It seems like a lifetime ago when the character of Art the Clown debuted in Damien Leone’s low-budget short Terrifier.
It was in fact 12 years ago, and little did we know that we would be anticipating the theatrical release of a third solo effort of Art next October.
Following this, Art’s film was incorporated into the Halloween-themed anthology All Hallows Eve, also directed by Leone. While this anthology got a sequel, it strangely didn’t feature our killer clown.
At this point, the character was portrayed by Mike Giannelli, who stepped away from acting after the anthology and that appeared to be that.
Enter, David Howard Thornton, who had done work previously as a mime and was largely unknown, when he was cast to take over the role for Art’s solo feature debut Terrifier in 2016, with a debut at Frightfest Halloween that year. This is when the cult of Art was really born, as I was the lucky winner of a Terrifier phone case in a competition in the lead-up plus audience members were given masks of Art the Clown to wear beforehand. Terrifier was now whispered about in horror circles as a new pretender to the slasher crown.
The film would gain further exposure early in 2017 as the film got a full physical media release and digital release. Gore hounds would laud its excessive violence and grindhouse feel as we see Art literally split victims in two. No one would quite look at a hacksaw the same again.
What made Art quite unique is the mute killer, with Thornton employing his mime training to give the character a silent sense of humour.
The cult of Art had now begun and it felt like it was all building to the release of Terrifier 2 in October 2022, and coinciding with an appearance at the For The Love Of Horror Convention, Leone and Thornton were reaching minor icon status. The response by fans for photos, autographs and a Q&A panel as feverish.
Those who thought Terrifier was a bit excessive wouldn’t take too kind to Terrifier 2, a two-hour-plus juggernaut of excess that gave Art a platform to go to a whole new level of blood and gore.
Terrifier 2 did hint at some origins for Art the Clown but confirmed nothing, and the mystery surrounding this relentless killer has kept fans intrigued about his origins and if he can even be defeated, as there is definitely supernatural leanings.
While the second film was slightly bloated, there is no denying that Leone had reached a captive audience who were ready for more Art. Thornton honed the character and injected more offbeat humour into the performance while losing zero edge, as you can point to various kills in the film.
The point when I feel like it Terrifier as a brand became part of the zeitgeist was at the 2023 For the Love of Horror, as Leah Voysey, performed her song from Terrifier 2, and someone literally charged past me to see her perform it live on stage along with hundreds of other guests. Merch stalls knew Art was box office, with t-shirt stalls selling so many different variations of Terrifier merch and fans dressing as Art, plus the character of Sienna from Terrifier 2.
Terrifier had seemed to be a Halloween holiday series but Leone has surprised many by giving Art his own Christmas horror movie. The teaser trailer shows Art clad in a Santa costume invading an innocent family’s house.
It felt like a prod against the Puritanical who would surely come for the film, for claims of tainting the holiday of Saint Nick. Anyone who knows the history of Silent Night, Deadly Night will see parallels with what could happen when Terrifier 3 is released. The right-wing press is already claiming the film has gone too far, despite barely seeing a frame of the film. At this stage, we don’t even know if the teaser released is just that or an actual scene from the film.
Love it or hate it, you can’t deny Terrifier or Art the Clown, and now only time will tell if he can take his place in the list of horror icons alongside the Freddy’s and Jason’s of the horror world.
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