Damien Leone’s Terrifier movies are an incredible success, independently created, no ties to studios, they are horror films showcasing a creator’s dark, bloody vision of terror. In a few short years the feature villain Art the Clown has skyrocketed to horror icon, with his distinctive black and white outfit, tiny top hat, hook nose, and complete lack of voice. Personally speaking, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first Terrifier movie, but I absolutely loved Terrifier 2, so I was excited and intrigued to dive back into the blood-soaked fictional town of Miles County, NY to see how Tim Waggoner would be able to translate such a visually arresting film to the printed page. The film (and novelization) can be read/viewed without having watched the first Terrifier film.
Word of warning, though in case readers haven’t seen either of the Terrifier films: There are some very grisly, bloody descriptions in the novel (just as there are in the Terrifier films).
The nightmarish Art the Clown returns from the dead to continue his murderous and mad spree, in this gruesome novelization of the hit horror film.
It has been one year since the sleepy town of Miles County survived the murderous spree of demented killer Art the Clown, but little do they know the nightmare is about to begin anew.
Resurrected by a sinister entity, Art is back with an appetite for murder and mayhem—setting his sights on the recently bereaved teenager Sienna and her younger brother Jonathan. The streets are about to run with blood, and Sienna must somehow survive this gruesome Halloween night and discover how to defeat a brutal and unforgiving killing machine from beyond her nightmares.
There’s no stopping Art once his sights are set on you…
I’ll admit, I was a little surprised to learn that a novelization of the film was happening, considering what I mentioned about the independent nature of the film. But Titan Books, Bloody Disgusting, and Damien Leone brought in respected and experienced scribe Tim Waggoner to bring Art and Sienna’s tale from the screen to the page.
Like the film, with Art has somehow been resurrected and joined by another creepy clown character, known only as the Little Pale Girl. Art summarily resumes is inventive murder and dismemberment spree. About one year later, Sienna and Jonathan Shaw are getting ready for Halloween. Their father passed away about a year prior to the opening of the novel, but he was an artist and designed a Valkyrie costume Sienna is building. Jonathan has ideas of dressing up as Art, since pictures of Art were in the sketchbook their father left behind along with Sienna’s costume.
Sienna has strange dreams about a bizarre “Clown Café,” in which Art silently and gleefully commits acts of violence and Jonathan has visions of the Little Pale Girl and Art in his school. Unfortunately, Jonathan is blamed for leaving behind the dead opossum Art and the Little Pale Girl were using as a play toy. While their mother punishes Jonathan for the perceived vandalism, Sienna heads out to the local costume shop with her friend Allie. Who do you think was “shopping” there as well? Yup, our friend Art the Clown. Although Sienna is able to leave the shop unhindered, Art sticks around and has some fun.
Sienna heads to a Halloween party, but is soon drawn away to an abandoned carnival after a call from her brother informs her that Art broke into their house and kidnapped Jonathan. This leads to a powerful, visceral showdown between Sienna and Art that gives small hints to Art’s true nature as well as the sword Sienna’s father left behind for her.
Well, that’s a portion of the summary of the story in both the film and the book. As I said earlier, I thoroughly enjoyed the film Terrifier 2 and Waggoner managed to inject the same visceral elements from the film into his narrative. What I appreciated in the film was Leone expanding beyond just a bloody gorefest with inventive killings. Don’t get me wrong, Art still manages to get his fair share of dismemberments in, but Leone injects a really cool backstory/mythology for the overarching storyline and creation of an instant classic final girl in Sienna. There’s an incredible chemistry between her and Art that might be on the same level as say…Nancy Thompson and Freddy Kreuger.
That’s all fine and dandy for the film, but what does Waggoner bring to the page? I felt a little more emotional weight in Sienna’s character. When it comes to film novelizations (and most of the novelizations I’ve read are Star Wars), it is a tricky line a writer needs to walk. The novel should be more than just a prose adaptation of the script and nothing in the novel should contradict what occurred in the film. In this regard, Waggoner crafted a novel that added to the experience of the film in a way I appreciated. He was able to bring depth to the Sienna/Art “rivalry” adding gravitas to a great heroine/villain dichotomy. Perhaps where the novel succeeded in the best way possible was giving readers a glimpse into Art the Clown. There was just enough to provide a little bit of insight into the creepy clown, but nothing full blown that gave the character any humanity.
The timing of the novel is just perfect as it was released around the time Terrifier 3 hit movie theaters, providing a great way for fans to refresh themselves before viewing the that third film entry. The book also serves as a good introduction to the world Art and Sienna inhabit for people who may have not seen Terrifier 2. For me, as I said, I was very happy to reacquaint with Sienna, Art and their story.
Bottom line, Waggoner has given readers and fans of the franchise (and horror, in general) a fun novel.
Recommended.
© 2024 Rob H. Bedford
Titan Books | Paperback
October 2024 | 400 Pages
Official Movie site: https://www.screambox.com/details/1000000007667/Terrifier-2
Excerpt: https://variety.com/2024/film/news/terrifier-2-novelization-art-the-clown-salt-torture-1236147795/
https://timwaggoner.com/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
