Art the Clown, the antagonist featured in Terrifier 2 and its predecessor, has been bloodying the screen for a lot longer than people think, making working out how many people he has killed less straightforward than it seems. The newest slasher villain on the block comes from the twisted mind of special effects artist Damien Leone, who first brought Art to life in his short film The 9th Circle. While only a minor character in the movie, Art the Clown immediately captured the audience's attention, and gained enough traction to appear in the anthology movie All Hallow's Eve, the crowd-funded Art-centric Terrifier, and Leone's second crowd-funded blockbuster Terrifier 2.
The sequel became a sleeper hit, with Terrifier 2 getting praise from Stephen King and a wider cinematic release. Leone's iteration of the killer clown is known for his black-and-white costuming, his mime-like reactions, and some seriously bloody but creative kills. The splatter flicks are full of grotesque gore, with some scenes from Terrifier 2 reportedly causing theatergoers to pass out and vomit. What makes this new slasher villain so iconic is his Charlie Chaplin slapstick humor, set against the backdrop of his grisly murders. Art the Clown is rising to fame rapidly, soon to be among the ranks of Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. Over the course of his four-film stretch, Art has murdered a fair amount of people onscreen and off, with the total number of deaths standing at 26. However, because of the content of his movies, the exact number is actually more complicated.
What Is Art The Clown’s Kill Count?
The Art the Clown kill count is surprisingly high, considering Art the mute clown hasn't been around as long as other slashers. As of Terrifier 2, Art has killed a whopping 26 people on screen. However, there is a dream sequence in Terrifier 2 that sees the slasher villain kill another 18 people, which would raise the Art the Clown kill count to an impressive 44. What's more impressive is his means of murder and his transformation over the years. Creator Damien Leone has forged some truly inventive slasher kills that haven't been seen on the screen before. Art's two biggest standout kills occur in Terrifier and its sequel. The former sees Art cutting Tara in half with a hacksaw in gruesome detail, and the latter features the controversial Terrifier 2 bedroom scene, in which Allie is skinned, scalped, and dismembered.
How Does Art The Clown’s Kill Count Compare To Other Slasher Villains?
The Art the Clown kill count stacks up well against other iconic slasher villains if including the Terrifier 2 dream sequence. Art is practically neck in neck with Leatherface and Freddy Kreuger. Across all Texas Chainsaw Massacre properties, Leatherface has killed about 31 people. Freddy Kreuger from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise has murdered somewhere between 42 and 48 victims. The Scream movies have seen a number of Ghostface killers across its five movie run, with Scream 6 on the way in 2023. The many iterations of Ghostface have killed 46 people in total.
The really high batting numbers come from Jason Voorhees, mainly due to the sheer amount of Friday the 13th movies, and Michael Myers. Voorhees has slain a whopping 157 people, some of them even in space thanks to Jason X. Michael Myers, however, has the highest kill count of every slasher villain, with at least 160 under his belt thanks to Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends. The Art the Clown kill count is starting out strong, and the character is only going to get more attention from here on out. With the bar set high, it's possible that the Terrifier 2 villain will out-kill even Michael Myers one day.