Terrifier 4 is in development right now, but the horror franchise hit the headlines for an altogether different reason this week after actress Catherine Corcoran took out a lawsuit against the movie’s producers.
The first Terrifier movie dropped in 2016, introducing us to David Howard Thornton’s Art the Clown in truly bloody fashion. It earned a cult following, so when creator Damien Leone launched a crowdfunding campaign for a sequel, fans were all over it.
More than $200,000 was raised, allowing Terrifier 2 to outdo its predecessor with multiple elaborate (and grisly) kills. The viral success of the sequel subsequently allowed Leone and co. to make Terrifier 3 even bigger, solidifying Art the Clown as a pop culture icon.
In short, Terrifier is no longer a niche title; it’s a full blown horror brand, one that Corcoran believes took advantage of her when the first movie was made. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
Why is Catherine Corcoran suing Terrifier?
Corcoran, who plays Art victim Dawn Emerson in the first Terrifier, filed a lawsuit on Sunday (October 26) in California federal court on Sunday accusing the creators of fraud and sexual harassment.
Ultimately, the complaint claims that Corcoran hasn’t seen her fair share of the profits from the franchise, while also accusing director Leone and producer Phil Falcone of failing to obtain written consent before shooting nude scenes.
“This case presents an all-too-common story of low budget film producers taking advantage of a young actress through fraud, sexual harassment and, ultimately, betrayal,” it reads.
The Terrifier movies have collectively made over $100 million worldwide from box office alone, against a combined production budget of less than $2.5 million. In the first movie, which had the lowest budget, Corcoran agreed to the then-SAG-AFTRA minimum rate of $100 per day.
However, the lawsuit alleges that Corcoran made a deal with Leone, Falcone, and three production companies behind Terrifier that she would receive 1% of all profits from any and all movies and related merchandise as a compromise for the low daily rate.
After Terrifier 2 premiered, Corcoran claims she started to receive intermittent royalty payments, and so far has been paid roughly $8,300 under her 2015 deal, which will reportedly “remain in effect for a period of two years.”
But her legal team is essentially arguing that Corcoran hasn’t been sufficiently compensated in line with their agreement, given how Terrifier has become a multi-million-dollar franchise.
When she confronted Leone and Falcone, she was allegedly “brushed off” and told that the production “doesn’t keep records.”
Devin McRae, a lawyer for Corcoran, wrote, “Were it not for Corcoran’s willingness to take a risk on this production and receive her compensation on the back-end, the series would not exist as it could not have been made on a shoe-string budget otherwise.
“However, when it came time to pay what was owed, the producers chose to cheat her.”
Lawsuit details gruesome Corcoran scene
In Terrifier, Corcoran plays Dawn, one of two young women who encounter Art the Clown after a night out on Halloween. Carefree and somewhat reckless, Dawn is the playful counterpart to her cautious friend Tara, teasing Art when they first meet him at a pizzeria.
Later, after Tara is captured, Art turns his attention to Dawn in what would become one of the film’s most infamous sequences. The character is stripped, bound, and hung upside down from the ceiling as the clown toys with her.
He then uses a saw to cut her in half from the crotch down. It’s one of the kill sequences that sparked Terrifier’s early notoriety, establishing Art’s reputation for sadism and shock value.
The complaint details the set conditions during this scene, stating that Corcoran experienced “long hours in below freezing temperatures in condemned buildings, all without heat and some without bathrooms.”
Leone allegedly placed “prosthetics with actual rat feces on Corcoran’s skin and real duct tape over her mouth,” while she had to undergo a “long, painful process” to break free from a piece of plywood she lay in to create a body cast.
As said, Corcoran claims Leone and Falcone didn’t receive written consent to film this scene nude, and though they agreed to allow her to wear underwear, she was allegedly told she was “required” to be topless.
Corcoran was reportedly “the only female on set” and is said to have suffered cranial swelling and eardrum damage after being hung upside down during the 10-hour shoot.
Finally, the lawsuit highlights merch that was sold featuring Corcoran’s naked body, “which was obtained without her required informed written consent.”
Has Damien Leone responded?
Yes, Larry Zerner, an attorney for Leone, told The Hollywood Reporter that both the filmmaker and producer Phil Falcone “deny the claims in the complaint and will vigorously defend this lawsuit.”
Corcoran is seeking full details of the Terrifier profits to put a number on her claim, but at this stage, the complaint has only been filed. What happens next will depend on Leone and co.’s response.
Potrebbero censurare ma non vogliono: il porno non consensuale prospera perché genera miliardi di dollari