Terrifier 2

Director: Damien Leone
Starring: Lauren LaVera, Elliott Fullam, David Howard Thornton, Amelie McLain, Sarah Voigt, Kailey Hyman, Casey Hartnett, Charlie McElveen, Johnnath Davis, Amy Russ, Leah Voysey, Chris Jericho, Samantha Scaffidi
Running Time: 138 min. 
Rating: NR

★★★ (out of ★★★★)  

The most impressive aspect of 2016's Terrifier was how much writer/director Damien Leone managed to accomplish with so little. While not without its flaws, you could see how horror fans were drawn in, as he utilized its low budget and practical effects to replicate splatter soaked 70's and 80's slashers, to mixed results. The framework was there, leaving viewers wondering what he could do on a larger scale, with crisper editing and better writing and performances. This is the result. 

If the first film provided a blueprint, Terrifier 2 is the main course, a leap forward in every way, but also a reminder of how its villain gained a fervent enough cult to warrant this follow-up. Since first appearing in Leone's 2013 anthology release All Hallow's Eve, Art the Clown's grotesque and instantly iconic appearance has drawn justifiable comparisons to the Michaels, Jasons and Freddys of the horror realm. And much of it's due to David Howard Thornton's expressively silent performance as the killer mime, an ingenious amalgamation of sadistic cruelty and childlike showmanship, seemingly still waiting on the feature worthy of him. 

Lingering story threads, some scattershot acting and an overindulgent run time notwithstanding, this sequel's flaws are offset by more cohesive characterization, along with one of the stronger "Final Girl" portrayals in recent memory. And yes it's every bit as graphic as the hype suggests, lending additional credence to those reports of fainting and vomiting theatergoers. The story occasionally loses its way, but never holds back, taking us on a sickening, wildly unpredictable ride sure to make this an annual viewing staple.

A year after the Miles County Massacre, teenager Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) is painting the wings on her angel-warrior Halloween costume originally designed by her late father and getting ready to party with friends Brooke (Kailey Hyman) and Allie (Casey Hartnett). Socially withdrawn younger brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) has other ideas, wanting to go against mother Barbara's (Sarah Voigt) wishes and dress up as Art the Clown (Thornton) after seeing illustrations of the serial murderer and his victims in their father's sketchbook. 

After Sienna has a terrifyingly realistic dream foretelling Art's return, she awakens to her room engulfed in flames and starts taking Jonathan's obsession seriously. Having brutally killed the coroner after being supernaturally resurrected, the clown's on the loose again, this time joined by a creepy looking, similarly dressed Little Pale Girl (Amelie McLain). Now that Art's back with more torture, mutilation and murder in mind, it turns out Sienna just might be the only person capable of stopping him. 

Sienna's musical nightmare is the film's finest sequence, from the insanely catchy "Clown Cafe" theme song to the Mister Rogers meets Captain Kangaroo retro aesthetic, the children's TV show doubles as her own personal hell. Incomparably shot and staged by Leone, it sends viewers down a demented rabbit hole that's both recognizably nostalgic and downright disturbing. Distilling the essence of Art the Clown's persona into public access entertainment, the costuming and production design bely a happy benevolence he'll soon shatter, transforming the set into a battleground of unimaginable atrocity and carnage. 

That Leone doesn't again reach these creative heights for the next two hours isn't an indictment on the movie's quality so much as a realization that Sienna's vision introduces more questions than the script bothers to answer. Lifting elements from A Nightmare on Elm Street and even a couple of Halloween and Friday The 13th installments, it sort of employs telekinesis as a hook, while offering up even fewer explanations than those entries did. 

How the crux of the plot relates to Sienna and Jonathan's deceased dad's prophetic sketches, Art's new junior assistant and the power of that gifted sword remain a mystery. While these holes are big enough to drive a truck through, explaining them might be worse, potentially burying the the film's narrative in a ditch too deep to crawl out of. These questions only grow before being abandoned in favor of Art's rampage, which provides ample distraction and disgust.

If the first Terrifier could be mistaken for a snuff film with its continuous stream of random kills, this places the villain in a more traditional arc by having him wreck havoc in a small town, sharply focusing on Sienna and Jonathan as his specific targets. Their exact connection to him is murky, but the anticipation persists since no guardrails are put on Art's brutality or how far he's willing to go. Thornton's sadistically playful turn makes that clear, as we wince, cringe and cover our eyes at just how long these victims are kept alive to suffer at his hands. That's especially true in the now infamous "bedroom scene," which somehow manages to be even more outrageous than the hype suggested, raising the bar for onscreen depravity. 

Thornton's mannerisms combined with the costuming and makeup job is enough to convert anyone not already afraid of clowns while a fantastic LaVera slays as Art's armored, angel-winged conqueror, Sienna. As she overcomes personal demons and anxieties to protect her brother and hysterically judgmental mom, we also get the return Samantha Scaffidi's disfigured Victoria, who proves it's not such a blessing to survive an encounter with Art. 

The final act is full of the supernaturally inexplicable but still very much works, as does a mid-credits scene that ensures we're far from the end and answers could still come. Even at a two and a half hours, the thought of more chapters doesn't feel superfluous, assuming Leone has a grander plan. If so, it's still possible we haven't seen the best Terrifier film, making this burgeoning franchise the exception in a genre rarely known for churning out superior sequels.