Actors and actresses will often go to extreme lengths to make a scene believable, and no one knows that better than Terrifier alum Catherine Corcoran. Playing as the character Dawn in the 2016 horror film, Corcoran underwent some extreme practices for a nude and graphic death scene, which she claims was not explained to her in advance. As a result, she suffered physical injury and nearly died. Despite this rather intense dedication to acting it all out, she was allegedly paid only $8,300 for her work in the Halloween movie under a backend deal.
According to Hollywood Reporter, Corcoran had been promised royalties, namely, “1% of profits generated from Terrifier” for two years. She started getting paid in 2022, but has only received what she considers a fraction of that deal in 2015. The actress tried to contact the producer team about the amount, but they “brushed off” her concerns, claiming that they don’t keep any records. Besides this shady deal that wasn’t working out for her, Corcoran also states that she wasn’t told about being nude during Dawn’s death, with claims that “I could have died” while hanging upside down in 40-second increments for 10 hours while filming.
That said, the Terrifier actress has decided to sue the director and Dark Age Cinema. The lawsuit details that they didn’t pay Corcoran properly for the royalties and that the working conditions were unethical. While she might have a case about being physically exploited on the job for the horror film, many online users wonder if she even has a case for the whole shady royalty deal. “People need to stop signing deals for profits and start signing deals for revenue,” remarks a Redditor. “If the deal only last two years, like this says, then her pay is probably pretty accurate. Production issues aside. Terrifier only became a big thing post covid,” added another.
And the commenters aren’t wrong; Variety reports that the franchise made over $100 million after the sequels took off, whereas the first was just a small horror indie film that launched the series. Yet, the shocking and horrifying scene when Catherine Corcoran’s character was killed was said to be what carried the franchise to success. After all, no one would have watched the first movie if it hadn’t offered such a shock factor that went viral, the actress’s lawyer Devin McRae argues. “However, when it came time to pay what was owed, the producers chose to cheat her,” McRae stated.
In the end, the deal Corcoran accepted was undoubtedly questionable, and she couldn’t have known where the franchise would have gone after the first Terrifier was released. While it’s evident she was taken advantage of, only time will tell if this lawsuit goes through, and whether she’ll receive anything from what the later sequels made.
