Terrifier (2018)

The Slasher marathon continues with this newer entry into the genre. Normally I dig the older stuff way more, but it doesn’t matter what decade you are from if you make a good flick. But is Terrifier a good one? That remains to be seen, time to watch a creepy clown with a body count movie.

Things start off with an interview. A horribly mangled woman is talking about the Miles County Massacre. This is glossed over and soon we see the woman who was interviewing her sitting at a makeup table after the show. She is on the phone saying some unkind things when the woman attacks her and gouges her eyes out! Okay movie you have my attention.

The action then shifts to a couple of beautiful girls wearing “slutty” Halloween costumes. You have a witch and a skeleton. They are returning from a party and are too drunk to drive. While discussing their options they notice a scary looking clown starring at them. This prompts them to head to a local pizza parlor to sober up and get off the dark street. After a few minutes guess who shows up? So, he freaks them out and gets kicked out by the owner of the shop. You know that it isn’t going to end well for that guy! Eventually the girls leave and go back to the car, only to discover their tires slashed. The rest of the movie is the clown sneaking around killing people in horrible ways and being extremely creepy. I know I keep using the word creepy but holy crap does it fit!

This is an amazing movie that hits all the marks for what I expect in a Slasher movie. First the story is tight and gets us right to the good stuff. It doesn’t waste time on character development, giving us just enough to know where each character is going to fit in the story. Don’t get me wrong they do toss a few surprises that as a huge fan of these movies I didn’t expect. Not going to spoil them because they are great. Basically, we get just enough plot to know what is going on and feel bad for the characters, without it getting in the way.

Our killer in Terrifier is a clown. The actor portraying him does a fantastic job with his body language and facial expressions. The more horrific the situation the sillier and over the top the performance is. It isn’t being played for laughs, but more for “Holy S**t this guy is crazy”. The bit where he is exaggerating sneaking up on one if his victims before bashing him in the head is nightmarish. I can see why people don’t like clowns!

The gore and kills are plentiful and staged well. We get a lot of practical effects work in Terrifier and they look great. Heads are sawed off, eyes gouged out, hands are chopped off, and hammers meet skulls. The most insane kill involves one of the girls and a hacksaw. The best way that I can describe it without spoilers is like this. In my head I imagine the effects guy watching The Mutilator turning to his buddy and saying, “Hold my beer.” This is one of the meanest kills I’ve ever seen on screen and they must be proud of it because we keep seeing the body.

I could go on, but it isn’t necessary. If you haven’t already figured it out I’m highly recommending Terrifier. This is one of the best new horror movies I’ve seen in several years. It has the gore, the killer, and everything else required to become a classic. I will be watching this one again.

© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer