“Terrifier 2” is an American slasher film that made waves for its gore and intense scenes
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the slasher film.
- Terrifier 2 is a 2022 American slasher film
- It is written, directed, edited, and produced by Damien Leone
- It is a sequel to Terrifier (2016)
- It is the second film in the franchise
- It features the return of David Howard Thornton and Samantha Scaffidi
- They respectively portrayed Art the Clown and Victoria Heyes in the first film
- In the film also stars Lauren LaVera, Elliot Fullam, Sarah Voigt, Kailey Hyman, and Casey Harnett
- The story follows Art’s resurrection and pursuit of Sienna Shaw (LaVera) and her younger brother Jonathan (Fullam) on Halloween night
- It takes place a year after the events of the first film
- The film originates from a feature film concept Leone began developing shortly after filming his directorial debut short film The 9th Circle (2009)
- The concept of the planned film focused heavily on a heroine in an angel costume battling the Art character
- It ultimately fell apart, but after the release of Terrifier (2016), Leone wanted to bring the heroine back as the protagonist
- She would evolve into Sienna, someone Leone describes as the “heart and soul” of Terrifier 2
- Leone spent three months writing a character-driven screenplay following criticism of the first film’s perceived lack of narrative
- Funding for the film was exacting as the script was more ambitious than the first film and required a bigger budget
- Leone secured finances from private investors before filming
- He launched an Indiegogo campaign with a $50k goal to film a practical effects-driven scene
- The campaign was a massive success
- Reaching over 430% of the initial goal with a total of $250k in donations
- It is one of the numerous films impacted by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic with principal photography coming to a halt mid-2020 due to the pandemic lockdowns
- The film had its world premiere at the FrightFest on August 29, 2022
- It premiered in the United States on October 6, 2022
- It was met with positive reviews from critics
- The film’s gore and intense scenes have allegedly led to emergency services having to be called from viewers fainting and vomiting in theaters
- Leone revealed February 12, 2019, in a post on his social media showing the cover page, that the first draft of the screenplay was complete
- After writing and directing the short film The 9th Circle (2009), Leone began developing a feature length film focusing on the Art the Clown character and a heroine in an angel costume battling him
- This version of the film ultimately got scrapped
- After the 2016 film got criticism for its perceived lack of narrative, Leone spent three months writing a character-orientated screenplay for the follow-up film
- He opted to bring back the angel-attired heroine a decade later and adapt her into Sienna Shaw
- Leone describes much of the screenplay revolving around the teenage girl
- He describes Sienna as his favorite character he has ever written
- Leone describes the screenplay as much bigger in scope than the previous film and recollects not considering a budget while writing
- One of the factors during writing was establishing an adversary to Art
- Something inspired by the relationship between superhero Batman and supervillain Joker
- During a lunch with Leone and David Howard Thornton, Sienna’s actress, Lauren LaVera, was told of this intended dynamic between her character and Art
- Besides Sienna, LaVera recollects the script focusing heavily on Sienna’s younger brother Jonathan, their mother, and her friends
- All of whom play a crucial part in the story
- Both Thornton and Scaffidi were confirmed to reprise their respective roles of Art and Victoria, becoming the only returning cast members of the prior film, other than (according to IMDb) a brief voice cameo by Michael Leavy (who played Will the Exterminator who got beheaded in the original Terrifier) as the Club Announcer and DJ voice
- There are also rumors of Steven Della Salla and Jason Leavy, the two cops in the original film, returning in a cameo fashion
- This would make sense considering the three are also all producers on the second installment
- On September 11, 2019 it was announced that actress Lauren LaVera was cast in the lead role of Sienna Shaw
- On October 15, it was announced that Felissa Rose, Chris Jericho and Tamara Glynn had joined the cast in cameo roles
- A teaser trailer for Terrifier 2 was released on July 24, 2020
- MovieWeb’s Jeremy Dick commented on the teaser, stating that “the teaser is pretty exciting to watch for anyone who enjoyed the first movie”
- Matt Joseph of We Got This Covered also reviewed the trailer, writing “This trailer, though brief, does at least promise a bigger, bloodier and more terrifying sequel, one that should have no issue pleasing those who found much to like in the original”
- It was also announced that a three issue limited release comic book series would be issued prior to the film’s release
- Terrifier 2 was released in 900 theaters in the United States, grossing $400,000 on its opening day
- On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 89%
- Based on 27 reviews
- With an average rating of 6.9/10
- On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100
- Based on four critics
- Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
- Following its release, there were several reports of viewers vomiting and fainting during their screenings of Terrifier 2, with one instance allegedly having emergency services be called
- Speaking on the audience reactions to the film with Entertainment Weekly, director Damien Leone remarked “Listen, I would have loved to have a couple of walk-outs, I think that’s sort of a badge of honor because it is an intense movie. I don’t want people fainting, getting hurt during the movie. But it’s surreal”
- Both Leone and Thornton have confirmed that a Terrifier 3 is planned
- Along with further installments that will slowly build on Art’s background and motives
- With the heroine of Terrifier (2016) having been driven insane, Terrifier 2’s protagonist is set to be a franchise lead and return in future films and related media
- Leone has also stated himself that he may have more than enough material for Terrifier 3 to warrant a Terrifier 4
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