- Directed by Damien Leone
- Written by Damien Leone
- Stars Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidi, David Howard Thronton
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 25 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN5j1MtGO2Q
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
We don’t really know anything at all about Art the clown. He clearly enjoys his work, but why? Don’t ask, just sit back and watch the over-the-top gore and blood effects. There are a lot of them and they are exceptionally graphic. The story is simple. People get killed by a crazy clown. It’s good, but almost too simple and one note.
Synopsis
We zoom in on an old TV where the mutilated woman from the previous film is the only survivor of that experience. Although Art the Clown has been declared dead, we see him putting on his face, packing up weapons, and getting ready for more action as the credits roll. Monica Brown is the interviewer from the show we just saw. The mutilated woman kills her in the dressing room and giggles
Dawn and Tara walk home after a Halloween party as Art approaches. They go into a pizza restaurant, and Art follows them. Dawn insists on taking a selfie with the creepy clown. Art gives Tara a ring from the gumball machine. The girls find that they have a flat tire. Tara calls her sister Victoria to come pick them up. Meanwhile, the guys in the pizza place clean up the mess Art made in the restroom– at least until Art returns for them.
Tara goes into a place to use the restroom while Dawn waits in the car. Dawn hears on the radio about the people at the pizza place being murdered, but she doesn’t get to tell anyone. Tara gets lost in the building and meets a weird cat lady with a doll for a baby and then runs into Art on the way out. She escapes into a garage and hides, but he catches her and cuts her leg.
Victoria hears about the pizzeria murders on the radio as she drives to pick up Tara and Dawn. The radio describes Art perfectly; there have been witnesses. Art catches Tara and injects her with something.
She wakes up tied to a chair. Dawn is there too, tied up upside-down. He hacksaws her in half– vertically– as Tara watches. Tara breaks loose and makes a run for it. She smacks him in the head with a board a few times, and then he simply shoots her when she has the upper hand.
The crazy cat woman arrives just in time to see Art finish off Tara. When she goes back to her baby, she finds that Art has taken it. She talks to Art like a gentle mother, and Art ends up sucking his thumb like a baby.
Victoria finally gets inside and finds both halves of Dawn hanging from the ceiling. She then finds the cat lady, Tara, and Art and ends up hiding. There is much running and screaming in the old factory. He catches Victoria and starts whipping her until Mike the exterminator comes to the rescue. He calls 911 and tells them everything.
Mike and Victoria head for the door to get outside. Mike doesn’t last much longer. The police arrive, and Art shoots himself in the head. He’s dead– right? They take Art and Mike to the coroner, with more bodies to come.
As the coroner opens the body bag, the lights go haywire, the phone rings, and the radio goes crazy. Art wakes up and kills the coroner.
One year later, Victoria finally gets out of the hospital after Art ate her face. She’s mutilated just like the woman in the opening sequence…
Commentary
Art the Clown (and director Damien Leone) must visit a lot of gas station restrooms, that’s all I’m saying on that. Art never speaks throughout the whole film; he’s basically a maniacal mime. The blood and gore effects are exceptional, very well done.
Art himself is interesting, but with no backstory or explanation at all, he’s maybe a little too mysterious, to the point of being one-dimensional. He uses guns, cars, and all manner of weapons, so he’s no Michael or Jason, but he certainly has an iconic look and attitude. Art as a character is a lot of fun; the movie itself is a fairly standard slasher film.
It’s not bad, but I’d have to say it’s overrated.