Fans of the 2016 slasher Terrifier will remember Art the Clown as the deranged killer clown that terrorized two young women and anyone else who stood in his way on Halloween night. Now, it seems as though Art is about to become the terrifying face of his very own franchise, starting with Terrifier 2, which director Damien Leone promises will have twice the thrills, twice the blood, and nearly twice the runtime.
Terrifier served as Leone's feature-length directorial debut and has since amassed a considerable cult following. The movie was praised by fans of the horror genre for its atmospheric terror and practical effects, though it received criticism for its lack of story and character development.
Damien Leone has stated that the sequel will have a much stronger script with a sharper focus on its central protagonists. The director recently took to Facebook to express his excitement for the upcoming movie, stating that a two-and-a-half-hour long rough cut is now complete., "Well, we officially have a rough cut, guys! And it looks fucking amazing! And it's also 2 hours and 21 minutes long!"
Leone added that even though the refining of the movie still needs to be done, the final product will still be over two hours long.
"So what now? It's time to head on into the polishing phase of post-production. We will begin tackling the sound design, score, color correction, and some minor VFX (don't worry! The gore is all practical!) We are also going to keep trimming the fat and refining the film itself. Keep in mind rough cuts are initially quite long but I can guarantee you the final run time of Terrifier 2 will remain slightly over 2 hours long. It's epic!"
The plot of Terrifier 2 revolves around teenage Sienna, played by Lauren LaVera, and her younger brother, who find themselves the latest victims of a newly-resurrected Art the Clown on Halloween night. The sequel picks up exactly one year after the original, with David Howard Thornton and Samantha Scaffidi set to reprise their roles as Art the Clown and Victoria Heyes, respectively. Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) and Tamara Glynn (Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers) will also appear as cameos.
The first Terrifier was made on a micro-budget of $100,000 USD, which was obtained entirely by means of an Indiegogo campaign. Leone tried a similar tactic with Terrifer 2, once again taking to the crowdfunding platform and asking fans to help make the sequel a reality. The campaign more than surpassed its $50,000 goal in its first week, achieving a total of $215,127 USD. The money donated will go towards a huge and bloody practical effects-driven scene. And to note, Art is getting his own action figure. That's how popular he's become.
With production initially being halted due to the worldwide pandemic, a release date for Terrifier 2 has not yet been announced. In his recent post, Leone assured fans that he and his crew are working tirelessly on getting the film ready for this Halloween season. He also shared a look at the film's official artwork, which you can check out below: