Before Terrifier, Art The Clown's Actor Was In One Of The Worst Games Of All Time

Even horror legends have to start somewhere — even if that means being in one of the worst video games ever made. The first full-length "Terrifier" hit the scene in 2016 as a somewhat-obscure horror movie that went all-in on shocking gore. Not quite a decade later, "Terrifier" is now a popular franchise, with the third installment making audience cheer and pass out in theaters in equal measure. As "Terrifier" has gone from a small indie production to a beloved horror franchise, it's also made its way outside of the horror fanatic subculture. In October 2024, it was announced that "Terrifier" is getting its own video game, an old-school beat-em-up with more than a passing resemblance to "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game." Fans of the movies are excited to get the chance to control Art the Clown for themselves, and gamers are interested to see what all the fuss is about "Terrifier." For the star of the films, though, the video game world is already pretty familiar.

David Howard Thornton, the man responsible for bringing Art to life, has actually spent a good bit of time working as a video game voice actor. In 2013, he had the opportunity to voice some characters in "Ride to Hell: Retribution," which has one of the worst Metacritic ratings we've ever seen: a whopping 19. "Ride to Hell" undoubtedly earned its bad reputation, but Thornton's few scenes in the game prove that he had some acting chops well before he stepped into Art's clown shoes.

As you might have guessed, "Ride to Hell" came out when "Sons of Anarchy" was one of the most popular shows on television. The game follows Jake Conway, a Vietnam vet seeking revenge after his brother gets killed by a member of a gang called The Devil's Hand. The plot is as cliche as you can imagine, but it's arguably the strongest part of the game. "Ride to Hell" was an absolute mess from top to bottom. The fighting mechanics, a main focus of the gameplay, were unresponsive and utterly uninspired even when they worked. Players hoping for great motorcycle mechanics in a biker game were sorely disappointed to find that riding rarely happens in "Ride to Hell" — and when it does, it makes driving in "Grand Theft Auto 4" seem like a smooth experience.

Metro's review said, "Words cannot explain just how awful 'Ride To Hell' really is," adding that the game is "so bad it could suck the enamel off your wisdom teeth." Giant Bomb named it the worst game of 2013, and in a 1/10 review, GameSpot argued that it could be a competitor for the worst game of all time. Every review pointed out the uninspired and barely functional mechanics, but many of them all cited the game's voice acting as a major disappointment. On that front, we're going to let you be the judge — but we respectfully disagree when it comes to Thornton's performance.

David Howard Thornton didn't get to play the main character in "Ride to Hell" (maybe because he wasn't a well known star back in 2013), but that's probably for the better. Jake Conway might have been the focus of the story, but he's far from being one of the most important or memorable characters in gaming. Besides, by playing side characters, Thornton got to ham it up and show off his range in more ways than one.

As Dr. Blotter, Thornton got to play a far-out hippie "doctor" who's clearly taken a few too many psychedelics. Jake Conway comes off as even more stiff and awkward than usual as Thornton really plays up the doc's eccentricities, like a character who got left out of the final cut of "Easy Rider." It's a nice bit of solid character work that stands out in the game. Thornton shines even more as a villain called Anvil. Now that we've seen Thornton in "Terrifier," it's clear that playing a murderous bad guy is more in his wheelhouse. Again, Anvil might not be the most memorable villain of all time, but we think Thornton's performance in his final scene here is worth at least another point in all those reviews. It makes you want to see what Thornton could do with a similar side character in a "GTA" game.

There are some gamers on Reddit who say they remember "Ride to Hell" fondly, but there's also probably a fan of "Superman 64" out there somewhere. Thornton's scenes might be worth a watch for "Terrifier" superfans, but we urge you to do anything else with your day other than play this game.