Terrifier mastermind Damien Leone has pulled off the very rare feat of building a successful indie horror franchise from scratch.
The Philadelphia native created the franchise’s star, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton), in a 2008 short called The 9th Circle, and while he only appeared briefly, Leone received enough feedback on the disturbing character design to double down on the clown. Within a few years, he made a Terrifier (2011) short film as a proof of concept for a proper feature film, and his DIY attitude would only intensify when he was told all over town that clowns don’t sell.
Leone first cut his teeth as a special effects makeup artist, and through his work on Phil Falcone’s indie Joe’s War, he became fast friends with the producer-director who later decided to bankroll a $35,000 Terrifier feature. The 2016 slasher film would go on to make roughly twelve times its budget,...
The Philadelphia native created the franchise’s star, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton), in a 2008 short called The 9th Circle, and while he only appeared briefly, Leone received enough feedback on the disturbing character design to double down on the clown. Within a few years, he made a Terrifier (2011) short film as a proof of concept for a proper feature film, and his DIY attitude would only intensify when he was told all over town that clowns don’t sell.
Leone first cut his teeth as a special effects makeup artist, and through his work on Phil Falcone’s indie Joe’s War, he became fast friends with the producer-director who later decided to bankroll a $35,000 Terrifier feature. The 2016 slasher film would go on to make roughly twelve times its budget,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Brian Davids
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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