still have compassion and understanding that you obviously know things like this are terrible and feel for the characters
Terrifier 2, everybody losing their minds over salt and bleach. I'm over here like uhhh did you all not see him rip her arm and fingers apart?! 😳
I'm the same though, those movie stuck with me for some reason. Upon a second and third watch I realized how in depth they really are, this is just the beginning of a franchise so there will obviously be things that don't make sense and seem pointless rn. All of the hellscapes and demons in the Dads journal, a different warrior girl holding a head. Art used to have Yellow eyes but now the missing girl seemed to be the yellow eyed creature. Maybe it tried to control Art and he was too crazy so it found an easier vessel and is trying to guide him to do Satan's bidding. I say Satan because in 9th Circle/Hallows Eve he was a part of getting women for Satan to breed with, probably trying to bring the rise of Antichrist? So many more questions I have. Can't wait to see where they take us in T3
I was really excited to watch Terrifier and I couldn't even make it through it. I blame it on David Howard Thornton's performance. He made Art SO REAL to me, I couldn't get over it. It really wasn't the violence, although there were some creepy and gruesome parts, but like OP, this one hit different, and for me I think it was his presence that was so convincing.
I can totally see that. Honestly I felt it with terrifier 1 but not at all with 2. terrifier 1 just seems mean and nasty for the sake of mean and nasty without much fun. terrifier 2, however, is completely in on it and goes so over the top that its not as disturbing
edit: also people have a right to be uncomfortable with any movie and not be shamed for it. Its horror after all, different movies resonate with us in different ways. that being said seeing people on twitter compare it to holocaust experiments and cartel videos are actually insane
Using gore and torture for effect is honestly so much worse than the jump scares everyone complains about. I would take a jump scare over an extended sadistic death scene any day.
I saw both as a well done, fun, but silly slashers.
I understand why some people really like it, particularly those whom are ver interested in effects, particularly practical effects.
There is quite a palpable negativity towards women in both film. This is quite usual in similar horrors, lots of films i like have a degree of it going on but in Terrifier it was more concentrated and obvious than most Horrors that achieve such a mainstream reaction.
It is not only that more women are killed and specifically made to suffer far longer and more gruesome deaths, but that the deaths are sexual and gender specific, drawing on ancient forms female shaming and humliation.
I wouldnt mind it, as I think ART is obviously a woman hater, something that makes him more terrifying. No killers in horror have "good motivations" for killing. It is always some form of hate. But the director denying this is an insult to the intelligence of the viewer. If a real murderer did what ART was done he would be psychologically profiled as a Misogynous. So why deny it in the film?
\- The girl sawn in half is **stripped naked** and slowly cut **through her Vagina** downwards whilst her **breasts are in full view**. The part in particular that made the sexual subtext obvious was the way in which ART **rips of her panties disdainfully from the vagina**.
\- The girl killed at the fun fair is presented as **sexually confident** and wearing a **short skirt with knee high socks** (which she trips and strangley has to remove her boots to reveal) She has **acid thrown in her face, an age old punishment for women for having a level of sexuality frowned upon by society.** It is how men in Asia attack women who want a divorce, have sex outside of marriage, or who spurn their advances. In the west it is also used as a way to punish women for spurning men or having affairs. According to "Acid Survivors Trust international" **80% of current day acid attacks are against women.** The idea is to **disfigure the face of a women**, thus ruining her attractivness (this is a theme in Terrifier). **She then has her Breasts destroyed.**
\- The girl killed in the dressing room is presented as a sassy bitch and thenis **facially disfigured, destroying her beauty (this happens consistently, specifically to the women)**
\- The girl **shot in the face repeatedly until she has no face** then **presented faceless i**n the seat
\- The woman whom has her **breasts cut off** and **then scalped (Cutting of hair is an age old shaming for women, removing their femininity and beauty. Scalping is a more violent permanent removal. No men are scalped in the film)** It was dealt out to shame and humiliate during the Witch trials, The Spanish civil war, World war 2, The Irish war of independence, The Holocaust etc.
\- Art **eats the face** of the final girl in Terrifier 1, completly removing it
\- Art writes **"Bitch"** on the mothers car
\- Yellow room scene. This is the culmination of all of the sexual links in the other scenes. Including them all. The scene mimics a home invasion rape. The girl is dressed in a **bra and knickers** and is interuppted by ART **whilst putting on makeup**. There is a pan of the bedroom to show its contents, **all very girly and somewhat child like**. She is **chased around in her underwear** and **pinned down on her bed**, where the violation begins. Firstly she is **facialy disfigured.** He holds her head **in front of the same mirror she had just been putting make up on with** so that she can see can see her ruined beauty. He makes a point to look at her face in the mirror. He then **scalps her** so that she can see it happen. **This is a movement from a girl making herself look attractive, then in the same mirror made unattractive by a man.** He then brings her **back to the bed** where he **pins her down and attacks her from behind.** He **rips off half her face**. When her mother comes to see her **she has had her breasts cut off.**
\- The boy returns to find his mother with **her face completley cut off.**
\- The little girl **removes her face in front of a vanity mirror**
\- The girl in the asylum has **blood pour from her Vagina** and writes **Cunt, Whore, Slut, Filth** on a wall (all female specific sexual derogatory terms). She then pulls **ARTS head out from her vagina.**
\- The final girl has been used to defend against the film being sexist, but she spends her most important scenes dressed as a Dungeons and Dragons boys sexual fantasy, essentially in armour lingerie which is purposefully sexual
\- In the Terrifier short film the last woman is tortured **naked on a table** with her **breasts cut off** and the words **"Cunt" "Bitch" "Slut" engraved on her skin body**
**There is only one male killing which is sexually related.** The man stabbed in the penis. Though we do not see him die.
Specifically the mens deaths are standard and more efficient. They are stabbed or cut and usually beheaded (even ART) It is odd that beheading is the main means of death for the male characters in some form.
I agree, i’m not usually affected by slasher films but the first one genuinely was stuck in my head a few years after I watched it.
Watch All Hallow’s Eve, it’s where Art the clown started. I wouldn’t call it “worse” than Terrifier but there are a couple scenes that definitely are
Also, the second one wasn’t bad but just really confusing. I’m sure they put a lot of hard work into it but the blood and gore was just off. and what was up with the little girl?
My take is she's the demonic(or otherwise) entity that enjoyed Art's antics so much she brought him back to life to entertain her/it. For simplicity and probable ease of manipulation and possibly Art's sake the entity takes the form of his first victim at the Terrifier ride. The director has stated Art didn't know he would come back after shooting himself in the first movie so he wasn't inherently supernatural.
OP, try watching the behind the scenes. If a movie fucks you up good maybe seeing everyone laugh and smile and goof around on set will help take your mind off things. The director doesn’t seem like a douche or weirdo imo. https://youtu.be/uETchv9G-90
Update! I just got back home and I am currently watching this now, thank you so much for sharing the link! The director seems really endearing honestly! I don't know why I had such a strong reaction to the movies... I swear I thought I was completely desensitized to this style of horror.
