Film Review : "Terrifier 2"

Who are these people who passed out in the theater or threw up? For horror I suppose it is one of the smartest marketing ploys you can go with, and it seems to work as this sequel to what was largely a cult film, gained a great deal of momentum from this hype. the movie is a great deal of fun. It took the formula from the first film and has built a story onto it with character you care about. Which considering the first film trying to out gore themselves would not have worked, nor did they attempt that. There is nothing equal to the inverted pussy saw scene of the first film. He does put the bodies to better use after they are killed. It could be reasoned from the perspective of Art the Clown since he is working on the go there is less time to prep and he is just working with what is most accessible. 

The budget is bigger, so it generally benefits from that, as it is set in more populated regions. We are not just stuck in the warehouse building. A year's time passed for the bulk of the story to take place. Art has been re-animated in the first film, but the supernatural element in regard to him is not milked, though he does haunt dreams in a Freddy Kruger like manner in some cases. In this way the movie is all over the place. It is most ground when the new protagonist Lauren LaVera is center stage as she is the best actress of the film. Here story takes an unexpected turn, and you think the back story is going one way, which it still might in future films, but the seed in the story is planted, but never grown when the movie makes its climax in the Funhouse. 

The gore is pretty Troma level low budget.  The blood does not look real more often than not, heats are pulled off with no spinal column ever existing and, bones break like rubber hoses. If this was a Gwar concert it would make more sense. I have a hard time being repulsed by gore that looks this fake. Art's mean-spirited intent is the only thing that seems to balance it out. The bulk of the victims you hope get what is coming to them, so most of the time you are rooting for Art. Are there sharks jumped and plot holes the movie threatens to fall into? Yes, but it manages to hold itself together off sheer momentum of the story. It is clear Art is a slasher that can now take his place alongside the Jasons and Leatherfaces of horror's hall of fame. I am looking forward to seeing where they go with this, so the movie had to succeed when you take away the technical aspects of film making that it still is grinding through the growing pains with.