One Of The Creepiest Scenes In Terrifier 2 Was A Total Accident [Exclusive]

As most fans of the "Terrifier" series and Art the Clown know, the deadly deeds and mythology of the malevolent killer is an ever-changing, mercurial thing. Creator/writer/director Damien Leone's entire ethos with the character and these films is to constantly shock and surprise the audience, with Art literally and figuratively betraying the covenant of horror and slasher movies past. At any point and without warning, Art could turn up, take his own life, be resurrected, pull out either a butcher's knife or a gun, and generally be so unpredictable as to be supremely unsettling. Given this aesthetic, the "Terrifier" films have followed suit: the first appearance of Art in a feature was in "All Hallow's Eve," an anthology film partially made up of prior short films that Leone had already shot (including the initial "Terrifier" short). Next was the first "Terrifier" feature-length film, which involved a circular narrative structure. Following that was 2022's "Terrifier 2," which has an epic (especially for a slasher sequel) length of 138 minutes and greatly expands the series' ensemble and mythology.

As "Terrifier 3" is about to hit theaters on October 11, the film is already promising to continue this ethos of shock and surprise, if early reactions are anything to go by. While Leone has spoken in various interviews and commentary tracks about how he comes up with some of Art's most infamous and violent exploits, he also likes to leave a lot of room for his fellow cast and crew members to come up with ideas to add to the "Terrifier" stew. It's in this spirit that one of the creepiest moments in "Terrifier 2" was born, a scene created out of innovation and necessity. It's a great example of how, with "Terrifier" and with Art himself, anything goes.

Somewhere around the midpoint of "Terrifier 2," Art has already set his sights on his destined opponent, Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera). Knowing that defeating her will take more than a random assault, he's decided to break her spirit by going after her friends and loved ones first, starting with poor Allie (Casey Hartnett), who is doomed as soon as Art turns up at her doorstep trick or treating. In true Art fashion, the killer isn't in a huge hurry to do the deed and takes a bit of a breather before committing one of the most heinous murders in slasher history.

Apparently, this respite was not the original plan, as /Film's Jacob Hall learned while speaking to Leone, co-star Chris Jericho, and Art the Clown himself, David Howard Thornton. As Thornton told Hall during Fantastic Fest 2024:

"I remember in part two when it's a scene that we came up [with] basically out of the blue and it was a happy accident. I was originally supposed to come smashing through this window to go after Allie and just chase her up the stairs. And when we got the window, it was already broken and it was the middle of night [so] we couldn't get a new window. And so Damien and a few of us just put our heads together. And we had this little bit of a thing that we thought we were going to have halfway through it and we're like, 'Well, why don't we just put that here and add more to it, where Art's just making himself at home and he's just getting a drink of water?' And I feel that's so much more creepy in that way. This guy is so confident in what he's about to do."

As Jericho was quick to point out, the visual of an already-broken window only added to the moment's eerie suspense, even as Art happily got himself a drink:

"Also, just the fact that the mirror or the window was already broken, that was way scarier than if you came through it. Because imagine going downstairs, you're like, 'Holy s–t, there's something in here. I don't know what it is.' It was a great scene."

The moment works on multiple levels: it adds that layer of suspense to an otherwise humorous bit, and yet the scene as a whole is a cleverly mean-spirited way of getting the audience to let their guard down a little bit before Leone unleashes the movie's most violent sequence on them. If there's one scene that encapsulates what the spirit of "Terrifier" is all about, it's this one.

The sequence also doubles as proof of how open and improvisational the "Terrifier" set is. According to Thornton and Jericho, it seems to be the way Leone best likes to work. As Jericho stated:

"And so when you have a good relationship, like I said, my scenes with Damien were a day of shooting or two days, but you have a little connection. I'm sure you guys have a great connection. Trust each other. 'What about this? Try that.' Okay. And that is what you want on set is someone that you can go to. Damien is the captain of the ship. He's the f—g boss. But if I have an idea, I'm not scared to throw it out there because nine times out of 10 ... We even improvised some dialogue that we used on one of my scenes. And just, 'Yeah, go for it. Let's try it.' So that's a good relationship to have. So he's a very trusting director, which is great for the relationship and the performance."

Thornton not only echoed those sentiments but elaborated on how such an ethos extends to the film's crew as well as the actors:

"He's very actor friendly, he's willing to hear new ideas and experiment. It's not just from the cast as well. You'll hear, if we have a crew member that has an idea for something... At the end of the day, the most important thing I think for us is to have the best movie possible. So he's open to hearing other ideas. Of course, he gets final say in everything. And we've had so many happy accidents happen on set when things go wrong. He's very adaptive to whatever's happening."

Although the film's detractors will likely use all this as ammunition against Leone, any creative worth their salt knows that collaboration (within a collaborative medium) often makes the best art. That's especially true when someone discerning like Leone can pick and choose from the best ideas that come his way. After all, the drink of water was far from the only great moment in "Terrifier 2" that was improvised. It's something Art the Clown himself inherently understands: when you have so many tools in your bag, why not use all of them?

"Terrifier 3" is in theaters on October 11, 2024.