Movies

Terrifier 2 Trivia | 59 facts about the horror film

“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