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Parents' Guide to

Terrifier 2

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Intensely gory but surprisingly thoughtful slasher sequel.

Movie NR 2022 138 minutes
Terrifier 2 Movie: Poster

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 17+

Based on 15 parent reviews

han.liz1
han.liz1 Adult
October 20, 2022
age 18+
The only reason I did not give it a full five out of five is due to some of the scenes that were slightly drawn out and some of the plot was confusing, but overall, it is by far better than the first one. Unlike the first one, this had an actual plot and other protagonists rather than just Art which was easier to follow. Even being afraid of clowns, I felt this movie is a gold mine for horror fans especially when it comes to gore. This movie will easily be in my opinion the best slasher film of 2022 and I think Damien Leone did a great job. Although it is highly advised for people who can handle VERY graphic kills, I enjoyed it a lot. Compared to the first, this movie turned gore up to 11 and the film effects were a lot better. I give full props to the makeup artists with some of the kill scenes, oh my goodness. I have never seen more graphic kills than the ones in this movie but to summarize this, I know people complain about the time duration, but it did not feel like a 2 and a half hours movie at all, more like an hour and a half. I look forward to see what Damien Leone has in store next!
5 people found this helpful.
Sam M.
Sam M. Parent of 3-year-old
October 13, 2022
age 18+

Hardcore Gore-nography

Seriously no other horror movie comes close to this maim fest. Be warned!!!

This title has:

Too much violence
4 people found this helpful.
See all 15 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In TERRIFIER 2, a year has passed since Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) committed his brutal slayings. Now he's somehow come back to Miles County -- accompanied by a ghostly, demonic young girl clown (Georgia MacPhail) -- just in time for Halloween. Art starts his killings once again, but soon he turns his sights on siblings Sienna (Lauren LaVera) and Jonathan (Elliott Fullam), who live with their harried single mother (Sarah Voigt). Sienna is working on an intricate fantasy costume based on drawings their late father had made, while Jonathan has more morbid obsessions. On Halloween night, Sienna goes out partying, but when Jonathan is kidnapped by the clowns, she must head to the old, abandoned amusement park and try to save the day.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (15 ):
Kids say (34 ):

The heinous Art the Clown returns in this intensely gory sequel that tries much harder -- and is much smarter -- than the original movie. For one thing, it uses its 138-minute running time to establish more memorable characters. It seems as if writer-director Damien Leone paid attention to the reviews of Terrifier -- including critiques about its wandering/nonexistent storyline and characters -- and knuckled down to do better on Terrifier 2. Right away, it's easy to see what a great new character Sienna is; her warrior costume is only half of it. There's plenty of downtime to see how she interacts with her family and friends, arguing, talking, laughing, etc. We know who she is, and human life starts to matter more here than it did in the first film.

Plus, the movie is clever enough to ask why people like and watch slasher movies. It has several subtle moments of sly commentary, such as when a young boy sees Art holding a severed head in a Spirit Halloween-type store and says "cool!" Characters also think it's cool when Art serves them candy from a (different) severed head, which they obviously believe is fake. Earlier movie slashers like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Leatherface have become iconic, but Art arguably goes much, much further with his killings. There's so much more blood and gore. Art doesn't even seem evil; he grins and takes great joy in his work. So where do we draw the line between being entertained and being horrified? Terrifier 2 certainly takes a strong stomach to watch, but it's also surprisingly thoughtful.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Terrifier 2's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

  • Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes like to see disturbing things?

  • What does the movie have to say about people's obsessions with Halloween and horror? When is something "cool," and when is it actually horrifying?

  • Are teen drinking, smoking, and drug use glamorized here? Are there consequences? Why is that important?

  • Why do you think clowns can be so scary?

Movie Details

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