Caught up on Terrifier and Terrifier 2 in the past week-ish. Put off catching up on them for so long because no one ever really said anything about them that made me actually want to watch them. Brutal, sadistic gore just for the sake of it doesn't sound like a fun time so I went in with mild expectations at best.
I best surmise these films as listening to a comedian tell the same joke over and over and over again. I will always appreciate hand crafted special effects but when that's all your movie can push as a selling point and they're not even top of the shelf quality... it's a miss for me. For as brutal and gory as these films are hailed, it's actually to their own detriment that we focus on these effects in well lit, long takes. Most of them become cheesy and cartoonish after being on the screen for so long. The ones that hit quick and fast usually hold up well but outside of those more restrained instances, yikes.
The first film has zero plot outside of a very generic stalk and slash while the second film has too much plot, is overstuffed with the lightest of light fluff filling and neither film features good acting. The music in the first is super forced, jarring, generic metal esque while the second's score sounds like someone who just discovered synth music much of the run time. Better but still not good. I've seen compliments laden toward the actor behind Art in that he's so creepy, chilling and gets to act more emotionally as a slasher villain. He's fine? He's forced to fill up way too much of the run time in both movies with seeming improv and you're just numb to however scary he can be by the time the credits roll.
I'm glad the franchise is an Indie hit and leads to more projects outside the mainstream. Glad people enjoy them because there's always more horror to discover. I just personally don't resonate with the appeal. I look at something like Hatchet that pushed the gore envelope while also having a much more enjoyable villain, a more fun cast and much, much better effects.