"It used to be that there would be some intelligently crafted, well-directed, and well-acted films until the monster showed up, and the monster was so dumb looking that it blew everything. Now there are a whole bunch of films that are just dreck, but the monsters look amazing."
-John Landis
There's self-indulgent gore, and there's self-indulgent filmmaking. Damien Leone's new flick, Terrifier 2, would be the best slasher we have seen in a decade if he exercised a little more discipline as a storyteller. No one can watch this and question the talent of the practical or visual effects teams, both led by Damien himself. It seems they can do anything to the human body with latex and corn syrup, but one would be forgiven for asking if they should. Leone also wrote, directed, and edited the film. This jack of all trades is killing the game in terms of introducing original horror I.P. to the marketplace (the movie cost a reported $250,000 and has grossed over $15,000,000), but between all his roles, It's clear as blood where 90% of his attention went. Fans of Lucio Fulci will feel at home here for about 90 minutes, after which point the movie embodies the law of diminishing returns.
Nothing justifies the 138-minute runtime. The movie is full of scenes that only exist to set up questions about the lore of Art the Clown which it never delivers on. A particularly long sequence at a middle school drags on with no real narrative point or payoff. An unnecessarily long dream sequence felt like something that was included so Indiegogo financiers could be giddily offed by their new favorite psycho killer on the big screen. It's a lot of nonsense that never gets anywhere. Like Fulci, the story fades fast, leaving only images of the macabre in mind. Unlike Fulci, these images seek only to push boundaries. Beyond the 80's grindhouse aesthetic, there is nothing atmospheric in the Clown's gratuitous mutilations. It's as ugly as it is impressive. Leone doesn't seem too concerned. Every time Art showed up in a scene the roof came off the theater.
David Howard Thornton puts in a lot of work to play his violence as slapstick. Without the all-around corn-ball performances, without Art clearly being some dark supernatural being rather than the human we thought him to be in the first film, and without Lauren Lavera - whose performance is the last major highlight of the film, this would be unwatchable. Some sequences literally go balls out and will be too much for most people. They get so close to the line right out of the gate that it begs the question of where they can take it from here. A more fantastical direction might make it palatable. It seems to be heading that way. Regardless, Terrifier 2 is almost a fascinating slasher with an amazing team behind it. The scale is unbelievable for the budget. On the John Landis scale this ultimately falls on the side of dreck with an amazing monster. Something that could be solved in a future installment if the team decides to take the story seriously instead of just ramping up the kills. They may, for example, hire a writer and editor now that they can afford it. I get the feeling that Art the Clown is here to stay. Maybe Terrifier 3 will be a movie worthy of its main character. I sincerely hope so.
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