I genuinely have very little good to say about this movie. It's plotless, tasteless, pretty humorless, dues-ex-machina filled, shocking for the sake of shocking, misogynistic, and pretty dumb. The beginning is sad and mean-spirited, the middle is stressful and mean-spirited, and the ending is equally sad and mean-spirited. They even have a little plot twist just to be more sad and mean-spirited.
But Art the Clown makes this film. He is the best part of the film, because he is the film. And the director knows this.
Everything bad about this movie honestly just fits perfectly with the character of Art. It feels like the movie was made for Art and by Art, with every bad thing I mentioned about the film being put there because that's the kind of film Art wants to be in. Art doesn't care about meaningful works of art, moral messages, or anything like that. Art the Clown is just Art the Clown. Unlike Cannibal Holocaust, where I've come to like the film less for certain elements that I no longer watch when I watch the film, or A Serbian Film, which I refuse to watch due to the subject matter, Terrifier is the one extreme film that strikes a genuine balance between being mean spirited and having the meanness contribute to the larger picture in a way that's fun, exciting, and genuinely enjoyable. I don't wince when I think of Art: I smile. The character is hilarious and deeply entertaining, even when his actions are anything but.
You gotta watch this movie just to experience this character, man. Even if the gore is too much for you, if you want to look away at the gross parts, that's fine. I personally found them fun in a special effects way that contributes to the character on a more meta level (in the film he's a serial killer clown- in real life, he's just a clown pretending to be a serial killer and showing off some gnarly special effects while having a ton of fun in a film). If you can separate the two, you'll have a better time watching the film. But even if you can't, Art the Clown is a once in a lifetime character, and he carries the entire film. As a firm without Art, I'd give this a 3/10. With him, I'd give it a 9/10. Highly recommended.