Catherine Corcoran starred in Terrifier (2016) as Dawn. Her character is friends with Tara and the two encounter Art the Clown at a pizza place late on Halloween night. For Dawn, the night ends with one of the most gruesome deaths in horror movie history — Art hangs her up by her feet and cuts her in half.
For Corcoran, it seems the horror wasn’t limited to the screen. The actress is suing Terrifier producers including writer/director Damien Leone for “breach of contract and the distribution of sexually explicit materials without consent”, according to Variety. The suit filed on Oct. 26 alleges “fraud, sexual harassment and, ultimately, betrayal”.
Here are the allegations made in the legal filing:
- Filming conditions did not meet industry standards. Filming took place without any other women on set, sometime in abandoned buildings with no bathrooms and real rat feces were put on Corcoran’s skin by the crew. In order to film Dawn’s death scene in Terrifier, Corcoran was strung up by her feet, topless, for 10 hours in below freezing temps. The next day, a doctor diagnosed her with cranial swelling and eardrum damage.
- Breach of contract/failure to pay. Corcoran agreed to be paid $100 for the role because Damien Leone said in writing that she would receive 1% of all net sales of Terrifier movies and merchandise. The defendants will need to prove that this money has been paid out to Corcoran in full, which will be difficult as the producer in charge of making these payouts, Phil Falcone, allegedly said he “doesn’t keep records”.
- Failure to comply with Screen Actors Guild requirements. The SGA requires filmmakers to get written consent to film nude scenes, which they did not obtain. It seems that on the day of filming, there was a disagreement between Corcoran and production because they wanted her fully nude and said being topless was “required”. The SGA requirement is in place to avoid this exact type of disagreement. It helps actors agree to nudity without coercion, which is almost impossible to avoid if its left up to the director (the boss) asking an actor to do something in the moment when the pressure and stakes are highest (while filming).
Some of the allegations seem like a reasonable grey area when working for a low-budget, independent movie. The budget for Terrifier is estimated to be just $35,000–$55,000. For example, the inexperienced crew willing to work for that budget didn’t know not to use actual duct tape over Corcoran’s mouth. They may not be able to afford a staff member who is familiar with SGA regulations and can ensure compliance, which then opens them up to the risk of lawsuits like this in the future.
However, the franchise has gone on to make over $100 million. This is enough money for the filmmakers to hire an accountant and ensure the workers who built the franchise get the money they were promised. It’s even more black and white when you consider that they are directly profiting from selling merch of Corcoran topless.
Damien Leone, Phil Falcone and the other named parties (Dark Age Cinema, Fuzz on the Lens Productions, Art the Clown) have not commented on the lawsuit.
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