Terrifier Films Ranked: From Underground Nightmares to Holiday Carnage

Art the Clown has come a long way from grimy short films passed around the underground to sold-out theatrical screenings where audiences brace themselves for endurance-level gore. Across multiple films, writer-director Damien Leone has built a brutal, uncompromising horror saga defined by practical effects, silent sadism, and an unapologetic love of excess.

But not every entry hits the same level of terror. Here is my ranking of the Terrifier universe, from worst to best, tracing Art’s evolution from a shadowy concept to one of modern horror’s most divisive icons.

6. Terrifier (Short, 2011)

Director / Writer: Damien Leone

Starring: Marie Maser, Ernie Terrell

Runtime: ~8 minutes

Before Art the Clown became a full-blown horror icon, Damien Leone tested the waters with this short, vicious proof of concept. The setup is brutally simple: a woman driving alone on Halloween night finds herself stalked by a silent clown who feels more demon than man.

There’s no dialogue, no mercy ust atmosphere, dread, and shockingly effective gore for a micro-budget production. The dim sodium-vapor lighting, claustrophobic framing, and unsettling humor already hint at Leone’s developing style.David Howard Thornton hadn’t stepped into the greasepaint yet, but the DNA is unmistakable. This short whispers rather than screams but what it whispers is clear:

Art is coming.

Personal Take: The 2011 Terrifier short is where Art truly snaps into focus. Stripped of excess mythology, it’s pure mood and menace, silent stalking, grimy locations, and a sense that something evil is simply there with you. Leone’s practical effects already shine, and Art’s body language does most of the work, making him feel less like a slasher and more like a walking nightmare. It’s lean, mean, and deeply unsettling, proving that Art doesn’t need dialogue, lore, or even a feature runtime to leave a mark.

5. All Hallows’ Eve (2013)

Director / Writer: Damien Leone

Starring: Katie Maguire, Mike Giannelli

Runtime: 83 minutes

Before Terrifier became a standalone franchise, All Hallows’ Eve is where Art the Clown truly announced himself. Structured as an anthology framed around a mysterious VHS tape discovered on Halloween night, the film stitches together three grim short stories each soaked in grindhouse filth and practical effects. The segments vary in quality, ranging from demonic horror to sci-fi nightmare to slasher brutality.

At the center of it all is Art, played here by Mike Giannelli less a character and more a force of cruelty. The film is uneven and rough, but its ambition is undeniable. By the time Art steps out of the television and into reality, Leone has effectively summoned a new horror icon from pure DIY nightmare fuel.

Personal Take: All Hallows’ Eve is a mixed bag, but an important one. As an anthology stitched together by Art’s segments, it feels uneven—some stories work better than others, but Art completely dominates the film whenever he appears. There’s a VHS-era nastiness here that feels intentional, like discovering something you weren’t meant to watch. While it doesn’t fully cohere, it succeeds in elevating Art from a short-film oddity into a cult horror figure and helped build the underground audience that made the franchise possible.

4. The 9th Circle (2008)

Director / Writer: Damien Leone

Starring: Kayla Liane

Runtime: 8 minutes

At the top of the list is where it all truly began. The 9th Circle is Leone’s earliest and roughest work, but also his most haunting. A kidnapped woman, a satanic ritual, and fleeting glimpses of Art the Clown before he became the star.

The low-budget grit gives the short a dreamlike, almost documentary terror. Religious dread, physical horror, and sheer audacity bleed through every frame. You can see the entire Terrifier ethos forming in real time. This isn’t just an origin, it’s a nightmare blueprint.

Personal Take: The 9th Circle is rough, raw, and undeniably amateur, but that’s precisely what makes it fascinating. You can feel Damien Leone figuring things out in real time, especially with Art the Clown, who already feels unsettling despite limited screen time. The film leans heavily into grindhouse Satanic imagery and exploitation aesthetics. While it’s messy and uneven, it lays the thematic groundwork for everything that follows: cruelty without mercy, hellish symbolism, and a villain who doesn’t need a backstory to be terrifying. It’s less a “movie” than a proof of concept, but as a first step, it’s surprisingly bold.

