User:The Baudelaire Fortune/Tara Heyes

Tara Heyes is a fictional character in the Terrifier franchise. Tara first appears in Terrifier (2016) as a cautious and responsible partygoer who becomes the obsession of Art the Clown on Halloween night. She is portrayed by Jenna Kanell—who makes a small cameo appearance in the sequel Terrifier 2 (2022). Tara's creator, Damien Leone, scripted her as an archtypical "final girl" character, only to be killed off in a subversion of the trope.

Kanell became an acquaintance of Leone after auditioning for his directorial debut short film, The 9th Circle (2008), although she did not get cast. The two remained in contact throughout the early 2010s as he wanted to work with her on a project, and he ultimately sent her the script of Terrifier in 2015, casting her as Tara. Tara's characterization was left underdeveloped by Leone, as the film serves as an introduction to the Art character.

Films
Tara first appears in the original Terrifier (2016). The film depicts Tara as a cautious and responsible partygoer looking after her drunk friend Dawn Emerson on Halloween night. After becoming the fixation of a killer in a clown costume, known as Art the Clown, Tara fends him off after he kills Dawn. Tara is ultimately killed off by Art after he shoots her to death.

Tara's second cinematic appearance comes in the sequel, Terrifier 2 (2022). Tara appears in the form of photographs shown in newspapers and online articles detailing her untimely death.

Literature
Tara is the protagonist of two comic book retellings of the first Terrifier film.

Development
Kanell originally auditioned for short horror film The 9th Circle (2008), the directorial debut of Damien Leone. While she did not get cast in the part, she kept in touch with Leone with plans of collaborating on a future project. Leone sent her the script for Terrifier (2016) in 2015 and cast her as Tara based on her previous audition. Kanell describes Tara as being very "scrappy."

In addition to acting, Kanell is a stunt performer, and she performed all of her stunt work for Tara. During the hacksaw scene, Kanell requested to remain tied up between takes to guide her in her performance and understand how the character would have felt.

Reception
Collider's Raquel Hollman writes that Tara "basically oozes final girl energy" for being "responsible, observant, and cautious." Hollman states that Tara is a subversion of the trope when she is unexpectedly killed off halfway through the film. Similarily, Jon Mendelsohn of CBR writes that Tara is narratively built up as the "final girl" and that she successfully fended Art off and "proved herself as a heroine" until her death.

Jeffrey Anderson of Common Sense Media describes Tara as being a likable character and that she's "a traditional horror heroine." Anderson also notes Tara as baring resemblance to Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott in the horror film Scream (1996).

In a review for Starburst, writer John Higgins highlighted Kanell's portrayal. Jonathan Barkan of Bloody Disgusting praises the performance of Kanell. However, he criticizes Tara's characterization as being "frustrating." Barkan states, "She alternates between intelligent and thoughtful to an outright idiot." While praising Tara for looking after her friend and reacting quickly to her circumstances, he criticizes the character for making poor decisions.