What Is Art The Clown? The Terrifier Villain Explained

From "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" to "Clown in a Cornfield," clowns have long been a staple in horror movies. Pennywise from "It" and the creepy clown doll in "Poltergeist" have gone down in history as the cause of many people's coulrophobia (a fear of clowns), and a new clown joined their ranks with the release of 2016's "Terrifier," an indie slasher directed by creator Damien Leone.

The film franchise follows the adventures of Art, a serial-killing clown who has no problem stalking his victims and killing them whenever an opportunity presents itself, committing crimes for fun. Few survive his attacks, and, if they do, Art will always return to haunt them. Not only can't you escape him, one of his victims even pulls an Amanda from "Saw" and becomes his partner.

While Art the Clown may seem like he's just a human in makeup, there are signs that's not all he is, based on his abilities to shift his appearance and teleport. In "Terrifier," he appears to be completely human, but that changes at the end of the film, when he seemingly comes back to life despite dying from a fatal gunshot. His new, unnatural ability is confirmed in the second film, where he's decapitated and is resurrected again. There's something obviously demonic about Art, and "Terrifier 3" confirms it as he becomes more affiliated with the apparent source of his power, the Little Pale Girl.

"Terrifier" wasn't the first thing Art the Clown appeared in. His on-screen debut was actually in the 2008 short film "The 9th Circle." In the short, Art has three women chained in a room who all suffer various fates, one of which involves escaping before being taken by witches. This short later became the first segment of "All Hallows' Eve," a 2013 horror anthology by Damien Leone.

The anthology's framing is that a mysterious VHS tape appears in a child's trick-or-treat bag. Their babysitter decides it's a good idea to watch the tape with the children in the room, despite not knowing what's on it. After "The 9th Circle" portion, she sends the children to bed and continues to watch alone. The second segment, "Something in the Dark," is rooted in aliens following a woman who moves into a new home out in the country, but Art still appears in a painting. The final part is "Terrifier," which features Art trying to kill a woman who stumbles across him at a gas station.

While these segments involve Art, they don't give any clues to his backstory, keeping his past a mystery. There is nothing in "All Hallows' Eve" that hints at his origin (which Leone promises will be revealed in the first 15 minutes of "Terrifier 4"), just that his nature, as presented in the "Terrifier" films, has always been sinister.