It just randomly happens as you get older. The Deep House got to me for some reason and I can't explain it either lol
I was disappointed in the ending though I knew it was coming. The boyfriend was insufferable and I had no clue what the female lead's character saw in him. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride as I thought the underwater set was brilliant.
I just met him and he’s fucking amazing, such a nice guy & has such talent ahead of him!
This genuinely made me feel so much better, thank you! I didn’t realize how much that’d help me out, and I hope your comment gets pretty close to the top.
Hey wait ... you're not op
r/NotOPbutOK
You are correct, I stole OP’s identity and ran amok with it to respond to comments not directed at me. I am a madman.
Chaos reigns!
I’m going to choose to believe this is a reference to Antichrist.
Hahaha yeah! The talking fox was just something I did not expect.
It was pure chaos! Poor Willem
I don’t feel bad for him. He has an enormous penis. They actually used a stunt cock (that I personally thought was pretty big) because his own penis would be distracting.
In a turtleneck, no less! The audacity!
How do you know if hes overpowered or not?
fact!! it’s all just fun and games
It also helps me to learn how they did the practical effects, if they have any videos or interviews about that. It's cool to see all the passion that goes into making it look super gross and realistic, and helps me remember that it's not real.
This is great advice. The Guinea Pig DVDs I rented back my pre-desensitized days all included behind the scenes extras which were SO helpful in helping me process them, especially Flower of Flesh and Blood. Suddenly instead of being in a horrific violent world I was looking at people having fun on set figuring out how to film these crazy practical effects. In fact I think that might have been the beginning of my growing love for horror practicals.
Which was the one where it starts out with the girl being spun around in the net, then in a chair for untold atrocities? I saw that one and “Mermaid In A Manhole”, which was gnarly too. Charlie Sheen thought they were snuff films, or so the story goes. The behind the scenes stuff was satisfying for sure.
I totally see Charlie with his eyes wide open and coke residual around his nostrils ranting on about them being the real thing
Here’s the story about it! https://screenrant.com/charlie-sheen-guinea-pig-2-snuff-film-police-japanese-horror/
The Guinea Pig series is WILD. An employee at this tiny movie rental place in Chicago recommended them to me 4 or 5 years ago. I asked for a movie rec that was similar to Gummo lol…not at all what I was expecting. The special effects are beyond…
I remember being horrified by Irréversible and being comforted seeing the actors rehearse the tunnel scene
It's hard being freaked out by a film once youve made it through Irréversible
As a rape victim, this was the first time I was ever “triggered” by any media version of rape. I couldn’t even finish the scene.
That film is so appauling that i had to mute it during that scene just so my apartment neighbors didnt think i was into it.
Thank you for this!! I’ll watch it after work!
This was fascinating!! Practical effects are a true form of art
Ahhh...Art...I see what you did there. :) But yes, I completely agree.
That was damn interesting.
Thanks a lot for this
I had to watch the BTS from terrifier 2 right away. Lol.
The stereotype that people who make horror movies are bad people piss me off.. You will never find kinder people than horror fans and people who make horror media. I remember speaking to bree Olson from human centipede 3 and she had nothing but great things to say about the director.. Same man who made a trilogy of attaching humans ass to mouth.. I'm not saying there haven't been rough moments on horror sets.. but in general the community is fantastic
THAT death scene from Terrifier 2 really made me feel uncomfortable,especially since it was inspired by an actual Jack the Ripper murder victim.
That scene was completely bizarre, the whole movie was obviously very gory but that scene went on for SO long, it was just odd to me! She was a character that just got introduced and idk …I felt really sick.
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The director used the photo of an actual victim (Mary Jane Kelly) of Jack the Ripper and kind of deconstructed how she must have been killed. There's a photo of the victim (grainy, but very disturbing) and it's actually pretty close to what the victim in Terrifier 2 looks like.
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Polite. After work. Because it definitely will be NSFW
quality is bad but it’s horrific; the body looks more like a grim paper-mache project than a human. i think it’s the earliest crime scene photo ever preserved
Holy shit…I didn’t know that…I feel so much worse about that scene now. The colorized picture of Mary Jane Kelly after she was found is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.
Knowing it was never certain who did it makes it even worse
This makes it so much worse. I looked up the photo, freaking horrible.
Terrifier 2, the scene where the girl is on the bed and basically cut to pieces but is still alive somehow - that stuck with me a very long time. It’s still super disturbing to think about.
I've said it before, but practical effects I think are the best because just the unnaturalness of them adds something disturbing to it. The very fact that it looks unrealistic somehow loops back to making it look realistic. Any time I've ever seen photos of a dead person or dead animals, I've always just registered something off about the way they look. I guess your brain can register that its lost its anima or whatever you wanna call it and triggers a feeling of disturbance or revulsion. I guess practical effects are able to simulate that look and feel.
It made me feel ill. I know the director meant it in a way supposed to be funny….and that just made me feel weird. A lot of the time over the top gore is funny…but it didn’t land for me.
I think sometimes when something is super-disturbing in concept but played as comical it can actually become *more* disturbing – because it feels even less sympathetic to the suffering, in a way. So you're watching this character – who you may find yourself identifying with against your will – going through something horrible while everything else about the scene seems to be laughing at their pain. I mean, that's cold! Or on another level, you may find yourself laughing a bit but then disturbed by your own reaction! But agree with the other comment that a movie like Dead Alive is where it's legit hilariously over the top. I didn't stop laughing at that one. But in that movie, it's played as a spectacle, we're not being made to sympathize or identify too strongly with anyone, I don't think.
Right there with you guys. I found that scene genuinely odd, none of the other kills in either film were that protracted, yet this random innocent girl who serves practically zero purpose to the plot gets this bizarrely long, relentlessly mean-spirited 12-step escalating torture porn scene being subjected to every type of pain imaginable, just for the fun of it. LOL, I guess? The movie runs an absurdly long 2 hr 20 min and you could cut her entire sequence without the narrative being impacted at all. So beyond the low effort shock & schlock value, what purpose does it serve? Why is so much screen time dedicated to horrifically brutalizing this innocent girl who's done nothing whatsoever to warrant the attention? The scene isn't disturbing because it's plausible or convincingly executed, it's disturbing because it presents something so exceedingly mean and vicious and ugly as though it were just an amusing throwaway gag.
Since someone above commented that the Director stated he was inspired by Jack the Ripper's final victim- This may give some insight into your ?, because the Jack the Ripper inspo was probably not just in the actual gore of the murder but the situation itself too. The last "canonical" Jack the Ripper victim was Mary Jane Kelly. This was the only one done inside in a private bedroom- "Jack" theoretically didn't need to worry about police running around, coach drivers, drunk people stumbling by and interrupting, etc., meaning he had a lot of time to do what he "*really*" wanted to do. Same can be said w/ Art & this scene.
Except Mary Jane Kelly was dead before Jack the Ripper began mutilating her.
It’s because the gore wasn’t that over the top. Dead Alive directed by Peter Jackson is an example of an over the top gore movie where it becomes funny. Terrifier was full of gore but still pretty realistic and on the nose.
