The Art of the kill: Ranking every death in the Terrifier movies

With a new Terrifier movie about to slash its way onto cinema screens, here’s our ranking of all the kills in the first two movies, which we’ll update when Terrifier 3 drops in October.

Art the Clown has been scaring up a storm in the Terrifier movies, with the first film grossing more that $400k from a reported $50k budget in 2016, and Terrifier 2 making $15 million from a $250k outlay in 2022.

The idea of a malevolent clown killing people in ever-more graphic and violent ways has clearly captured the imagination of horror fans – and even made the star of the movies sick – so it’s no surprise that Terrifier 3 is on its way. And apparently, it’s even gorier than Passion of the Christ.

So in advance of that film’s world premiere at Fantastic Fest, here’s our ranking of Art’s kills thus far, from worst-to-best. So beware of SPOILERS ahead…

17. Death by Sword

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIM: Art the Clown

This is a relatively good death, and an important one, as it’s the climax of Terrifier 2. It’s also the kill whereby Sienna stabs Art the Clown repeatedly with her magical sword, then cuts off his head.

But this murder places at the bottom of our list, because we all know that Art isn’t really dead. As Terrifier 3 is about to prove.

16. Death by Broom

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIM: Sleeping laundromat man

Poor laundromat man. All he’s doing is having a snooze, when all of a sudden, half a broomstick is stuck in the top of his head. And we don’t even get to see it, with Art committing the crime offscreen.

15. Death by Shotgun

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIM: Barbara

This kill is an example of Art being sneaky, with the clown tricking Barbara into thinking her son has vandalized the family car, before shooting her in the head while she’s cleaning up the mess. Simple, effective, but not particularly creative.

14. Death by Jack-o-Lantern

MOVIE: Terrifier
VICTIM: Steve

Another kill that loses points because it happens offscreen, though this one is pretty imaginative. Pizza parlor owner Steve is turned into a human Jack-o-Lantern by Art, with blood all over his face, flames emitting from his eyes and nose, and a smile carved into the edges of his mouth.

13. Death by Trick or Treat

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIM: Allie’s Mom

Poor Allie’s mom. We barely knew her. She’s killed offscreen. Then her severed head is filled with candy that Art serves to kids on Halloween. Sick, twisted, and hilarious, it’s trick and treat combined.

12. Death by Dream

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIMS: Clown Cafe patrons

This gets marked down due to being a dream sequence, but it’s also a blast watching Art mow down the jolly patrons of the Clown Cafe with a Tommy Gun, before setting their singer on fire.

11. Death by Crotch

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIM: Jeff

While sitting in a parked car with Brooke, Jeff needs to pee, so he relieves himself around the back of the vehicle. Big mistake, as Art is laying in wait. He proceeds to stab Jeff repeatedly in the crotch, then cuts off his penis and has some fun with it, while Brooke’s boyfriend presumably bleeds out.

10. Death by Meat Clever

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIM: Costume Store Employee

You’ve got to feel for costume store employee. He just wants to finish his working day when Art shuts up shop (see clip below), gives him grief, and breaks a bottle over his head before sticking it in his eye. The clown then finishes the job by cutting off his noggin with a meat clever.

9. Death by Boot

MOVIE: Terrifier
VICTIM: Mike the Exterminator

Art hits Mike twice with a gas tank, then stamps on his face a couple more times, before finishing him off by stamping his foot through the exterminator’s skull. Job done.

8. Death by Gun

MOVIE: Terrifier
VICTIM: Tara

Tara is shot multiple times in the head, which is how she ultimately dies. But not before she’s taken a scalpel to the side, thumbs to the eyes, an injection to the neck, and a gunshot to the body and cheek. Making her death both prolonged and gruesome.

7. Death by Mutilation

MOVIE: Terrifier
VICTIM: Cat Lady

The Cat Lady tries to show Art compassion and love, but her efforts backfire spectacularly with the clown cutting off her her scalp, breasts, and torso, then wearing them while pretending to be a woman.

6. Death by More Mutilation

MOVIE: Terrifier
VICTIM: Ramone

The pizza parlor duo get it rough, with the aforementioned Steve turned into a human Jack-o-Lantern, and assistant Ramone killed at the business end of a knife. First he has his fingers chopped off, then the blade rips through his cheek and into his brain, before he’s stabbed in the eyes and face, over and over again.

5. Death by Heartbreak

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIM: Brooke

Brooke has a rough time in the carnival bathroom at the end of Terrifier 2, as Art throws acid in her face and hits her repeatedly with a bat full of nails, before finally ripping out her heart.

4. Death by Sword

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIM: Exterminator #2

It’s fair to say the exterminators get exterminated in Terrifier 2, with Mike stamped to death, and his mate suffering an even worse fate. As Art stabs into the top of his skull, saws through his neck with a sword, then pulls off his head and kicks it like a football.

3. Death by Hammer

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIM: Medical Examiner

We presumed the Medical Examiner was killed at the end of the first movie, but at the start of the sequel, we watch that play out. Starting with Art hitting him with a reflex hammer, before pulling out an eye and sticking it in his own socket. More hammer blows follow, until finally he rips open the ME’s head and pulls out his brain.

2. Death by Human Wishbone

MOVIE: Terrifier
VICTIM: Dawn

Dawn’s is the most visually shocking death in the Terrifier films. Suspended upside-down with her legs splayed, Art saws down the middle and through her stomach, essentially turning her into a human wishbone. He then continues out through her head, splitting Dawn in two as her insides spill out onto the floor.

1. Death by Bleach

MOVIE: Terrifier 2
VICTIM: Allie

The best kill in the Terrifier movies is the cruelest, and also the funniest, making it the perfect clown kill. The sequence plays out in Allie’s bedroom, where Art slashes up her face with a scalpel, before snipping off the top of her head with scissors, and continuing to cut, stab, and slash.

Art then breaks her arm off, pulls her hand apart, and stabs Allie a few more times, before pouring bleach and salt on her wounds. The victim isn’t dead yet, however, which is all part of Art’s plan.

As the clown proceeds to pose Allie on the bed, keeping her alive just long enough for Allie to cry out “mom,’ and for distraught mother to witness her daughter’s shocking final moments.

Terrifier and Terrifier 2 are available to stream, while Terrifier 3 debuts at Fantastic Fest tomorrow (September 19) before going on general release on October 11. Which is when we’ll update this article with all the new kills, including whatever star Samantha Scaffidi is referring to here.

For more scary content, check out our list of the best horror movies of all time, as well as the best horror films at FrightFest.