Art The Clown is a name that’s currently being thrown around the horror fandom like wildfire. The hauntingly silent clown, who became an instant icon with the release of the violent and twisted Terrifier, and more so its latest sequel, Terrifier 2. Terrifier 2 premiered at Fantastic Fest and Fright Fest in late August, with reports quickly surfacing of audiences throwing up and passing out at the film due to its incredibly violent nature. Of course, fans were super excited to see what all the fuss was about, and low and behold, Terrifier 2 is a very brutal slasher flick that truly isn’t for the faint of heart. This is mostly due to the film’s absolutely terrifying antagonist, Art The Clown, and his twisted and tormented way of killing his unlucky victims.

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Art The Clown was created by Damien Leone, who first appeared in a low-budget short film, before making his haunting feature film debut in the anthology movie, All Hallows Eve. From there, in 2016, Damien Leone released the depraved low-budget horror film Terrifier, which starred Art The Clown as its antagonist. Art The Clown was a recognizable name for true horror fans, but only recently became synonymous, with the recent groundbreaking release of Terrifier 2. Now, Art The Clown is just as much a household name as Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers.

With the insurmountable amount of iconic horror villains to grace our screens, it’s very rare for another villain to pop up and be compared to the greats. But here comes Art The Clown, who isn’t just a brand new iconic horror villain, but is undoubtedly among the best and scariest horror villains of all time. So, without further ado, make sure you lock your doors and windows, as we dive deep into why Art The Clown is among the best horror villains.

Appearance

     Epic Pictures Group

We probably don’t need to tell you, but clowns are scary. Some clowns have an unnerving aura around them, whether you suffer from Coulrophobia or not. Sure, modern day clown designs are definitely not as scary as they used to be, but old school clown designs will undoubtedly send shivers down anyone’s spine. Take the new design of Pennywise; the colorless, joyless, old-fashioned looking clown costume that quickly became the stuff of nightmares. Now, here comes Art The Clown, with an eerie black and white clown onesie with a tiny little black cap, reminiscent of the original, old-timey circus days. What makes Art stand out from the rest, however, is that Art is completely silent and terrorizes his victims with the use of miming. Similarly, Art will most likely be covered in blood, which is a big red flag to us, and you should avoid him at all costs. Yes, there are numerous iconic clowns in horror, but Art’s creepy design makes him stand out in a vast sea of creepy clown bad guys.

Brutality

      Bloody Disgusting

Terrifier and Terrifier 2 are some of the goriest and most brutal films of the past 10 years, with a woman being sawed in half, all the way from her genitals to her head while hanging upside down, acid being thrown in someone’s face, as well as a man getting stabbed multiple times in his genitals, before Art rips it off and shows it to poor guy’s “girlfriend”. More recently, the scene that’s caused many to faint and puke, is when a girl gets horrifically slashed many times, scalped, had her arms and hands ripped off with Art’s bare hands, all before having bleach and salt poured all over them. It’s safe to say, Art The Clown has no end to his brutality in the very unnecessary ways in which he kills his victims. While many other iconic horror villains are brutal in their own right, Art the Clown has his own twisted methods of murder, which makes him all the more terrifying.

Lack of Motivations

     Cinedigm

Many of the most iconic horror villains have motivations on why they go on a blood-soaked murderous rampage. Pennywise had to feed on the children for his 27-year hibernation, Pamela Voorhees wanted to avenge the death of her son. Similarly, Jason Voorhees went on a similar murderous rampage because of his mother’s death. Jigsaw believed that his traps would give his victims a new lease on life and become better people. Art the Clown, however, doesn’t have any motivations behind his killing, and the methods that he uses other than for his own amusement. Add to this that Art will quite literally “kill anyone and their mother”, for no reason whatsoever.

Unpredictability

     Bloody Disgusting

Art is a clown first and foremost, so he loves nothing more than “amusing” his victims. Pulling faces, playing around with sunglasses, and honking horns an excessive amount of times. Most clowns do this to spread joy, comedy, and happiness, but not Art. Art will use these instead to make his victims feel uncomfortable before pouncing on them. This makes Art utterly unpredictable, as you don’t know when he is toying with you, or when he may strike. There are also scenes where Art will just stand in a doorway and stare at his victim, while his victim slowly attempts to pass him, while Art doesn’t take his eyes off them, adding to the tension, as we, the audience, know he will attack, but we are never sure when.

David Howard Thornton’s Performance

David Howard Thornton, wasn’t the first to play the role; that honor goes to Mike Gianelli. However, while Gianelli was still terrifying in the role, Thornton brought the clown to life, giving the villain a nuance that has made Art haunt audiences’ nightmares since the first Terrifier. David Howard Thornton is phenomenal in the role, adding to Art’s unpredictability and playful nature. Thornton delivers a haunting, playful, and silent performance that makes audiences want to see more of Art on-screen.

Unexplainable Immortality

At first, Art seems like your average twisted serial killer who likes to dress up as a clown. But as is the case for most slasher villains, Art is unexplainably immortal. We are sure to get an explanation soon, but as of now, there is no explanation of why Art can’t die. Technically Art does die; he shot himself in the head and got decapitated, but still came back to life to wreak havoc and brutal murder on anyone and everyone. Not being able to kill this horrifying silent clown makes him all the more terrifying and iconic.