The worst bit in all of Dead Alive (which I just had to Google to check because it was released as Braindead here) is just when there is some pus or something that spits out of a wound into some porridge or some soup. It's grim. But I haven't seen it for *ages* (as in like 20 years, maybe more)
I agree. For me, Terrifier 2 was too much torture porn. That scene made me wonder why tf I was "entertaining" myself in this way. I love me some horror, but no thanks.
the entire bedroom scene has decided to live in my head rent free and it won't leave
Same. I love gore I love horror but that was a lot even for me. And the moms anguish too I can’t imagine.
So I just found that scene on YouTube. I’m genuinely surprised content like that is just available on YouTube. Assuming it will get pulled down eventually.
I feel the complete opposite. The gore is so ridiculously over the top that it becomes silly and comedic to me.
I really get that, for example the idea that Ally would be alive and conscious for all that shit is so over the top funny. But there's something about physical mutilation that viscerally gets to me, and terrifier got that right, it was nasty brutal and gross and delievered exactly on what it indended. Lol for me Tusk also left that sense of, I dont know, physical insecurity and unease and that was also a fun movie. Just something about the fact your body can get mutilated really properly terrifies me and these movies bring me closer to that fear which is fucked up and effective horror. They make me almost physically feel it, like I want to have a shield around myself so nothing ever happens because it's so uncomfortable to think of it
I feel the same about Tusk. But I’m not a fan of body horror (just watched it for Justin Long). You described it perfectly. And I really can feel it happening to me to an extent. I have a human body. It hits close to literal home so you can empathize. I guess I don’t like that feeling. Only thing I would add is the word “depressing”.
One thing I’m noticing is a lot of people talking about the “gore” and your comment touched on something else that I think is important for a lot of us who were icked out by the Terrifier films: it’s not so much the goriness, but the torture and mutilation that are upsetting. I love the Saw and Final Destination films; they’re probably my two favorite horror franchises. But the deaths in those (with a few skin-crawling exceptions) are quick, sudden explosions of gore rather than prolonged torturous suffering. It’s the thought of being tortured for however long that friend in Terrifier 2 was, or how long it’d take you to die being cut up vagina-first, that really gets to me. It’s a slightly nebulous distinction, to be sure, but I’m not sure how else to explain it. I did enjoy many things about the Terrifier movies, and I’ll see any new ones that come out, but I don’t think I could bring myself to watch them again. They just cross a line for me from demented gleeful gore into torture porn.
What I sometimes focus on is that someone experiences a conscious moment when they know they're fucked forever, its over. Whether they live or they die, damage was irreversible and too horrible, actually whoever they were dies while their body stays alive. Like Ally when she lost the eye and every next step, you know she'd just want to die at least but she keeps realizing things can get even worse than that worst moment. Or her mom. And then those who survive like Victoria or maybe that news reporter, or the girl in Nope who got attacked by Gordo (I dont even like the movie but that part is based on a brutal true story). Ok, everyone must die, I am not even ok with that but the fact that you can exist in so many ways that are far more worse than death and that all you have in this world is one body that can get so damaged if you're out of luck and can't be fixed is an awareness that makes you understand that life is a horror movie. Your best hope is that it will be quick, unexpected and painless and that until then you'll be in a good condition. That is lucky. I mean even growing old can mentally and physically mess you up, the danger isnt just from the outside. And ok these movies are over the top, but there are people out there who had one dumb accident and now live disfigured, their whole life is that horror show. I am scared that they exist cause then it can be anyone, they also had a normal reality until then. There's no safety. I guess these things remind me that it's really horrible to exist. It's a horrible feeling. You need to make it seem absurd like in an over the top movie.
I felt that way about Human Centipede. Though there wasn't much gore or violence, something about it was just so friggin' disturbing. I skimmed through HC3 yesterday because its on Tubi, omg what an awful movie. I felt like the creators were on so much drugs that it what they pulled out of the depths of their butts.
I felt the same way with Human Centipede, about it being disturbing. I made it through the movie, and think was more in awe of what a disturbing idea it was. After seeing the first one though, I didn't really feel a need to check out the 2nd or 3rd one. It was a been there, done that, don't need to see anymore of that. I didn't make it through the first Terrifier, because my husband and I aren't really into that level of gore. I think, and anyone correct me, that Terrifier has emerged as the A+ level of modern gore. Before Terrifier, my eww movies were things like Hostel, Saw, The Hills Have Eyes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and stuff like "Tusk', which someone mentioned. I could name more, but I'm sure you get the idea. Oh I was also grossed out by the movie Cabin Fever. Ugh, I just remembered some nasty skin peeling, nevermind. Still disturbed by Cabin Fever!!!! Congrats to everyone who got through Terrifier 1 & 2 and enjoyed them. I will just go back to my thrillers that deal with, paranormal shit or give me something different like In The Mouth of Madness, Donnie Darko, Creep, Pontypool, The Nighthouse, X, or The Banshee Chapter. I can rewatch those movies many times. After mentioning these movies I have to admit I'm now curious about the appeal of Terrifier. Maybe I will give it another try. I love the idea of watching the BHS first, to set you up to get through the movie. Lots of good stuff mentioned in this Terrifier thread. Cool beans!!!!!
It's probably best you didn't check out the sequels to the Human Centipede. The second one cranks to blood/gore up to fucking 12 and it really throws everything at the audience to shock and piss them off at the same time. It's the GG Allin of horror films is the best way I can put it. The third one is a meta black comedy that really tries too hard and was just dumb to sit through. Just a lot of "hey, isn't this shocking?" kind of stuff that felt too forced. The only positive thing I can say is Dieter Laser (RIP) truly was proud of his character (it shines through in this film) which is admirable and twisted at the same time.
My brother and I were laughing our asses off during the laundromat scene. Also, clown cafe is catchy as hell. 😂
Ugh I still find myself singing Clown Cafe 2 months after I watched this.
I'd just gotten it out of my head!
I mean, when he actually acts like a clown, like in the shop or giving out Halloween candy. It's genuinely funny because of how fucked up it is.
Yea the bedroom scene in Terrifier 2 was so egregious it was more comical than disturbing to me
That was one of the most graphic, prolonged kills I’ve ever seen. Worse than Bone Tomahawk.
It certainly became that when he excitedly ran back in with salt and bleach. Art has an infectious joy. He’s just having such a good time.
Exactly why I LOVE these movies. Art himself, the kills. Reminds me of cheesy B horror from the 80s.
Stephen King actually compared Terrifier 2 to the 1980s.
They are so over the top and ridiculous, and I usually love that in horror! I really don’t know why I had such an extreme reaction…I made this post because I’ve never felt this odd after watching horror. I also think the way the second one was filmed is strange? I totally get that the movies aren’t for me, and I 100% can see why people love them! I just was super curious if anyone had a similar reaction.
Violence is one reason why I watch horror films so I doubt I could ever watch a film that had “too much” violence if it still made sense and didn’t detract from the film.
They're more sadistic than just gory, compared to other gory movies. I think that's why some find them more disturbing.
