“Terrifier 3” is the newest installation in Damien Leone’s twisted universe. Serial killer and cannibal Art the Clown is back and pulling more gruesome stunts that leave audiences stunned. The film directly takes place after the previous second film, filled with the same bad acting, strange writing choices and gnarly body horror. The sets are overly fake, the actors are flat, but the scares are real. But is Terrifier as scary as everyone is claiming, or are these new fans not used to the gruesome work of Art the Clown?
“Terrifier 3” follows Sienna and her brother after surviving Art the Clown after his Halloween massacre from the previous movie. Instead of a typical Terrifier film, the third installment takes place during Christmas time, creating a whole new horrifying storyline. This low-budget film franchise has turned into a successful series, with the newest film’s budget being $2 million. The film immediately opens with a tense family holiday scene; audiences waiting for Art to appear. He eventually does and kills the entire family in a truly grisly way. There has been some discourse amongst the film community regarding this opening scene: has Art taken it too far with his child slayings? It is not uncommon for a movie to have a sadistic killer, but Art takes this to a whole new level in the most recent film.
The once niche community has expanded into a phenomenon, with videos and articles circulating about audience members passing out, throwing up and even leaving the theater after the latest film. The film was released this October and is currently unrated with the rest of the franchise, but an R or even an NC-17 rating would most likely follow. While the series contains an extreme amount of gore and gruesome acts, as someone who has seen the previous films, I wasn’t too shocked at what I was seeing.
The film borders on being campy to laughable, and as horrific as some scenes are to watch, there’s an element of charm to how insane the movie is. It comes across as an amateur film in terms of the production value, the only main standout that perpetuates the film is Art himself. David Howard Thornton, the actor behind Art the Clown, does an incredible job at creating bone-chilling fear amongst audiences without ever speaking. Thornton is a master of expressions: while he has no lines, his face displays the pure evil within his character. The creativity of these grotesque scenes of killings is truly admirable, yet equally disturbing and unnerving.
This movie is certainly not for the faint of heart: or a faint stomach. There is no real plot or storyline with the amount of gore permitted: the movie itself is based on pure shock value and disgust. Nevertheless, it is entertaining in a sick sort of way.
Being able to see this film in theaters is a real treat, as audience members gasp and exclaim at the insanity. There truly is no dull point of this film, that is if you consider the weak plot and lackluster performances acceptable enough.
Seeing this franchise come to be has certainly been entertaining, as Art has become a sort of Michael Myers-esque figure who is impossible to kill. It drags on at a certain point, viewers may roll their eyes, but Terrifier is self-aware enough to get away with it.
I do highly recommend viewing the other films before seeing the newest one, and once you do, absolutely see it in theaters late at night. With the fanfare built around this movie, I truly expected it to be worse than it was. Of course, this movie is utterly disgusting, but Terrifier has a way of desensitizing you from the repeated gore. Terrifier is a funnier, campier version of “Saw” with less successful acting performances; it’s highly entertaining.
The film ends on a cliffhanger, preparing audiences for Art’s return in the future. While horror films can be overdone within their franchises, I personally will be watching the new creations of Leone, with a puke bag at the ready.
Olivia Baier can be reached at [email protected].
