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The "Terrifier" films aren't exactly known for being indirect. Creator Damien Leone has created a saga of unrelenting barbarity, with burgeoning horror icon Art the Clown slashing his way across a handful of short films and three features. Indeed, 2022's "Terrifier 2" proved too brutal for even some seasoned horror fans, with reports of walk-outs helping propel the film to relatively impressive box office success. In 2024, Leone continued his mission to depict the most upsettingly graphic kills possible with "Terrifier 3," itself a film that prompted walkouts simply due to a stomach-churning opening sequence.

This a film series that has seen Art the Clown sever a woman in half from the pelvis up, whip a victim with their own intestines, and absolutely decimate the body of a young girl in a scene that happens to represent Leone's favorite kill and which has become the high watermark for unadulterated gore in the "Terrifier" saga.

How much do you really need to know about a slasher series before jumping in? After all, in the typical "Friday the 13th" or 'Halloween" sequel, it's pretty easy to get acclimated. The killer is back, there are a whole new bunch of potential victims, yadda yadda yadda. That may be true of many horror franchises, especially the longer they get, but it is definitely not true of the relatively short-running "Terrifier" franchise. 

There aren't just two movies to recap, but two movies with radically different plot dynamics, two short films, and an anthology feature that incorporates the shorts while adding new material. As the story progresses, murderous mime Art the Clown goes from lowly henchman to full-on antichrist status, and can it possibly be true that he'll face off against the real Santa Claus next time around?

Strap yourself in for a look back at the movie series...

Before becoming a modern horror icon with the Terrifier franchise, Art the Clown made his debut in Damien Leone’s All Hallows’ Eve. The 2013 horror anthology is now available on VHS at Witter Entertainment.

Presented by Broke Horror Fan (that’s me!), the fully functional VHS is available in two variants: a standard slipcase for $30 and a book box edition with a flip-open cover and an orange tape, limited to 100, for $50.

For optimal VHS viewing, the movie has been cropped from its original aspect ratio to 4:3 full frame. It’s officially licensed from Rlje Films and approved by Leone.

In the film, “While babysitting two children on Halloween night, a young woman finds an old VHS tape in the kids’ trick or treat bag. The tape features three tales of terror, all linked together by a murderous clown. As the night goes on strange things begin to occur in the house.

Ever since "Terrifier 2" scared up big wins at the box office, making $15.7 million on a $250,000 budget, its homicidal antagonist has become somewhat of a slasher star. Art the Clown, portrayed by the inimitable David Howard Thornton, is a silent, psychopathic harlequin who becomes positively gleeful in the presence of all-out human carnage. But despite the murderous clown's horrific exploits, he's started to enjoy slightly more mainstream exposure since his little movie became a modest hit, popping up in a cameo on Pete Davidson's "Bupkis" and preparing for what will surely be an even bigger hit with the upcoming "Terrifier 3."

The character has come a long way since his inception as one of many eldritch creations used in the short films "The 9th Circle" (2008). Director and creator of the "Terrifier" series, Damien Leone, originally created Art the Clown after being struck by the idea of a woman being...