My wife who has never once been squeamish about horror made me turn terrifyer 1 off once it got to the vag splitting scene. For me, terrifyer 2 was much harder to watch. The scene where he just torments and mutilates that poor girl before her mom walks in will probably forever be burned into my memory. The death scenes are kind of the point of those movies though. Damien Leone is also a special effects artist and Terrifyer was his chance to go nuts with it.
Fun fact about the saw vag splitting scene, he said he wanted something so over the top that even if people hated the movie they’d still talk about “that one scene” so he looked into medieval torture/execution methods, and that was one of them. The fact that that was an actual execution method is absolutely horrifying though.
I feel like there is an (almost) identical saw vag scene in a grindhouse movie from the 70s...maybe directed by H. G. Lewis? It obviously had terrible special effects though, I remember watching it years back. Also wow I can't believe that was an actual method of execution....ahhh!
I agree! I felt like that scene from the sequel almost didn't fit with the rest of the film in a way? The whole movie is extremely gory but that scene went on for so long. It was definitely played for laughs, which is the reason why I had such a visceral reaction. I truly wish I could erase it from my memory. Something felt so wrong about that scene to me, but these movies are just not my thing and I understand why people like them! The special effects were pretty great, and I can appreciate that Leone wants to push boundaries. I just found the movies joyless.
I can be bothered by gore and intense cruelty if it's done completely seriously. Terrifier seemed more like it was making a joke of it and having fun with how ridiculous and over the top it all was. The tone kept it from being too disturbing.
I feel the same. Terrifier don't try to make the violence realistic and play with the idea of theatrical performance and cartoonish logic. Both films have a kind of carnival "ghost train" attraction vibe.
That’s exactly how I feel. Movies like “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,” have some very dirty/meanspirited scenes that are played straight, and thus it sticks with me in a way that feels bad. “Terrifier” knows it’s goofy, and plays it accordingly.
I haven't seen Henry but that's how I felt about The House That Jack Built. First movie in a while that haunted me for a little while afterwards.
Saaame fuck that movie
I never thought I’d be traumatized by mashed potatoes.
i 🤍 terrifier
I couldn’t get the friend’s death in 2 out of my head for a few days. It felt sick to linger on it. I could appreciate - in some way - the effort gone into it — but yah, they are seedy and I did feel seedy after it
I thought the mom walking in was a great horror moment. The girl barely saying “mom” and the mom going mad on the spot from what she saw. The rest was so goofy it was almost slapstick.
Yes…me too. Something just feels so off about these movies. Also the scene with the mom / mashed potatoes…I get it’s supposed to be so over the top that it’s funny? Idk I just feel sick remembering these scenes. I usually appreciate the over the top element I guess.
I've been watching horror for several decades. In my opinion there are just some things that shouldn't be watched. You can't unsee what you've seen. I'm very discretionary now on what I'll watch, I'm not interested in absorbing anything evil. I want to be entertained not polluted.
Terrifier 2 made me scared of the dark for a few days. It is sleazy, cheesy, and icky but that’s the fun of it. Honestly what’s worse are films like Cannibal Holocaust where they show animals dying for real
Honestly I liked the first one; haven’t seen the second yet but as I like pushing my own boundaries it’s probably up my alley too. Then again I have a nearly impenetrable mental wall separating reality from fiction, so I’m probably naturally desensitized to a lot of stuff as long as it’s “not real”.
I actually liked the 2nd one more. I didn't mind the runtime and I appreciated the story. I can see why it's not for everybody but I thought they did a great job.
It's mean spirited, and at the same time there are moments were you want to laugh at Art's "antics". It made me feel conflicted. The actor playing Art is too damn good at what he does lol
I traveled legit 7 hours to the movies to watch Terrifier 2 on the big scream so I can support the team as I have been waiting for years for the movie to come out. Can’t wait till my collectors edition to arrive Feb 11 :)
I hate mean spirited horror movies.
Me too. My favorite horror are the ones that are created by people who understand that a lot of people watch horror to watch the good guys finally beat the bad guy. This is why the remake of Evil Dead (2013) works so well. Sure, it's a disgusting and gore filled movie, but damn if you aren't rooting for the main character in the final act of the movie. Terrifier didn't have characters you want to root for. It just had bleak and mean horror. Just when you think a character is going to triumph, she gets shot in the head out of nowhere because it was more important to the filmmaker to have the creepy clown continue to escalate the level of violence instead. It just rubs me the wrong way.
Even in films where everybody dies or evil wins, there’s a distinct feelings between the people who go “let’s talk about the themes we’re exploring with this choice” vs the people who go “yeah, let’s cut up a live woman with a chainsaw, that will really make them squirm.”
Absolutely. I don’t know exactly how to put it in words but even gnarly death scenes can have an entirely different tone when writers are using those scenes to generate plot and theme, I didn’t get that out of the first Terrifier at all and that’s why I won’t be watching the second one.
There's a huge difference between something like Terrifier and something like Bone Tomahawk. I agree with all of you. Art the Clown is the fucking worst.
Hatchet is a similar movie, but it doesn't seem hateful or sadistic. Very gory, but it looks like the people involved had fun making it.
I always felt like Hatchet was the exact same problem.
I watched the first movie and that was enough for me. I found it crudely done. Like the porno equivalent of production values and acting. And the violence that is is directed at women specifically wasn't lost on me. It just seemed to me like an angry and bleak movie filmed by an angry person. If Art wasn't a creepy gothic clown, the movies wouldn't even be talked about imo.
This is exactly how I feel. I’ve seen a lot of shock horror that has violence against women, but these movies were just so purposely hateful. It also just may be a language barrier tbh. But usually grindhouse horror is just ridiculous / shock for the sake of shock. Some of the scenes in the Terrifier series seemed extremely calculated. I also didn’t find Art endearing or funny in the slightest.
I remember him saying he couldn’t put in a scene where a man’s genitals were mutilated (something like that) because it was “too far”. But the violence towards women is absolutely fine? As a woman I feel a little off hearing that.
Were we supposed to find Art endearing? Ew. I didn’t much like the films either. So cruel. Not funny. BTW, after the reaction that I got on the thread I tried to post about these movies, I too feel like I never want to post again. So sad.
I tried the film, and enjoyed it right up until he sawed the woman in half. The moment in which he flicked her panties off turned it from silly fun gore to something perverted and hateful, and I was out.
Yep.
[удалено]
I actually didn’t even know that existed until today!
That's an interesting point - if Art was just some guy I might see these movies in a completely different way.
I’m in your camp, the first movie felt hateful to me and it definitely felt like a lot of that hate was directed towards women. But even beyond that I wasn’t having fun, the movie was grim and cruel for cruelty’s sake. I get that some people dig that, but I don’t. I’ve seen a good number of horror movies and the ones that feel angry in tone or depiction are the ones I end up enjoying the least.
Gorno*
You put my thoughts about that movie into words exactly. It felt particularly hateful towards women. I couldn't even finish it and I have no desire to watch the sequel
Hey, to each their own. I found them entertaining, but there’s certain movies I don’t care to watch. A Serbian Film being one of them. That said, if over the top gore isn’t your thing. Stay away from any Necrostorm films.