3. Terrifier 2 (2022)

Director / Writer: Damien Leone

Starring: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera

Runtime: 138 minutes

Terrifier 2 aimed higher than any entry in the franchise and in some ways, it succeeded too well. The practical effects are jaw-dropping, and Lauren LaVera’s Sienna is a genuine modern final girl, intense, emotional, and compelling. The kills are infamous, the audience reactions legendary.

But at over two hours long, the film collapses under its own ambition. The mythology becomes muddled, pacing drags, and shock often replaces suspense. What should feel relentless instead feels indulgent. It’s impressive, outrageous, and exhausting, much like Art himself.

Personal Take: Terrifier 2 is where the franchise levels up in every possible way. Expanding the mythology, introducing a strong final girl in Sienna, and embracing epic runtime excess, the film feels like a love letter to ‘80s horror filtered through extreme modern gore. Leone’s ambition is on full display, sometimes to a fault, but the confidence is undeniable. Art becomes more than just a slasher villain; he’s a supernatural force, and the film proves that there’s room for character, lore, and heart even in the most outrageous splatter cinema.

2. Terrifier 3 (2024)

Director / Writer: Damien Leone

Starring: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera

Runtime: 125 minutes

Moving the franchise from Halloween to Christmas was a bold and very Leone decision. Terrifier 3 dresses Art in Santa red and splashes fresh snow with crimson.

With a larger budget comes slicker visuals and elaborate set pieces, including one of the nastiest Christmas kills in recent horror memory. LaVera once again provides emotional grounding, but the story remains secondary to carnage.

While not as fresh as it wants to be, the film is gleefully deranged and undeniably entertaining. There’s something perversely satisfying about watching a killer clown turn the holidays into a bloodbath.

Personal Take: Terrifier 3 feels like the culmination of everything the series has been building toward, bigger, nastier, and more confident than ever. The Christmas setting adds a perverse sense of fun, contrasting holiday cheer with unrelenting brutality, and Art feels fully realized as a modern horror icon. Leone leans into spectacle without losing the grime that defines the franchise, and the film cements Terrifier as something rare: an indie slasher series that grows louder, stranger, and more uncompromising with each entry. At this point, Art the Clown isn’t just surviving—he’s thriving.

1. Terrifier (2016)

Director / Writer: Damien Leone

Starring: David Howard Thornton, Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidi

Runtime: 84 minutes

This is the movie that cemented Art the Clown as a horror icon.

Mean-spirited, stripped-down, and unapologetically nasty, Terrifier feels like a lost VHS tape unearthed from a cursed basement. One night. Two victims. One unstoppable monster.

David Howard Thornton’s performance is pure nightmare fuel, silent taunts, exaggerated body language, and a cruel sense of humor that makes Art unforgettable. The grime and rough edges only enhance the experience, giving the film an authenticity that polished slashers often lack. It’s ugly. It’s offensive. And it’s essential.

Personal Take: The 2016 Terrifier is brutal, mean-spirited, and unapologetic, and that’s its strength. Leone fully commits to old-school slasher cruelty, prioritizing atmosphere, gore, and Art’s sadistic presence over plot or likable characters. It’s not trying to be elevated or self-aware; it wants to test your limits. David Howard Thornton’s performance is iconic here, turning Art into a silent comedian of death. It’s a film that dares you to keep watching, and whether you love it or hate it, it’s impossible to ignore.

Final Thoughts

From the underground ritual horror of The 9th Circle to the holiday bloodbath of Terrifier 3, the Terrifier saga stands as one of the most uncompromising horror franchises of the modern era. Messy, extreme, and fiercely independent, these films feel handcrafted in blood and celluloid. Whether you love Art the Clown or can’t stand him, his legacy is undeniable and far from finished. Terrifier 4 can’t come soon enough