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Topics: Film and TV, Entertainment, Celebrity, Money
Lucy Devine
An actor in a movie franchise that caused people to vomit in cinemas has sued over a nude scene.
On Sunday (October 26) Catherine Corcoran, who starred in Terrifier, sued the producers of the movie and series director Damien Leone, alleging breach of contract over her deal for one percent of all profits, as well as distributing sexually explicit materials without consent.
The suit was filed in a California federal court, with Corcoran's attorneys claiming the case was an 'all-too-common story of low budget film producers taking advantage of a young actress through fraud, sexual harassment and, ultimately, betrayal'.
As well as director Damien Leone, Dark Age Cinema and Fuzz on the Lens Productions were also named, as well as producer Phil Falcone.
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In the suit, Corcoran claims she had received intermittent royalty payments totalling around $8,300, following the sequel premiere in 2022.
Corcoran claims the payments 'became more and more sporadic and dwindled to amounts nowhere near commensurate' and added that when she approached Falcone and Leone, her concerns were reportedly 'brushed off'.
An attorney for Leone, Larry Zerner, said in response: “Damien and Phil deny the claims in the complaint and will vigorously defend this lawsuit.”
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The suit also alleges violations of laws over the distribution of sexually explicit material.
Corcoran claims she wasn't told that she would be fully nude in the scene, in which she could be seen hanging upside down, before her character is killed by Art the Clown.
Producers are required to obtain written consent for such scenes.
According to SAG-AFTRA, 'work that involves nudity or simulated sex places performers in uniquely vulnerable situations. This work is, and always should be, something a performer is proud of and something they engage in willingly.'
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They explain that performers should have:
In the scene, Corcoran was hung upside down by her ankles, which she says caused her to suffer cranial swelling and eardrum damage.
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“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,” said Devin McRae, a lawyer for Corcoran.
“However, when it came time to pay what was owed, the producers chose to cheat her.”
The Terrifier franchise has become infamous for gore and special effects wizardry, shooting into the public consciousness after some people passed out and vomited right in their seats watching Terrifier 2.
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UNILAD has reached out to Damien Leone, Phil Falcone, Dark Age Cinema and Fuzz on the Lens Productions for comment.