This 11-minute short film marks the first-ever appearance of Art the Clown . In this debut, Art is a background character who kidnaps a young woman named Casey at a train station before disappearing to let demonic entities take over.
The 9th Circle was later packaged as the first vignette in this horror anthology. The film is presented as part of a mysterious VHS tape watched by a babysitter.
Director Damien Leone conceived the character after imagining a clown harassing a woman on a deserted city bus late at night, moving from awkward behavior to aggressive intimidation. Anthology and Canon
While the title includes "2022," likely due to the massive surge in popularity following the release of Terrifier 2 that year, the short film it refers to is , the directorial debut of Damien Leone. The Origins of Art the Clown
Unlike the more complex prosthetics used today, Art's initial look in The 9th Circle was more of a stark, black-and-white mime-like makeup. He was originally portrayed by Mike Giannelli , who played the role until David Howard Thornton took over for the feature films.