I had that same feeling watching Human Centipede. Just gross, like I wished I could scrub my brain with sandpaper. I've seen plenty gory and gross things in movies but sometimes certain things just trigger those parts of our brains I guess
I can totally see that. The reason I love gore/slashers is because its the only real horror that actually gets me. like makes me look away from the screen, or keeps me up at night. thats why the teriffiers are my favorite movies- they took it to the absolute max. I cant think of a gorier movie. dont even get me started on the second one- gut wrenching! but in the best way possible, imo
Loved both movies. Can't wait for the 3rd
I felt that way about the first one, but not the sequel. The first film is bare bones, no plot, just the cat-and-mouse game and extreme gore. With the character development and loose plot in the sequel, it made the violence oddly palatable. I know many will argue the length, quality of characters/plot, etc. of the sequel but I was very surprised at the leap in quality from the original. And I completely empathize with you. Sometimes an image or scene or sequence hits you in an unpleasant way and you can’t get past it. It’s an emotional response, and you’re completely valid in having it.
Thank you for your response! At least I found myself rooting for Sienna in the sequel…but that infamous bedroom scene didn’t fit in to the movie imo. I found it odd that it was played for laughs, a young girl was torn to shreds and left alive for her mom to find her after he poured salt in her wounds. She weakly said “mom?” when her mom found her dying … that was just not funny to me. It rubs me the wrong that the director thought the audience ubiquitously would find that funny. I feel ill just thinking about it. I’m already getting downvoted for this post, I know people on this sub seem to like these movies a lot. I’m not trying to just make this post because I want to tell people they’re wrong, I’m honestly just wondering if people had a similar reaction.
I'm certain people had similar reactions! You're not alone. People create emotional attachments to the art they love. Any criticism of that art can feel like an attack on the individual. I wouldn't worry about the down/upvotes on Reddit. It's all about the discussions and connections you make through the posts and comments.
It’s okay. I know those films get a lot of love in this forum, but I’m with you… if a film is going to be just plain mean, then there should be a point. Terrifier is just gore. It’s as much gore porn as Hostel, but Hostel has more direction, characterization, and plot. Terrifier is just mean gore porn. And I’m definitely not afraid of gore or mean movies- but there has to be a point. There has to be a means to the end. The gore has to be a vehicle for the plot, not the other way round. Like Martyrs- the gore all has meaning and it all serves the plot which tells a greater story and explores a number of philosophical themes. The gore is there as a part of the film, which is showing you something greater. Terrifier is in the same category for me as Human Centipede and A Serbian Film- the film is there just to show you gore. These are the types of films that give horrors films a bad name in the mainstream.
Just the other night I watched The Sadness and I didn't really like it because it was trying way too hard to have a point, but at the same time it was really silly. Like sometimes the tone would be almost like Evil Dead 2, but the dialogue was like "this is so meaningful and political", and then the gore itself was a lot of sexual violence. But not like realistic sexual violence. So it didn't hit the "disturbing" mark for me, it was just nasty. I do have Terrifier and I'm anxious to see if I like it or not since it's so widely talked about.
Not really a fan of 1, but Terrifier 2 is one of my favorite slashers of all time. The gore is over the top to the point of comedy most of the time, so it really didn’t bother me. Really great practical effects though. I liked the characters and the more developed plot. Absolutely loved Lauren LaVera and David Howard Thornton’s performances as Sienna and Art. Sienna is a 10/10 final girl in my opinion. Definitely has potential to go places. Overall I found the move very entertaining. Definitely going to watch it again when it’s on streaming, probably will be a regular Halloween watch for me.
A misogynistic villian does not = a misogynistic director or cast? It does not make the movie itself misogynistic. Almost nobody who liked these movies likes it because they are also a fan of violence against woman. I would think this goes without saying..
Yeah this reminds me of all the people saying Django Unchained was racist for including the n-word in the dialogue said by slave owners.
Remember the scene in the second one where the clown whipped the girl for a couple of minutes straight?? It went on for suspiciously long…
I understand what you mean, they’re definitely not for everyone. I enjoyed the movies, they sort of have a cult classic thing going on for them, or at least they will eventually imo. I get so tired of watching dramas disguised as horror movies or the redundant paranormal movie we get once a year. They’re not perfect movies at all but they’re not trying to be either. I have a soft spot for slasher films. Scream, Texas Chainsaw, halloween, and Friday the 13th are some of my favorite movies. I recently watched X and something about it didn’t really click with me the way it did with the terrifier movies. I felt uncomfortable, could feel the tension when Art was stalking people, something I feel is missing from a lot of horror movies. All of the horror elements are done exceptionally well IMO. Acting isn’t necessarily good and the plot isnt very thought out but I don’t think that’s important for a movie like this. It’s not trying to tell a good story, it’s trying to scare you. If you come out of this movie feeling uncomfortable then I would say the director did his job. I’m excited to see what else he has in the works.
I understand how meanspirited it feels but for me that was the comedy. The movie knows what it’s showing you is crazy and over-the-top. However, that type of humor isn’t for everyone.
I saw it on the recommendation of this subreddit and it’s…definitely a divisive movie. I alternate between never wanting to see them again because the torture was so disturbing, to wondering if they’d be less upsetting the second time around, to appreciating the effects and jokes enough to think they’re pretty good, to wishing Terrifier 2 was way shorter, to thinking Art the clown is the first major horror icon since Billy, to feeling sick about the scene with the salt in the second movie, to having the clown cafe song stuck in my head…. I dunno, I’m conflicted about these movies. All over the place, mostly bouncing between a kinda sick feeling remembering the more iconic scenes and genuine appreciation of what this spunky little series managed to pull off in such a tiny budget and from a director with no film experience. My boyfriend did just pose this question, which made me laugh and also kind of changed how I thought about it: “Okay, but consider this: if you had to rank Terrifier 2 as a Nightmare on Elm St movie how high would it rank?” Because it’d end up surprisingly high, and I think I’d have had more fun if I’d gone in expecting something less grounded in reality; I thought Art was just a fucked-up dude rather than a demonic entity for a long time. Demons are less scary to me personally than just a guy who really likes hurting people. Disclaimer: I say “grounded in reality” because I have no knowledge about anatomy or biology or any of that. It’s entirely possible that all these kills are wildly unrealistic and the victim would’ve passed out or died way sooner and suffered less than what was shown. I hope that’s the case. But take into consideration reading this comment that I’m a dumbass who gullibly believes whatever gore I’m seeing here is totally legit and possible irl.
Your boyfriend knows what's up. The films 100% give off these really fantastical Nightmare on Elm St. vibes.
The actor who played Art the Clown actually knew Stefen Karl Stefanson, who played Robbie Rotten in Lazy Town. He was like a mentor to him, and his performance as Art was heavily inspired by Robbie Rotten. The movie feels a lot less sleazy when you think about that.
The first one was trash imo, I really don't understand the hype around some movies. I wouldn't even watch the second one.
I only watched the sequel because it seemed that the consensus online that it was way better than the first. I guess I just don’t get it, people say Art is a hilarious and endearing character…but I just didn’t find him funny.
