Terrifier (2011)

Synopsis

Driving alone and about to run out of gas, a woman stops at the last gas station available for miles. Filling up may be the last thing she ever does.

Thoughts

Let's go over our horror movie checklist. Curious girl traveling alone? Check. Gas station in the middle of nowhere? Check. Flip phone with low battery? Check. Abandoned warehouse in the middle of the woods? Check. Murderous clown without a motive? Check. Alright. Camera rolling. Marker. Action.

This short horror gem is absolutely fantastic. It instills fear, gore is top notch and the fact that it keeps you entertained the entire time is remarkable. Well, with 20 minutes, it really shouldn't be that hard to do, but you'd be surprised with other short films. 

You may not know, but Terrifier was later attached to a quite dreadful anthology horror film called All Hallow's Eve. Here's a tip: DON'T BOTHER WITH IT! This is literally the only redeeming quality of that film and it's available online all by itself. 

The acting from the lead actress, simply entitled woman, is quite campy. Maybe that was the intention, but the actor playing attendant was actually decent. I'm not saying she was terrible, but her reaction to a man getting, well, I'm not going to spoil it. But, would you not utter a noise after seeing something so horrific? Come on. Not even a gasp? Art the clown is a character I'll never forget because of how well the actor did portraying such a creepy, sadistic and cheerful clown. 

I love the added touch of film grain throughout. It adds to the feel and overall tone of it. Makes you feel like you're on a date at a drive-in, stuffing your face with stale popcorn and milk duds. The makeup and special effects are great. It's nice to see blood that looks like actual blood and not some computer animated garbage. I just like that little touch of realness when it comes to blood and gore. 

So, clowns don't scare me. Maybe a clown with balloons that can command bees to attack, but that's a whole other story. Anybody with balloons and bees is my worst nightmare. Terrifier is a short film any fan of horror should see and will appreciate it for its simplicity, throwbacks and, of course, the gore. 

IMDB: 7.1/10

Rotten Tomatoes: ?/10

WeFLM: 10/10

Come for the throwbacks. Stay for Art the clown. 

-kp