Terrifier 2 Review

Review of Terrifier 2 (2022) by screenqueeen: 👎 2.5/5

HOOPTOBER 9.0 32/32

Art is truly the best part of the TERRIFIER movies. Some things that grated on me about the first movie are not present here but another issue comes up in this anticipated sequel. The menacing and unflinchingly violent nature of Art doesn't come off as surprising as it once did, which makes some sense once you've gotten used to how easily he could tear someone apart in the first movie. But the kills we see in this one almost blend together, even though they range from fairly basic to the excruciatingly multifarious.

The pacing is another thing I noticed after the first 45 minutes. Knowing the length beforehand could have done that, and there are some long scenes between the mother and daughter that, given future events, kind of feel wasted since we're spending so much more time with the dramatic side of a story featuring a killer mute clown. It's a pretty engaging film until you read the telegraphing.

Spending the time with TERRIFIER 2's characters before their later run-ins with Art don't really seem to generate the stakes it thinks it's creating, but it's not without an excellent feel for tension in spots. The sequence of the Halloween store at closing time when Sienna is trying to pay is the best example of this, including the tension that's broken with humor by the very thing that's causing said tension. The cutaways to Art trying on glasses manages to be the funniest part of the movie. The way he can sharpen like a knife on a dime is really the most brilliant part about this.

But the movie's dedication to the messy way we go about establishing Art as this inhuman thing, while far more compelling than the first's treatment of him as a deranged slasher, mucks up the gears by covering one too many things at once. The dream sequence is more than effective enough, and the little girl's inclusion is a nice little touch but other things like the sketchbook and the much-delayed fill-ins of the father's backstory start to hurt the moving parts of this story. It doesn't make this a bad movie or anything but there's a lot here to cut through if you want to get a good bite out of the true heart of this film.