Art the Clown may follow a script while killing his victims — but sometimes the best stuff in the "Terrifer" movies isn't planned. In fact, one of the creepiest scenes in "Terrifier 2" was totally improvised.
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00:00Art the Clown may follow a script while killing his victims, but sometimes the best stuff
00:05in the Terrifier movies isn't planned.
00:07In fact, one of the creepiest scenes in Terrifier 2 was totally improvised.
00:12As most fans of the Terrifier series know, Art the Clown is a freak show audiences just
00:16can't get enough of.
00:18Writer-director Damien Leone's entire ethos with these films is to constantly shock and
00:22surprise the audience.
00:24For this reason, Leone encourages his cast and crew members to come up with ideas during
00:29filming, which is how one of the creepiest moments in Terrifier 2 was born.
00:32There's definitely going to be a lot of bad dude stuff going on.
00:36Somewhere around the midpoint of Terrifier 2, Art has already set his sights on his opponent,
00:40Sienna Shaw.
00:42Knowing that defeating her will take more than a random assault, he's decided to break
00:45her spirit by going after her friends and loved ones first, starting with Allie.
00:49But in true Art fashion, the killer isn't in a huge hurry to do the deed.
00:53Apparently, this was not the original plan, as SlashFilm learned while speaking to Art
00:57the Clown himself, David Howard Thornton, and co-star Chris Jericho at Fantastic Fest
01:022024.
01:03Thornton told Hall,
01:04"...I was originally supposed to come smashing through this window to go after Allie and
01:08just chase her up the stairs.
01:10And when we got the window, it was already broken.
01:12So Damien and a few of us just put our heads together.
01:14We're like, well, why don't we just put that here and add more to it, where Art's just
01:18making himself at home and he's just getting a drink of water?"
01:21As Jericho was quick to point out, the visual of an already broken window only added to
01:26the moment's eerie suspense, he told SlashFilm.
01:29Also, just the fact that the mirror or the window was already broken, that was way scarier
01:33than if you came through it.
01:35Because imagine going downstairs, you're like, holy s**t, there's something in here, I don't
01:39know what it is.
01:40The moment works on multiple levels.
01:42It adds a layer of suspense to an otherwise humorous bit, and is also a way for Leone
01:47to get the audience to let their guard down before he unleashes the film's most violent
01:50sequence on them.
01:52The sequence also doubles as proof of how improvisational Leone's Terrifier set is,
01:56which Jericho agreed with.
01:58While speaking to SlashFilm, he called Leone a very trusting director who encourages his
02:02actors to improvise scenes and dialogue.
02:05The actor went on to add that Leone's freewheeling directing style made the actors' performances
02:09a lot better.
02:10Thornton not only echoed those sentiments, but elaborated on how such an ethos extended
02:14to the film's crew.
02:15He told SlashFilm,
02:16"[Leone's willing to hear new ideas and experiment.
02:19Of course, he gets final say in everything, and we've had so many happy accidents happen
02:23on set when things go wrong.
02:25He's very adaptive to whatever's happening."
02:27Although the film's detractors will likely use all this as ammunition against Leone,
02:32any creative person knows that collaboration often makes the best art.
02:35That's especially true when someone discerning like Leone can pick and choose from the best
02:39ideas that come his way.
02:41It's also something Art the Clown himself inherently understands.
02:44When you have so many tools in your bag, why not use all of them?
02:49Leone.
02:50Leone.
02:51Leone.
02:52Leone.