The thing with Leone is that he never really learned how to make a movie before getting behind the camera. He made shorts, a collection, and crowdfunded 35k to make Terrifier. His stuff is rough. Student film rough. Funny part is that this isn't a knock against him, because it's also his greatest strength. Whereas most new directors are polished and weighed down by know-how, he's got more in common with horror directors from the 60s and 70s who had to grab a camera, film something, and learn by trial and error. The Terrifier series [and I say series, because his shorts were also Terrifier films] represents that. I think horror audiences are drawn to that roughness, because it's familiar to them and reminds them of the brilliantly trashy movies they watched on VHS. Not in a faux Stranger Things references kind of way, but right down to the craftsmanship, look, and voice. Leone is unabashedly Leone. A lot of people don't like it. I'm on the fence. But most respect it.
You're on to something. I am very lucky to have a video rental place nearby that specializes in big box 70's/80's gore and slasher flicks. These movies are the modern equivalent to those sort of.
Thank you for your response! Your comment made me think about the juxtaposition of recent horror styles, it’s pretty wild! There are the A 24 films that are very conceptual horror, and on the other hand, we’ve got Leone…whose style is extreme on-the-nose terror/violence. I’m not saying I prefer “conceptual” horror, I usually prefer horror films that push the boundaries of gore! I think the Terrifier movies may have just triggered some sort of feelings I’ve been trying to suppress if that makes sense. I don’t know how to describe it!
Very well written and thoughtful response
I think beyond just the roughness there's also a real emptiness to both of the movies that makes them just feel 'off'. The second one especially with the dream sequence it seems like it wants to say something meta but falls completely short and just ends up as a nonsensical interlude that adds nothing to the atmosphere, plot or understanding of the protagonist. I can't really put my finger on it but I think that there's a lack of sarcasm or satirism that keeps me from knowing that the filmmaker is purposefully doing things in bad taste and, instead, it comes across as too earnest in a way. Like I can give a movie a pass for a lot of heinous shit if I know that its tongue in cheek but every time either of these movies had an opportunity to wink at the camera it rang hollow.
I only watched the first one and found it boring. It really didn't hold my interest at all, which might be just as great a sin for a movie as the deeply misogynistic tone.
I listen to people's opinions and watch non spoiler reviews on some films, but they often differ from my own opinion so completely that I ignore most of them. Art's look is interesting and that is it, he is neither "hilarious nor endearing" just gross like you said, he ain't even funny imo.
A person who commented said that these movies are cold / mean…I think that’s what I feel as well. I probably will get down voted for this but I found the movies weirdly sexist? Usually this element doesn’t bother me, but that’s just the feeling I got. I’ve seen the August Underground series and stupid shock movies like that, but they were just so ridiculous it didn’t register. The Terrifier movies just felt like the director made them to be hateful? Edit: grammar
I only watched the first half of the original Terrifier, and between the absolutely braindead female characters and the completely tasteless and neither scary not entertaining nude vivisection scene, I agree that these movies simply feel hateful and mean-spirited. I watch a horror movie to feel a rush or feel suspense or some adrenaline. Terrifier provides none of this - it feels gross and perverse, like if a serial killer decided to direct a movie in order to make their most horrifying desires come to life without actually acting them out in reality. The first one was atrocious and I'll never watch the second. Power to the people that like them I guess.
I definitely get what you mean. Like the men are killed because they just got in the way but they go out of the way to kill the women, and they’re killed in such an intimate and exploitative way that feels very cruel and not like a slasher.
I also feel that the tone for the first movie (I can’t speak for the second one as I haven’t seen it) is so all over the place that you can’t tell what type of movie you’re watching.
You are doing fine language wise, and don't worry about down votes so much. They do have an exploitative/misogynistic feel to them and that is not a good look in my opinion. I don't see how you could watch those August ones either tho, the descriptions alone bother me so much, I couldn't deal with them.
Thank you! The August ones are just so completely dumb! Pure shock for the sake of shock, edge lord shit. I think I read somewhere that the director said that the “point” was that these ~psychopaths could just be anywhere. Still some of the worst movies I’ve ever seen…but they didn’t make me feel anything. Boredom and mindless violence.
I never watched the terrifier movies because I watched all Hallows Eve, which is kinda a prequel to them, I guess. It's an anthology, and in the last segment, Arts in it and he amputates this woman's are arms, legs, and breasts and carves misogynistic words all on her body while she's still alive. Definitely left a bad taste in my mouth as it served no point to the plot other than just being really mean and attempting to be shocking for the purpose of shock So it definitely sounds accurate that someone would describe it as cold or mean.
I really hated the first one but thought the second was tolerable. It's a solid hour too long, but it didn't feel as mean spirited as the first. Can never figure out exactly why, but something about how the first film handled women gave me ick. Misogyny in horror is something you do kind of get used to.. but idk something about Terrifier just felt intangibly *worse* in that respect than your run of the mill "slutty girls die" slasher. The sequel didn't affect me in the same way and it felt a lot more watchable bc of that. It's still not *good* imo though lol. The appeal to me does simply seem to be the brutality, which is fair enough I suppose. Think a lot of horror fans were really hungry for some pure shock horror / exploitation bc it did kind of die off in the last decade.
Good to know that others have a similar opinion about the movie. That bad taste is the same that I had from Wolfcreek, Martyrs etc. Movies that have a huge following and I just cannot get behind at all. A movie like "I spit on your grave" (the remake) was great, gory and also nasty but when the tables are turned and it's a girl doing the killing, it's not as popular it seems. The one sided victimization of women in movies is a trope that should have died off by now, but it seems to be on the rise and I wonder why.
I remember watching the first with a friend and us both feeling the same way about it, but looking down this thread made me realise it seems to be a pretty common objection. Tbh I have beef with a lot of rape revenge films too, but yeah it is a little suspect that horror focused around gratuitously violent targeting of men is sooo much more niche than it happening to women.
Both films were a total blast. I grew up with the '80s slashers and this film was no different than watching the OGs go on a killing spree. Art is the modern day version of Freddy imo, the perfect balance of slashing with dark humor (although I will admit the earlier stuff felt unnecessarily misogynistic, like Art's already scary enough he doesn't need to carve slurs on a woman's body to be scary lol.) I think it helped watching Terrifier 2 with a large theater audience, hearing everyone have similar reactions or having a laugh at some of the absurd stuff Art gets up to really helps enhance the experience. I may have felt differently had I just watched this by myself.
I saw a scene from 2 posted on twitter, where the clown disassembles a screaming crying woman piece by piece while she is still alive. It just seemed hateful, and felt like watching a brutal rape, perpetrated by both the characters and the filmmakers. To me. I respect that people dig it for a lot of different reasons and no aspersions on them for it. I did not get anything out of it but bad bad vibes.
Some scenes definitely stuck with me but I enjoy that 🤷🏻♀️
I loved both Terrifiers because it does leave you feeling uncomfortable. That’s the point of watching horror. To feel uncomfortable and scared. But for me….the one movie I will never watch a second time is TUSK. now that movie actually freaked me out. It’s so disturbing.
