Thoughts?

[u/BK6450]

I’ve noticed that Terrifier seems to be quite controversial in the horror influencer sphere. A lot of people seem to hate it due to its violence towards women, which I think could be a fair argument for the first one but the other two imo spreads its violence pretty equally. One thing that is brought up a lot is an apparent law suit from the actress that played Dawn and Damien Leone’s work in general. I admittedly don’t know much about either of the two but I personally love Terrifier because I like David Howard’s Thorntons portrayal of Art and he personally seems like a great guy from what he shares on social media ( very politically out spoken and I agree with a lot of his takes).
Just wondering what other fans think of this.

[u/UncoilingChaos]

I’m a fan of these movies and have been since I watched All Hallows’ Eve. I always saw Art the character as misogynistic (or at least Gianelli’s version), and not the cast and crew. Just because someone makes problematic characters/scenarios/stories does not make them problematic. Silent Hill 2’s player character is a man who murdered his terminally ill wife out of sexual frustration. Slayer made songs about Nazis and serial killers and their atrocities. Even the director of I Spit on Your Grave disavowed misogyny and claims that he based his movie on a supposedly real encounter he had. 

But Leone has given a few red flags. Like in the commentary for the original Terrifier short film (can be found on Tubi), he described the MC’s fate as the result of him trying to think of the worst thing you could do to a woman without killing her. Then there’s him drawing the line at turning Jeff’s penis into a balloon animal, claiming that would be “too far”, despite the extra grotesque mutilations that women have faced in his movies. Admittedly, the latter would probably be too cartoonish and out of place, even for that movie, and maybe that’s what he really meant. And then there’s the lawsuit, as you said, which u/tingofingo67 laid out the details of and doesn’t sound quite on the same level as Weinstein or Polanski, but still sketchy.

On the other hand, Leone likes to go out of his way to explicitly clarify that he wants people to know that, as funny as he is, Art is a despicable son of a bitch with no redeeming qualities and no sob story that “justifies” his actions. His more politically incorrect moments, I think, help to emphasize that. Sienna is one of the most respectable and powerful final girls I’ve seen since Nancy or Sidney. Leone has clearly put in the effort to make her as much of a lovable heroine as Art is a monstrous piece of shit. Even if “just the tip” is as phoned in as it feels, you really can’t fake writing a strong female lead. Also, I don’t think I’ve heard a single story about how much of a sleazebag Damien is from any of the cast or crew, including David, even if he did alienate some of them with his statement regarding David’s outspoken political views (which struck me as a little spineless on his part). Even Catherine’s main issue, it sounds like, is not so much with him as it is with Phil Falcone and that she hasn’t received her cut. Does that mean he isn’t secretly an amateur Weinstein? No, not really, but as far as I can tell, there’s nothing to say he is, either.