As the one and only Art the Clown, you might have assumed David Howard Thornton has been a horror lover since birth. However, the Terrifier star used to be, well, terrified of genre movies, until the Scream franchise changed everything.
Halloween 2025 is upon us, and so what better way to celebrate than with all things horror. 2025 has been a bumper year for scary movies, with the likes of Sinners, Weapons, and 28 Years Later serving up fresh takes on the genre.
But one release you may have overlooked is Screamboat, a creepy take on Disney’s Steamboat Willie after the cartoon entered public domain. Thornton takes on the titular character, once again bringing his trademark mix of horror and humor to the role.
Thornton will also be returning as Art the Clown in Terrifier 4, which is currently in production. Until then, Dexerto was lucky enough to speak with Thornton earlier this year about his favorite scary movie, and his answer may surprise you.
Terrifier star reveals favorite horror movie helped him overcome his fear
Thornton told us that his favorite horror movie is a toss up between A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and the original Scream. He went on to reveal that he used to be “chicken” when it came to horror, until he watched Scream 2 and felt brave enough to watch the first one.
“ I would say probably either A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors or the original Scream because I think they’re both brilliant films,” he told us.
“I think Scream is a perfect film. It’s flawless. It’s just an amazing film, and it’s a great introduction to slashers as well. That’s how I was really introduced to slashers growing up.”
“I was a chicken for the longest time until Scream 2 came out, and I was like, ‘Oh, these are fun.’ And then I went back and watched Scream 1,” Thornton continued.
“Even before that, my best friend was like, ‘Dave, you’ve gotta see Scream. It totally will get you into slasher movies.’ And it did. Wes Craven was just an absolute genius.”
When asked why he was afraid of horror movies growing up, Thornton replied, “I think I was scared because my mom was scared of them. She thought The Fall of the House of Usher was the scariest movie she had ever seen.
“So [because of] that fear, we never watched them in my house.” Even though he credits Scream for helping him get into the genre, Thornton said there was another reason: to impress a girl.
“There was a girl I had a crush on in a show I was doing. Our cast went to go see Scream 2, and she was like, ‘Are you coming?’ I’m like, ‘Well, I can’t chicken out in front of her.’ So I went and saw it,” he said.
“I’m like, ‘This is so much fun, so why is my mom so afraid of these movies?’ Especially slashers… They don’t really scare me, I just find them to be fun and entertaining.”
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