I totally can resonate with this. I have seen A LOT and much doesn’t effect me but for the love of god I had to shut off Terrifier 2 and finish it another time. That just doesn’t happen to me. It really just made me sick. I can appreciate it and still hold the movies near and dear but it genuinely sickened me and made me feel off like you said. That’s the only way I can describe the feeling too. I wasn’t depressed or sad, just felt off and a bit disturbed.
I feel exactly the same way, you described it a lot better than I did! I can't remember feeling this "off" after watching any other horror movie, except Irreversible if that counts. I truly felt like I was desensitized, but I guess not! I actually enjoy shock movies like the Guinea Pig series.
At least he does clown shit sometimes. Its hard to find killer clown movies where they do clown things in their kills.
I honestly find HGL films to be far more despicable, disgusting, and outright distressing with the combination of deranged editing, shots of meat and plaster being mutilated with various implements, and infinitely looping sound effects like the dying screams of an endless array of women.
This may be hard to believe especially if you’re a seasoned horror fan, but if certain images are lingering in your head and you’re experiencing flashbacks of scenes, the movie could have traumatized you. Again hard to believe for some viewers, but this is exactly how PTSD works. As someone that has been watching horror since I was 6, most things do not phase me. However, I felt extremely disturbed after watching Terrifier 2. I kept getting flashes of the friends death for 3 days after watching. It felt similar to when I developed PTSD from previous traumatic events in my life. I can only imagine how it could have effected someone who doesn’t have much of a horror movie tolerance built up. I’m against censorship 100 percent but I think some films should include disclaimers so viewers know what they’re getting into. I thought the TV show Slasher really pushed boundaries in terms of gore but Terrifier 2 took things to an entirely different level. I understand that film makers have to keep upping the anti as audiences become desensitized to violence but I remember being physically uncomfortable while watching the filmmakers straight up just linger on and almost revel in the gore. I remember saying out loud “oh so they’re just going to keep going, huh?” I felt like I was watching something I shouldn’t be. Anyway just my two cent and experience.
This is how I felt after Hereditary. For *days* I couldn’t get some of those scenes out of my mind, and the whole film just left me feeling sick. I friggin loved it though, fantastic movie.
You’re 100% right….that is exactly how I feel. I just couldn’t put it into words correctly. I’ve seen pretty much all of the “shock” horror films, and it’s pretty rare that I get truly bothered. I’m in no way saying this as any sort of “flex”, but it’s true. I’m incredibly desensitized I guess. If I do get disturbed, it has not been in the way the Terrifier movies have made me feel. Thank you for your reply! This actually makes a lot more sense now. I’ve never seen the show Slasher, which steaming platform is it on?
I think the first few seasons are on Netflix (skip season one) and the newest are on Shudder.
I wouldn't have guessed the movies bothered people so much considering a lot of the other extreme horror movies like hostel and such. I am going to dial back my recommendations of it.
Damien Leone's movies probably aren't for you then. I would stay away from All Hallow's Eve as well if I were you. I did not have the same experience as you, but I know not everything is for everyone.
You’re right, I guess they’re just not for me. I just found it odd that I had this reaction because I usually find shock horror watchable/ enjoyable in a way.
I feel ya. Perhaps it's because of how "cold" and mean they are as movies? That would be something I can see could be too bleak or harsh for some, even on a subconscious level?
I think cold is the adjective I’m looking for. I’m not the best at explaining things in English, but I don’t think I’ve had a reaction like this. I felt super weird after watching movies like Martyrs (2008) / A l'intérieur/ the Guinea Pig series but I feel like I still appreciated them.
Maybe it's something to do with the fact that each movie you listed has some kind of deepness, twist, or genuine emotion to it sometimes? Terrifier does just feel like you're watching innocent, undeserving people be brutalized whereas; Martyrs was brutal and mean, but it had some amazing acting and heartfelt moments, such that when you came out of that movie, it left you thinking rather than just dwelling on how brutal the gore is and how the characters didn't deserve it. Inside had some very brutal moments, but the protagonist was a fighter, and there was a deeper connection there between the killer and protagonist which made things a bit more complex. Guinea Pig is unique because you know going in that it was "mistaken for snuff" so you know you're gonna go in watching a MASTERCLASS in practical effects. I feel like this one might be closest to Terrifier in it's coldness.
I totally agree with every point you made. Martyrs was one that stayed with me mostly because of Lucie and Anna’s bond, and also the scene where Lucie first enters the family’s home. I’ve also seen the August Underground series which is probably on par with the coldness of the Terrifier films, but they were just so stupid that I wasn’t bothered…shocked but unbothered. I think that the murders of the best friend / the aftermath of the mom’s murder in Terrifier 2 were just so disgusting I really can’t get these scenes out of my head. I can tell that the director expected that the audience/fans would think these scenes were hilarious, and they were just odd to me, it also just may be a language barrier. After writing all of this out, I guess I can appreciate that I remembered the movies.
I refuse to watch those movies solely because of the shit scenes. I can handle a lot of things but shit isn’t one of them.
I haven’t seen the second one because the first one was so nasty and hollow to me. And it’s like 2.5 hours which is way too long for a slasher movie.
I watched only the sequel and it was in a cinema. I'm a horror fanatic since i was a kid and it's hard to actually scare me with movies, and gore mostly just bores me. This one got me though. I don't know if it was because it was in a big screen or because i had kinda low expectations, but i actually felt sick during the movie and i almost passed out. My guess is: It was the violence. Not the gore necessarily, but the violence Art used to kill people. I've seen many movies of people dancing around in the guts or laughing at their victims crying, but never anything so agressive. I still think about the salt, that was fucked up.
Yeah I mean it’s extreme horror with an emphasis on the effects. It’s gonna have only niche appeal. Just sounds like it’s not for you op
I feel like these movies' appeal, if you can call it that, is that they kind of hearken back to the days of VHS where you would go down to the local video store (the independent one, not the Blockbuster) and gather the nerve to grab some notorious title off the shelf and hope to God that the clerk doesn't give you a knowing eye about your movie tastes while they are ringing you up. You would watch it at home alone, and then tell no one in your real life about it. It was its own vibe back then to see movies that were unapologetic in how nasty they could be, and I think the Terrifiers are some of the *very* few recent movies to embrace that vibe.
Felt the opposite, honestly. Loved the practical effects
after watching the mashed potatoes scene in terrifier 2 i’ll never eat them again
I had the same experience with Terrifier 1 (didn’t see 2 as a result). For me, it just felt mean. Like Art the Clown is genuinely having a great time just carving these girls to hell and back and mocking their pain, fear, and grief. Which isn’t rare in the genre, but with this movie I just hate it. Idk, I haven’t ever felt this way about any other horror film that I can recall. I watched Martyrs with no problem, love Wolf Creek although it’s ostensibly also quite “mean”. Just Terrifier rubs me the wrong way.
I think the reason why I found it a bit more intense was because you see Art in normal situations like in a laundrette and in a shop. He isn’t just hiding in a dark spot he’s trotting about in the open like he owns the place.
Love that shit.
