‘Terrifier 2’ Update from Mad Monster Q&A: Coming This Halloween Season

During a Q&A panel at the Mad Monster Party horror convention last weekend in North Carolina, writer/director/makeup FX artist/editor Damien Leone and Art the Clown himself, David Howard Thornton, provided some exciting new teases of their highly anticipated Halloween horror sequel Terrifier 2, which Leone says is coming this fall.

When asked by a fan in the audience if he could reveal a date for this year’s release of Terrifier 2, Leone answered, “It’s going to be Halloween season. Don’t have a specific date yet.” Addressing this year’s other big Halloween sequel Halloween Ends, when the same fan remarked that T2 would be going up against the big screen return of Michael Myers, Leone added, “Yeah, why not? We’re going against the big boy.”

Thornton then joked, “I’m not going to be staring at my reflection in the window.”

On the film itself, Leone said, “We really amped up everything that people did love about the first one. The violence is way crazier. Art’s on a totally different level in this one. And we took the whole movie now, because you know he comes back, into a supernatural realm that is nowhere to be found in the first movie, so it has a completely different atmosphere. I’m a huge horror fan, but for me, this feels very fresh compared to things that we all grew up loving. 

“There’s a supernatural element, and there’s also a fantasy element that you probably wouldn’t expect. …It’s interesting mixing that with the grittiness of Terrifier, because we made sure we still kept it gritty.” 

When moderator Levi Tinker asked about the pressure to give fans of the first film something special and worth the wait, Leone said, “Nowadays, movies get hyped, they come out, everybody talks about them for three days, and then you forget about them. What’s next? I’m not looking at it that way. I’m look at it where I want to deliver something where I hope you guys talk about it for a while once it comes out.”

In a final tease, Leone revealed, “There is a major character that you haven’t seen. We haven’t spoiled the character, and its’s a major part of the story, and it’s a major supernatural character that really you’re gonna go, ‘Whoa, where did that come from? What movie am I watching?’ So I’m excited. There are a lot of surprises in this one. We take it to a radical place.” 

Later at the same Q&A on Friday, Feb. 18, Leone was asked for one word to whet fans’ appetites for Terrifier 2, and after some thought, Thornton stepped in and replied, “Balance. There’s a balance that’s in this film. I kind of look at Sienna as being the Batman to Art’s Joker. She brings that balance that’s needed there in that universe.”

On the future of the franchise beyond Terrifier 2, Leone said, “I have so many ideas for the third one that it might be enough for two more movies. I don’t know, we’ll see. Let’s see how Part 2 goes.”

The official synopsis for the sequel: After Art the Clown is resurrected by a sinister entity, he returns to the timid town of Miles County, where he targets a teenage girl and her younger brother on Halloween Night.

David Howard Thornton once again plays Art the Clown in Terrifier 2. The cast also includes Lauren LaVera as Sienna and Elliott Fullam as Sienna’s younger brother Jonathan, as well as Casey Hartnett as Allie, Kailey Hyman as Brooke, Sarah Voigt as Sienna’s mom Barbara, and our friends Tamara Glynn (Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers) and Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp). The film is written and directed by Damien Leone, who also serves as a producer.

Mad Monster Party took place Feb. 18-20 in Concord, North Carolina.

Look for much more of our exclusive coverage of the event, including photo galleries, new videos, additional panel reports, and more, dropping here at HDN in the coming days.

See all of our Mad Monster Party 2022 coverage here!

[See all of our Terrifier 2 coverage here.]

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