Damien Leone created Art the Clown for his early short films, The 9th Circle and the also-titled Terrifier. Both were later included in the anthology All Hallow's Eve, which, centering around him, was titled Terrifier: The Beginning in some places. The anthology’s plot revolves around a babysitter and two children who, on Halloween night, receive a mysterious videotape with three horror stories, all featuring the clown.
The first official Terrifier installment is, narratively, as basic as a slasher can get: on Halloween night, two sisters become the prey of the ruthless Art the Clown, who commits acts of violence against them so extreme that they are better nor described here. The film was criticized for its narrative superficiality, serving mainly as a pretext for its gore-filled scenes. However, this is what put Leone and his clown on the map for splatter horror fans.
In response to the criticisms of the first part, Terrifier 2 was an improvement in every sense for the saga: the violence is just as extreme, but the story is noticeably more developed, even expanding the arc around Art the Clown, who is now established as a sort of demon capable of returning from the dead.