Editorials
‘Terrifier 2’ – 11 Things We Learned from the Blu-ray Commentary Track
While the first Terrifier quickly gained a cult following, the chief criticism lobbed at it was the perceived lack of plot. Terrifier writer-director Damien Leone seems to have taken that to heart, as Terrifier 2 packs a lot of story – including several intentionally ambiguous plotlines to be resolved in a future installment – into a whopping 138 minutes.
Despite playing it coy in interviews, those too impatient to wait for the eventual Terrifier 3 will be pleased to know that Leone answers many of fans’ most burning questions in the audio commentary (recorded the day before the film’s US premiere) that accompanies Terrifier 2 on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD – the release is NOW AVAILABLE.
This article contains spoilers for the film, but you also may want to avoid it if you want to go into Terrifier 3 completely blind, as Leone reveals several hints at where the story is going.
Without further ado, here are 11 things I learned from the Terrifier 2 commentary.
1. Lauren LaVera was the first and only choice for Sienna
Terrifier 2 final girl Sienna Shaw is Leone’s “favorite character that I ever wrote,” based in part by his two older sisters. Since the character’s father is an artist, her name came from Bob Ross’ frequent use of the color burnt sienna.
Lauren LaVera was the first and only choice for the role, as there was never a runner up. Leone notes, “I’ve never had somebody care more for a character that I wrote than Lauren did for Sienna. She was just absolutely in love with this character – we both were – and we worked so hard in fleshing her out and making her a very relatable, interesting hero.”
2. Art’s death is foreshadowed early in the movie
When Sienna confronts her mother about her brother’s fascination with Art the Clown, her mother reminds Sienna that her father caught her cutting the heads off of minnows on a fishing trip when she was younger. “That goes to show that there is a dark side within Sienna,” discloses Leone. “And that’s going to come back when she decapitates Art at the end.”
3. The Clown Safe scene is pivotal to Sienna’s journey
Between Sienna seeing Art for the first time, Indiegogo backers as extras, gratuitous tommy gun blasts, and fire stunts, The Clown Cafe scene is one of the movie’s biggest – and one Leone’s favorite – set pieces. More than a mere dream sequence that some people have dismissed it as, it’s pivotal to Sienna’s journey.
Leone describes it as “a divine test that manifests itself within Sienna’s subconscious” conducted by the forces of good that want to anoint Sienna to combat Art. “If she’s not courageous at the end and doesn’t decide to fight back against Art, then she will not be the one.” Sienna’s decision to stick her hand into the ominous cereal box to fend off Art solidifies her as the chosen one.
Leone also points out the subtext of showing people in line with luggage accompanied by a pilot and a stewardess. “That’s all a reflection of Sienna’s wings and her going on a metaphysical journey; some transcendence.”
4. Art the Clown Provides the Art Crispies voice-over
Art the Clown may be silent, but the man behind the face paint, David Howard Thornton, is also a voice actor and impressionist. He provides the voice-over for the Art Crispies cereal commercial during the Clown Cafe sequence.
“Since I always take his voice away, I said, ‘Hey, you want to do this little voiceover for the cereal?'” Leone recalls. Thornton previously made a similar vocal cameo in a radio broadcast in the first Terrifier.
5. Sienna’s sword isn’t supernatural until she uses it to fight back
The Clown Cafe scene culminates with Sienna reaching into a cereal box and pulling out the sword her father gifted to her, which she proceeds to use to fight back against Art and his makeshift flamethrower.
Much has been speculated about the sword, and Damien clarifies that it isn’t supernatural in and of itself; it only gains its power when Sienna uses it to defend herself. “When she decides to fight and the fire hits the sword, that is the moment where the sword officially becomes baptized. It breaks into reality, and the sword is literally on fire.”
The scolding that ensues from Sienna’s mother is inspired by an actual argument between Leone and his own mother. When he was younger, the budding filmmaker inadvertently awakened his mother by melting sulfur-based clay on the stove for a special effect, filling the house with foul smoke.
6. The Little Pale Girl’s look was inspired by Art the Clown cosplayers
The Little Pale Girl – who Leone refers to as “the embodiment of evil that has resurrected Art the Clown” – was initially envisioned as a “little girl from the ’60s in a yellow sundress with flowers on it and maybe a flower behind her ear.” That changed on Halloween 2017 – the year before filming started – when Leone was tagged by various fans in homemade Art costumes on Instagram.
