Leading up to the release of Terrifier 3, franchise creator Damien Leone stated he aimed to “go darker with part three,” assuring that he would not pull “back on the gore.” Fans of the franchise will undoubtedly run to the theaters this weekend when the film opens. Did the writer-director carry out his dark vision?
Terrifier 3 picks up five years after the events of the second film, with survivor Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) now in a mental health hospital and her brother, Jonathan (Elliot Fullam), away at college. The two reunite when Sienna visits her aunt’s house for Christmas. However, any hopes of a typical family holiday are dashed when she discovers Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) has returned and is on a festively violent rampage.
The film opens with a terrific sequence as Art, masquerading as Santa, terrorizes a family on Christmas Eve. The gory momentum continues, with a few scenes that will go down as some of the craziest in the franchise, which says a lot. The series has featured some of the genre’s most gruesomely imaginative kills, and Leone’s creativity continues to grow. I was concerned that the rest of the film would be hard to follow after the opening, but the pace mostly held.
David Howard Thornton has truly mastered his role as the mime clown, conveying humor, whimsy, and outright fear without saying a word. Although I appreciated his performance in the first two films, it now feels more developed. Thornton strongly connects to the character, and his joy for portraying Art shines through. This is particularly evident in the pub scene as Art meets Santa (Daniel Roebuck), a patron (Clint Howard), and the bartender (Bradley Stryker). The roles were excellently cast and provided laughs before the eventual carnage.
Vicky Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi) is the Harley Quinn to Art’s Joker, and it’s fantastic to see her play a more prominent role in Terrifier 3. The homicidal couple complement each other well. Their early scenes are an absolute highlight, even if one particular scene made me squirm.
Leone expands on Sienna’s connection with Art and her magical sword. Although Lauren LaVera gave a solid performance, this is where everything begins to fall apart for me. The first film abruptly introduced Art the Clown, and no one felt safe around him. However, when we discover more about the mythos, he loses part of the mystery. And, while I appreciate major character deaths, Sienna seemed far too safe. This is one franchise that should deviate from the slasher formula rather than giving us a killer-final girl battle, as teased in the conclusion for the fourth installment. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.
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That said, this is my favorite Terrifier yet. It is stylish, whimsical, humorous, and has an absurd amount of clown violence—precisely what we expect and want from these films. It’s one to add to your holiday horror rotation. Plus, Art has never looked better than when dressed as a disgustingly bloody Santa.
After the second movie, it was unclear how Leone and Thornton would go even “darker,” but they did. Gorehounds should get extra pleasure from seeing it in the theaters. Just trust me when I say, “Hold onto your butts.”
Terrifier 3 is now showing in theaters nationwide. Check out the trailer here.
