Hollywood loves a good underdog story, and this year, there wasn’t a bigger underdog success than indie sensation Terrifier 2. A sequel to an even smaller 2016 film, the gross-out slasher about a killer clown named Art opened last month with little fanfare outside of the horror community. That it got a theatrical release at all was probably a miracle unto itself. But people liked the movie and told their friends. And those friends told other friends. And theatres booked more screenings. And now, a month later, the film that reportedly cost only $US250,000 ($347,050) has grossed over $US10 ($14) million around the world.
Ten million dollars may not seem like a lot, especially when movies like Smile or Halloween Ends gross hundreds of millions, but Terrifier 2 isn’t a studio release. It didn’t have commercials during major sporting events. The success is based almost exclusively on word of mouth, much of which was about things coming out of people’s mouths because they were so grossed out by the movie. Always a bonus.
Those reports led to more media coverage, which led to more awareness and today Terrifier 2 is still making money at the box office. However, if you don’t feel like heading to a theatre, the news here is that curious horror fans and non-fans alike can check out the film digitally this Friday, November 11. It’s already available to pre-order on iTunes and Prime Video. And, if you can’t wait, the film is available to stream right now with the horror service, Screambox.
Written and directed by Damien Leone, Terrifier 2 resurrects the evil Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) to wreak having on a small town on Halloween night. Which sounds very simple, but at over two hours, Terrifier 2 is an exercise in gross-out horror excess. Here’s the trailer.
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