Art the Clown, the sadistic killer at the center of writer-director Damien Leone’s Terrifier, is a consummate performer. Dressed in black and white Victorian clown garb, he wears oversized shoes and a tiny top hat kept in place with an elastic strap. His jester routine consists of silent pantomime, at times resembling a demented Charlie Chaplin crossed with Conrad Veidt from The Man Who Laughs (1928). Like Chaplin’s Little Tramp, Art is a rambunctious instigator, playing prankish jokes on his victims. Of course, Chaplin’s character brought only joy, laughter, and tenderness, whereas Art performs chilling and gory exploits for his own amusement, often using the rusty tools he carries in an oversized garbage bag. But he may as well be a silent film character; when he unnerves or harms one of his victims, he often breaks into a mute, performative laugh. Art’s unbroken silence, even while reeling in pain, is part of what makes him so unrelentingly scary. He never pauses his mime bit to speak or cry out. The closest Art comes to losing control is when someone gets the upper hand, at which point his torturous games end, he gets a foul look in his eyes, and he resolves to end things with a gun. However, the question I kept asking myself during Terrifer is this: Who is Art the Clown performing for?

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