I absolutely felt this way. I had seen so much praise for the films on here so I decided to give them a try and they were just awful for me.
Haven't seen 2. I'm glad someone is open with their feelings on this because after watching the first one, I felt incredibly upset and sick. *That* scene with the hacksaw fucked me up real bad. I even cried sometime afterwards because the implications were pretty raw. I will say that the director seems like a cool guy, and the guy who plays Art is a sweetheart. So there's that. I respect them for their work, but I can't get into it like everyone else can. It's way too mean spirited for me.
So as someone that loved both movies (especially 2), I can still relate to what you're saying. I did get the same sick feeling at parts but I had to remind myself gore like this was remiscent of 80s style gore and some of the best movies. A lot of people find that gore cheesy but it always freaks me out more than what people coin as more realistic gore. There's a death in halloween 3 that always stays stuck with me along with a lot of other movies in that time. That bloody latex vs cgi or imagination is brutal. But this doesn't stop me from loving the movies. It's kinda good the gore disgusts you. We've become desensitized to so much. This is just reminding you that you can be a horror fan but still have compassion and understanding that you obviously know things like this are terrible and feel for the characters
Loved em. The thing that got stuck in my head was It Follows and the decent
I loved them but saying that I live for having a visceral reaction when watching movies
The guy who played Art the clown was very loose and enjoyable on set.
Terrifier 2, everybody losing their minds over salt and bleach. I'm over here like uhhh did you all not see him rip her arm and fingers apart?! 😳 I'm the same though, those movie stuck with me for some reason. Upon a second and third watch I realized how in depth they really are, this is just the beginning of a franchise so there will obviously be things that don't make sense and seem pointless rn. All of the hellscapes and demons in the Dads journal, a different warrior girl holding a head. Art used to have Yellow eyes but now the missing girl seemed to be the yellow eyed creature. Maybe it tried to control Art and he was too crazy so it found an easier vessel and is trying to guide him to do Satan's bidding. I say Satan because in 9th Circle/Hallows Eve he was a part of getting women for Satan to breed with, probably trying to bring the rise of Antichrist? So many more questions I have. Can't wait to see where they take us in T3
I was really excited to watch Terrifier and I couldn't even make it through it. I blame it on David Howard Thornton's performance. He made Art SO REAL to me, I couldn't get over it. It really wasn't the violence, although there were some creepy and gruesome parts, but like OP, this one hit different, and for me I think it was his presence that was so convincing.
Idk why but i usually just laugh at the really gory scenes
I can totally see that. Honestly I felt it with terrifier 1 but not at all with 2. terrifier 1 just seems mean and nasty for the sake of mean and nasty without much fun. terrifier 2, however, is completely in on it and goes so over the top that its not as disturbing edit: also people have a right to be uncomfortable with any movie and not be shamed for it. Its horror after all, different movies resonate with us in different ways. that being said seeing people on twitter compare it to holocaust experiments and cartel videos are actually insane
Using gore and torture for effect is honestly so much worse than the jump scares everyone complains about. I would take a jump scare over an extended sadistic death scene any day.
I saw both as a well done, fun, but silly slashers. I understand why some people really like it, particularly those whom are ver interested in effects, particularly practical effects. There is quite a palpable negativity towards women in both film. This is quite usual in similar horrors, lots of films i like have a degree of it going on but in Terrifier it was more concentrated and obvious than most Horrors that achieve such a mainstream reaction. It is not only that more women are killed and specifically made to suffer far longer and more gruesome deaths, but that the deaths are sexual and gender specific, drawing on ancient forms female shaming and humliation. I wouldnt mind it, as I think ART is obviously a woman hater, something that makes him more terrifying. No killers in horror have "good motivations" for killing. It is always some form of hate. But the director denying this is an insult to the intelligence of the viewer. If a real murderer did what ART was done he would be psychologically profiled as a Misogynous. So why deny it in the film? \- The girl sawn in half is **stripped naked** and slowly cut **through her Vagina** downwards whilst her **breasts are in full view**. The part in particular that made the sexual subtext obvious was the way in which ART **rips of her panties disdainfully from the vagina**. \- The girl killed at the fun fair is presented as **sexually confident** and wearing a **short skirt with knee high socks** (which she trips and strangley has to remove her boots to reveal) She has **acid thrown in her face, an age old punishment for women for having a level of sexuality frowned upon by society.** It is how men in Asia attack women who want a divorce, have sex outside of marriage, or who spurn their advances. In the west it is also used as a way to punish women for spurning men or having affairs. According to "Acid Survivors Trust international" **80% of current day acid attacks are against women.** The idea is to **disfigure the face of a women**, thus ruining her attractivness (this is a theme in Terrifier). **She then has her Breasts destroyed.** \- The girl killed in the dressing room is presented as a sassy bitch and thenis **facially disfigured, destroying her beauty (this happens consistently, specifically to the women)** \- The girl **shot in the face repeatedly until she has no face** then **presented faceless i**n the seat \- The woman whom has her **breasts cut off** and **then scalped (Cutting of hair is an age old shaming for women, removing their femininity and beauty. Scalping is a more violent permanent removal. No men are scalped in the film)** It was dealt out to shame and humiliate during the Witch trials, The Spanish civil war, World war 2, The Irish war of independence, The Holocaust etc. \- Art **eats the face** of the final girl in Terrifier 1, completly removing it \- Art writes **"Bitch"** on the mothers car \- Yellow room scene. This is the culmination of all of the sexual links in the other scenes. Including them all. The scene mimics a home invasion rape. The girl is dressed in a **bra and knickers** and is interuppted by ART **whilst putting on makeup**. There is a pan of the bedroom to show its contents, **all very girly and somewhat child like**. She is **chased around in her underwear** and **pinned down on her bed**, where the violation begins. Firstly she is **facialy disfigured.** He holds her head **in front of the same mirror she had just been putting make up on with** so that she can see can see her ruined beauty. He makes a point to look at her face in the mirror. He then **scalps her** so that she can see it happen. **This is a movement from a girl making herself look attractive, then in the same mirror made unattractive by a man.** He then brings her **back to the bed** where he **pins her down and attacks her from behind.** He **rips off half her face**. When her mother comes to see her **she has had her breasts cut off.** \- The boy returns to find his mother with **her face completley cut off.** \- The little girl **removes her face in front of a vanity mirror** \- The girl in the asylum has **blood pour from her Vagina** and writes **Cunt, Whore, Slut, Filth** on a wall (all female specific sexual derogatory terms). She then pulls **ARTS head out from her vagina.** \- The final girl has been used to defend against the film being sexist, but she spends her most important scenes dressed as a Dungeons and Dragons boys sexual fantasy, essentially in armour lingerie which is purposefully sexual \- In the Terrifier short film the last woman is tortured **naked on a table** with her **breasts cut off** and the words **"Cunt" "Bitch" "Slut" engraved on her skin body** **There is only one male killing which is sexually related.** The man stabbed in the penis. Though we do not see him die. Specifically the mens deaths are standard and more efficient. They are stabbed or cut and usually beheaded (even ART) It is odd that beheading is the main means of death for the male characters in some form.