Noting how many females dressed as Art, he was inspired to radically change the design of the Little Pale Girl. Not wanting her to wear the exact same outfit as Art, he created a mirror image (“where he’s black, she’s white”). Leone also points out that the character’s teeth are switched – the upper teeth are on the bottom and vice versa – to add to the unease.
7. Sienna’s father was a vessel for both good and evil
There has been some debate among fans as to whether Art the Clown is Sienna’s father. While he maintains a bit of mystique regarding the character, Leone seems to confirm that he is not Art. The filmmaker offers additional insight into the father:
“The father was sort of a vessel for that supernatural good that needs to get to Sienna, and he was the one who started getting the visions; not understanding why necessarily or what’s happening, but he knew he had to get the sword for Sienna. He knew that she was meant for something important. And because of that, he was also channeling the bad force that was coming in; the evil entity that was gonna be the counterpart to that good.”
He continues, “It was all starting to come through, and that’s why he was becoming abusive. And all of this going on inside of him manifested itself into a physical tumor that eventually made him go crazy and kill himself. He was the vessel. It was channeling through him, and he was supplying Sienna with what she needed to go forward on her journey. It was an essential sacrifice on his part, which is another classic, Biblical, mythic theme.”
8. The costume shop scene is Leone’s homage to his favorite scene in Terrifier
Filmed on location at Abracadabra in New York City, the costume shop scene was immediately embraced by fans after a brief clip of Art wearing gaudy sunglasses was featured in the trailer. Leone looks at the scene as the sequel’s version of Terrifier‘s pizza shop sequence, which is his favorite scene in the first film.
“I love when Art is able to interact with people in public. That’s one of the cool things about Art that separates him from the other slashers, is that he’s not immediately threatening,” he explains. “I love to get as much tension and suspense out of that situation as possible.”
9. The club scene features a call-back to Leone’s first short film
During the club scene, two background actors are dressed as cloaked demons from The 9th Circle, Leone’s first short film from 2008. This was an unplanned call-back, as a pair of Indiegogo backers showed up in the costumes as a surprise to the director.
For those unfamiliar, The 9th Circle marked the first appearance of Art the Clown (then played by Mike Giannelli). It was later reworked to be incorporated into Leone’s 2013 horror anthology, All Hallows’ Eve.
10. Leone hid references to his favorite films throughout the movie
Leone peppered the film with loving homages and references to several of his favorite films, some more overt than others. They include…
- The Exorcist (the Little Pale Girl secretes goo on the floor similar to Regan urinating on the rug)
- Halloween (Jeff first approaches Brooke disguised under a ghost sheet with glasses)
- Maniac (Art blasting Barbara’s head off with a shotgun is a tribute to Tom Savini’s mind-blowing special effects)
- Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (Art messing around with the sunglasses is based on Pee-Wee in the coffee shop)
- Class of 1984 (Art smashes Sienna’s face into the bathroom mirror)
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Art mocks his victims similar to the Hitchhiker)
- Salem’s Lot (the Little Pale Girl’s eyes glow yellow at the end)
11. Malignant forced the mid-credit sequence to be reshot
Victoria’s portion of the mid-credit sequence had to be reshot due to its unforeseen similarities to James Wan’s Malignant. In the original version, “Victoria’s not pregnant. She’s in the room, singing the song, and scratching the back of her head and she notices there’s blood all over her fingers.” The nurses hear her screaming and run to the room to find her writhing on the floor holding her head.
“Leah [Voysey] inspects her head and all of a sudden her fingers get bit off. You don’t know what the hell’s going on, and there’s mayhem, and Chris Jericho tackles her. Victoria reaches up, grabs the back of her scalp, rips her scalp open, and it’s Art the Clown growing on the back of her head like a tumor.”
You can probably see where this is going. “Of course, a couple of months after we shot it, Malignant came out, and we said, ‘Oh, my god. We both did the exact same thing, and we can’t possibly do that.’ So we had to go and reconfigure this.” Production designer Olga Turka suggested Victoria give birth to Art instead, and Leone ran with the idea.
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
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