Art the Clown is a fictional character from the Terrifier franchise which made its initial appearances in two of Damien Leone’s short films, The 9th Circle and Terrifier from 2008 and 2011 before making its feature film debut in the anthology film All Hallows’ Eve (2013). Today we will answer the question: is Art the clown a mime?
The short answer to the question is Art the Clown a mime is probably yes. Art’s behavior is very much like that of mime and he is never shown speaking or making any other audible noises. Even when badly injured, he mimes screams of pain instead of actually screaming. He is very theatrical when hunting down and killing his victims, oftentimes performing his kills in an animated, exaggerated manner, similar to a key element in mime art. And he is dressed like one, in black and white.
But there are even more aspects to it. Read further to learn more about the character and its development over time.
Is Art the Clown a Mime?
The main way to determine if Art the clown is a mime is by comparison. and who is better to compare him to than the massively iconic Pennywise.
Art the Clown made his feature debut semi-alongside the famous Dancing Clown (Terrifier’s 2016 release next to Its 2017 launch). The two-character designs are almost perfect opposites – Pennywise sports traditional red hues and a vintage costume, whereas Art is dressed in monochromatic black and white, resembling a mime more than a clown.
Now it is ok for mimes to wear other colors besides just black and white to portray their character more easily, but usually, the most common colors mimes wear are indeed the classic black and white. This is done to give the mime artist a neutral effect as well as make it easier to focus on his/her facial expressions.
Additionally, the use of these colors makes it so that the facial expressions are the center of the act. When the mime acts out something, the black and white make a neutral background for the subject. Wearing a “dramatic” color such as red or blue draws away from the attention to the act itself.
Read more: 13 of Your Strangest Mime Questions Answered
Another aspect of the answer is Art’s behavior. Unlike other silent slasher villains, Art is very expressive and emotional, using gestures and facial expressions to communicate. This is similar to the art of mime, and Teather in general, as each action is aimed to be much bigger than real life to make it crystal clear to the audience. Mimes use their entire body to show emotion or to complete an action, along with big facial expressions, even if doing so is a bit unrealistic. This helps the audience understand the scene and increases their engagement.
It is unclear if Art cannot speak or if he simply chooses not to. His only noises are deranged laughter. This lends credence to the idea that he could be some kind of demonic serial killer rather than a human in disguise. At one point in the film Terrifier, Art uses a victim’s phone to pretend to be that person and send a text message to another potential victim.
What Does the Actor Say?
In the short films featuring him, and in All Hallow’s Eve, Art was played by Mike Giannelli. When Damien Leone began developing a feature film based on Art, Giannelli decided to retire from acting, so David Howard Thornton was cast as the murderous villain. Thornton said to Decay Mag in 2019 that his performance was inspired by classic physical comedians like Charlie Chaplin, and famous horror villains like Robert Englund’s Freddy Krueger and Tim Curry’s Pennywise.