Art the Clown — the newest heavy hitter in the world of horror icons. A sort of mix between a Pierrot Clown and a Mime, Art is an entity unlike any other we’ve seen before. First gracing our screens in Damien Leone‘s 9th Circle and Terrifier shorts, Art has made his presence known in the Terrifier expanded universe with his silent, merciless destruction. Is he human? Is he a demon? We’ll probably never know. But what I do know is that despite his evilness, he is a star. Art the Clown has the ability to go from sawing a woman in half to trying on silly Halloween costume accessories and back to making teens into blood fountains without missing a beat. It’s hard not to love Art and his antics, played masterfully by Mike Giannelli (All Hallows’ Eve) and now by David Howard Thornton (Terrifier series). Art is a trip — here are my favorite moments from his movies so far. You know the drill: spoilers ahead!
Wave Goodbye (All Hallows’ Eve, 2013)
While our not-so-final girl gets dragged off into the depths of a train station, Art the Clown (played by Giannelli here) waves goodbye with a head tilt from Hell and bright, glowing eyes. There is debate on what exactly Art is, whether he’s some demon or human or what. I like this scene because up until this point, he was just a regular guy being creepy. Now, we’re not so sure.
Walk, Don’t Run (Terrifier 2, 2022)
Another few seconds of Art being absolutely iconic. As if a model on the catwalk, Art the Clown gracefully — and threateningly — walks towards his next victim. If you ever see someone with insane eyes coming at you like that, just know you’re about to have a bad day.
Will You Marry Me? (Terrifier, 2016)
This will probably sound like one of those “Hear me out” moments, but you have to admit it’s kind of cute. After staring down Halloween partier Tara and being accosted by her friend Dawn, Art makes his move and buys a ring for Tara from a quarter gumball machine. He puts it on her finger and everything. Tara awkwardly says her thanks and ends up wearing it for some time after, unnerved but also kind of liking the attention. Don’t act like that’s not cute! Spoiler: he kills her later.
Trick or Treat (Terrifier 2, 2022)
In one of the most gruesome kills in horror (somehow topping Terrifier‘s “sawed in half” scene), Art has killed Final Girl Sienna’s best friend, Allie. He then shows us that despite his utter lack for human life, he does know how to have a good time. Using Allie’s severed head, Art attends to some trick-or-treaters and even chastises one for trying to take more than one piece of candy. Silly and ironic, considering Allie made fun of him for trick-or-treating earlier in the day.
Sunglasses (Terrifier 2, 2022)
I think at this point, it’s impossible not to have seen this scene, regardless of if you’ve actually watched Terrifier 2 or not. Art the Clown is following Sienna through a Halloween costume store. She is clearly terrified (haha, get it?) but he doesn’t seem to care. As she gets more and more frightened, Art decides to try on some accessories in the funniest scene I have ever seen. David Howard Thornton’s acting here is absolutely perfect, as he makes Art both a funny presence as well as an intimidating one. Chef’s kiss! This scene is brilliant!
Art the Clown is memorable for many reasons, and it’s so cool to have a villain that is both funny and terrifying. It’s scenes like these that make me a fan, and I’ll be first in the theaters to see Terrifier 3 this fall.
What are your favorite Art the Clown moments? Let us know in the comments!
