Get ready to deck the halls with boughs of intestines, chainsaws, and other sinister gifts! Modern horror icon Art the Clown returns to the big screen in Terrifier 3, the latest in Damien Leone’s extreme slasher franchise. Thanks to a significantly bigger budget than its predecessors, the third killer clown gorefest promised even more depravity and plot wrapped in a Christmas-themed framework. In good news for Terrifier fans—and likely plenty of general horror aficionados—this film delivers on those promises in a typically bloody fashion.
Terrifier 3 takes place five years after the events of Terrifier 2, which saw the odd and charismatic Miles County serial killer Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) meet his match in Sienna Shaw (Lauren Lavera). Despite losing his head (quite literally), Art returns to form with the possessed Victoria Hayes (Samantha Scaffidi), who aids him in their never-ending desire for death and mayhem. Sienna parallels her nemesis’s revival by finally departing the mental health institution she called home due to her trauma and reuniting with some extended family.
Courtesy of Cineverse
At the home of Uncle Greg (Bryce Johnson) and Aunt Jess (Margaret Anne Florence), Sienna also rekindles her relationship with their daughter, Gabbie (Antonella Rose), just in time for Christmas. Naturally, Art and Vicky embark on a blood-fueled murder spree as they hunt for Sienna and her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam). Family comes off as a substantial theme in Terrifier 3—hence the Christmasy milieu—as Sienna’s guilt surrounding the death of her mother and her ongoing grief over her father’s tragic suicide leads her to protect her surviving relatives with even more tenacity.
The family context works, especially as Sienna adapts from being the otherwise innocent Final Girl to confronting her trauma all over again, all the while dealing with her brother’s insistence that everything is suddenly okay. Otherwise, despite the Christmas setting providing a fresh atmosphere to the franchise, it primarily serves as a gimmick that allows for some fun new gags; it may not define Terrifier 3 in the long run, but it is nice to have, particularly for enabling one or two taboo kill sequences that will have audiences sufficiently uncomfortable.
Courtesy of Cineverse
Terrifier 3 also sees Leone incorporate some more worldbuilding and lore to progress the Sienne/Art dynamic from Terrifier 2 and, additionally, to further help define Art and the Little Pale Girl’s strange circumstances. These script elements give the viewer a little more to grasp onto, sure, but ultimately ask about as many questions as they answer. Along with the film’s cliffhanger ending, the result is a transitional piece, à la Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers or Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
The film’s existence as a bridge between the much longer Terrifier 2 and what looks to be an even crazier fourth entry does leave a feeling of absence. However, Terrifier 3 is still a wildly entertaining gore flick. Leone puts plenty of effort into topping the brutal violence of his previous projects, invoking plenty of Christmas-themed creativity that benefits from the best-looking visual effects in the franchise. The sound design is crisp, and George Steuber’s cinematography—also featured in all other Art the Clown films—is perhaps the highest quality it has been. And, of course, the bigger budget leads to more profound sets and impressive props, making the world feel bigger and better.
Courtesy of Cineverse
It would be wrong to discuss Terrifier without singing the praises of Art’s human counterpart, Thornton, who is at the top of his game while donning a bloodied Santa Claus suit. On the other end, Lavera excels as the modern age’s best new final girl, this time showcasing her range as a survivor and trauma victim. In the end, Terrifier 3 has plenty for existing fans to enjoy despite primarily coming off as a way to span the all-important Terrifier 2 with what should be the most ambitious sequel to date. No, the Christmas setting and boundary-pushing deaths will not appeal to everybody, but they count for something in the most competently directed and produced Terrifier film Leone has conceived.
Terrifier 3 in now playing in theaters nationwide.
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I’ll skip this one, but the review is shockingly good!
I’ll pass on this one.
I finally got around to watching the second entry. As a slasher fan and someone who loves good world building, I really loved the 2nd one. And hearing that this 3rd installment is pushing past the limits of what can be done story, gore, and character building, it sounds like it’s right up my alley!
I haven’t seen the first two but I’m a big horror fan and will probably see them in the near future.
I jsjt saw this last night and I thought it was amazing great review
Going into this one, I was hearing about people leaving shortly after the movie started. My experience started after we sat down and right before the movie started, the movie theater works came in and mentioned that “if you are here to see the nightmare before Christmas, our tickets messed up and put your wrong theater on the ticket.” Mind you right after this announcement was made, you saw a few families with kids, walk out. That could have been a very scarring experience. I personally found it hard to get through this one as it was very very gory, the locker room scene was a lot, and the mall scene with the kids put it over the top for me. I don’t think I will be seeing the 4th one.
If you’re NOT a fan of gruesome bloody scenes with multiple people at once, or simply by themselves that will make you cover your eyes and ears- this is probably not the movie for you. I personally really do well with horror. films with gore, but there were a few scenes that had me gagging. Major TW.