Terrifier actor Catherine Corcoran is suing the filmmakers behind the 2016 slasher over claims of unpaid royalties.
Corcoran had a pivotal role in the original low-budget movie about serial killer Art the Clown that went on to launch a lucrative franchise.
In a lawsuit filed in California federal court this past weekend, she claimed that she agreed to play the part in return for a daily rate of just $100, at the time the minimum allowed by the Screen Actors Guild, on the condition that she would also receive “1% of profits generated from Terrifier” including box office, streaming, live events and merchandise.
She claims that director Damien Leone and producer Phil Falcone have failed to pay out sufficient royalties, with her lawyers stating: “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.”
Corcoran appeared in arguably the most famous scene in the original film, in which her character is hung upside down by her ankles before being slaughtered by the killer clown.
In the legal filing, she claims that she was not told before filming that she would be required to be nude for the sequence, a violation of SAG rules, which state that prior written consent is required for nude scenes.
Corcoran says she was hung upside down in 40-second increments over the course of a 10-hour shoot, during which she was not given time to recover from the blood pooling in her head. She claims a doctor later informed her that she had suffered cranial swelling and eardrum damage as a result of being upside down for such an extended period.
Her lawyers write in the filing: “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.”
They add: “However, when it came time to pay what was owed, the producers chose to cheat her.”
An attorney for Leone and Falcone, Larry Zerner, told The Hollywood Reporter: “Damien and Phil deny the claims in the complaint and will vigorously defend this lawsuit.”
The Independent has reached out to representatives for Corcoran, Leone and Falcone for comment.
There have so far been three films in the Terrifier franchise, and Leone confirmed earlier this year that a fourth film is in the works that will feature a significant revelation about its maniacal serial killer.
