Damien Leone

In 2016, Terrifier was released. Among other credits, Leone wrote and directed the film, which eventually became a cult film and for which he was nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Makeup FX.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} In 2022, Leone returned for the sequel, Terrifier 2. Terrifier 2 was received favorably by critics and was a hit at the box office, grossing more than $15 million on a $250,000 budget.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]} Leone was again nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award Best Makeup FX, for his work on Terrifier 2, which he later won.^[15][16]

Leone next directed and wrote Terrifier 3 and co-produced Stream, both 2024 films for which he also provided special effects.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]}Terrifier 4, which Leone has said could possibly be the conclusion of the franchise, is currently in the works.^[25]

Leone grew up in the Great Kills section of Staten Island, New York.^[26]

In October 2025, nearly ten years after the film's release, actress Catherine Corcoran, who appeared in the first Terrifier film, filed a federal lawsuit against Leone and producer Phil Falcone claiming both producers shortchanged her on promised residuals for the film and used her on-screen nudity without her consent. A lawyer for Leone and Falcone said, “Damien and Phil deny the claims in the complaint and will vigorously defend this lawsuit.”^[27][28]