If anyone knows me, they know I like horror. Like, a lot of horror. I’m pretty much a horror freak at this point.
I was raised on it with the Halloween movies and that only started to translate into me loving more and more franchises as time has gone on. From admiring the kills in the Nightmare on Elm Street series or saying how Scream is honestly one of the best horror movie series out there, I’ve watched so many of the best horror movies. But you want to know what movies I never watched? The Terrifier ones.
That’s right, I’m talking about Terrifier, Terrifier 2 and its spiritual predecessor, All Hallows’ Eve. To be honest, I had never even heard of them for the longest time, because they were smaller films, but after 2022, I decided to give them a try.
And oh boy, do I have thoughts. Let’s get into it.
Wow, Yeah, These Movies Are Gross As Hell
So, yeah, these movies are disgusting.
As I’ve said before, I’ve seen a lot of horror movies – which means I’ve seen some pretty gross ones, ones that are bloody and have some really graphic scenes. I’ve seen the Saw movies once or twice (never again). I’ve seen some terrifying scenes in the Ari Aster horror films, and I’ve been practically raised in the slasher genre of horror.
The Terrifier movies take slasher to different levels throughout the whole entire franchise. And I mean that in literally the best way. It’s almost refreshing.
A lot of the newer horror movies that I have seen have really focused on terrifying the audience mentally. Where you think you saw something in the corner of the frame but it was really just a lamp, or there’s a looming figure in the background that you only see for the first time on your second watch.
But there’s just something so refreshing about seeing a movie be just so unapologetically bloody and disgusting. It knows exactly what it is and I can’t be mad or bothered by it for a single second because it’s not like I didn’t sign up for this. It’s not like I didn’t know Terrifier 2’s reputation before watching it. And yeah, my stomach did flip a few times.
However, in this day and age where many horror movies have often felt toned-down so that way more audiences can watch them (looking at you, M3GAN), these films really don’t do that at all – and I can appreciate that as a horror fan.
But I Have Seen Grosser
But admittedly, I have seen grosser than this.
As I said before, I know that these movies have a pretty nasty reputation when it comes to the goriness and without giving much away, it certainly earns that a few times over. But as a horror lover, I can fully say there are other movies out there that are just as gross – if not more gross – than Terrifier.
Some of them I’ve gone over in my list regarding certain horror movies that got popular on TikTok. Others have been ones I’ve stumbled across. Few have been recommendations from other horror fans – I mean, Jeff Goldblum’s transformation in The Fly is something that honestly grossed me out more than some of the stuff in Terrifier, if we’re being honest. Or, if you want a really unsettling and disgusting movie, A Serbian Film is the way to go.
However, I can say that Terrifier and its sequel is pretty freaking gross – just not the grossest I’ve ever seen.
All Hallows’ Eve Is A Great Introduction To Art The Clown
I’m a huge supporter of anthology movies and TV shows. I think they are the coolest thing ever. Maybe that’s why I loved the Ryan Murphy-created series, American Horror Story for so long, because every season told a different story with different cast members. It’s something I still appreciate to this day.
All Hallows’ Eve takes that and turns it on its head by giving individualized stories about Art the Clown, only making him more terrifying as time goes on. For those who don’t know, All Hallows’ Eve isn’t considered an official Terrifier movie, but it’s the first film that introduced the main antagonist of those films, so I had to give it a shot, and I really liked it.
It was twisted, bloody, and everything I could imagine for the introduction to who Art is as a villain, and the ending is seriously one of the best ones I’ve seen in horror in a while because it reaches its climax so fast. I love it. I would recommend anyone to watch it.
And Art The Clown Is A Pretty Creepy Villain In The Terrifier Movies
While I also really like All Hallows’ Eve sort of as the origin story for Art’s rampage, I think he’s even better in the movies that come after. I could talk about the other characters and everything they did well, but we’re here to talk about that murderous clown – and he’s turned up to 1000% in the movies that are centered around him.
Art is even scarier, gorier, and more evil, which I didn’t even think he could really get after watching All Hallows’ Eve. Sometimes, I like to have a complex villain and other times, I literally just want someone who is pure evil and just likes to kill things – and that’s where Art comes in.
He’s just so chaotic. He feels almost like a bloodier Michael Myers, if that makes sense, just creepier. I don’t know, maybe it’s just clowns I’m afraid of. All I know is that he’s up there with American Horror Story’s Twisty the Clown villain.
I Also Like The Story Of Terrifier 2 A Lot More
But if we’re being honest, I really liked Terrifier 2 better – as it seems to be the case with many people that they feel the same. It just flows better.
I will admit that the chaos of Terrifier fit the genre, but the narrative felt far too forgettable and overridden by Art. While he is the face of the franchise, sometimes I do like to feel connected to the protagonists and Tara and Victoria just didn’t do it for me. However, I freaking loved Sienna Shaw.
She was a protagonist that reminded me of all the best scream queens from classic horror movies, like Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween, or Heather Langenkamp in A Nightmare on Elm Street.
This is the kind of stuff I was looking for – a strong protagonist and a freaking bloody and disgusting time, and out of all three of these films, Terrifier 2 was my absolute favorite by far – and I would rock that Valkyrie costume that Sienna wears.
If you’ve been holding off seeing these movies, be sure to check them out. I had a fun time watching them and I think you will too – that is if you have the stomach to handle it. Maybe skip the dinner part and just head straight to the show.
Stream All Hallows’ Eve on Tubi.
Stream Terrifier on Tubi.
Rent/Buy Terrifier 2 on Amazon.
