BY: JOSEPH SIMILE/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Spoilers are generally meant to be avoided in this review, however, some minor details from the film are discussed in this article, especially ones that were also shown in advertisements leading up to the movie. So, despite no major spoilers, spoiler warning just in case. Also, if you are unaware of the graphic content of this series, consider this a content warning
Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 was released officially on October 11, 2024, with advanced screenings being shown on Thursday night. The Terrifier series is equally revered and detested for the incredible lengths it puts audiences through with its over-the-top gore, demonstrating Leone’s prowess in practical effects. The third installment of the franchise was no different, with some of the best kills in the franchise. As with the previous iteration of the series, reports of audience members walking out, vomiting, and passing out have made headlines.
The film saw controversy even before its release, as France dropped the hammer on Terrifier 3, giving it the country’s first under-18 ban since Saw 3, released in 2006. Despite no minors being permitted into theaters to see the film, fans of the series flocked to the theaters in France, topping the French box office on its opening night, with over 45,000 admissions on just 126 screens. (For reference, recent horror movies Titate, Saw X, and Smile had 13,000, 35,000, and 33,000 first-day admissions respectively in France).
On top of the over-the-top gore that fans of the series have come to expect and love (and boy did it deliver on that front), what truly stuck out about the third iteration of Terrifier was the world-building and backstory. This film is the first where we truly learn about the entity that is Art the Clown, who is quickly becoming one of horror’s most iconic villains. It also does a great job of explaining the five-year gap between the second and third films, as well as how Art is able to come back after being decapitated in the second.
Even with an entire cast that put on stellar performances, David Howard Thornton was once again the star of the show as Art the Clown, putting on a performance that was just as terrifying as it was whimsical, jubilant, and hilarious. Every scene Thornton appeared in had audiences glued to the screen.
Lauren LeVera and Elliot Fullam return as the sister-brother duo of Sienna and Jonathan. LeVera put in another strong performance to help catapult her into the upper echelon of horror final girls. While Fullam’s screen time was limited, he was excellent in playing off of LeVera.
Terrifier 3 did a great job at tackling the dynamic of two siblings who went through a traumatic event together, with one seemingly losing it, in and out between lucidity and haunted visions, while the other is trying to put it all behind them and move on. The duo’s on-screen fraternal-sororal chemistry is seemingly unbreakable. The relationship is so lifelike, especially in response to the events of the previous film.
Following up her cherished performance as Tracy Otto in Fear the Walking Dead, Antonella Rose lit up the screen as Sienna and Jonathan’s adolescent cousin Gabbie. Starting off as the naive relative who is happy to see her favorite cousins, the character transforms as she learns more and more about the sinister truth around her, which is commendable.
Samantha Scaffidi returned as Victoria Heyes, Terrifier’s original heroine who has turned villainous after the events of Terrifer 2. Finally getting the character development fans have begged for since the inception of Terrifier, Scaffidi was horrifying in the role, with a performance that should have horror directors worldwide looking to cast her as a villain.
Of course, there is the shining sun of the Terrifier series: The gore. Art utilizes a variety of weapons, including another great weapon construction scene that has become a staple of the franchise. Between James Bond's precision with a pistol, a chainsaw scene that would have Leatherface taking notes, and some good old-fashioned body manipulation, among plenty of other avenues of destruction, Art truly left his mark once again on the citizens of Miles County and audiences domestic and abroad.
Leone once again did top-of-the-line work on the practical effects in this film, with just about every internal part of the body being shown in this film. The third act featured one of the most gnarly kills in the entire series. While it may not have been the goriest of the film (that certainly belongs to the infamous shower scene), just the pure lack of humanity dealt to an integral character of the film was jaw-dropping.
Terrifier 3 also truly leans into the comedic side of things in between (and sometimes, during) brutal homicides. The Bar scene was hands down one of the funniest scenes of any movie this year, and clearly, the team felt confident behind it, as the first 90 seconds were teased by Rotten Tomatoes. The scene in its full is worth a true keel-over laugh. Art as a character truly radiates hilarity in this film, despite never speaking, Thornton’s facial expressions, physical humor, and mannerisms can make you laugh so hard you forget that you just watched an entire family get slaughtered right before the holidays.
Terrifier 3 crosses boundaries that are widely seen as taboo by studios. Without spoiling anything, horror fans may be able to draw a connection between one of these boundaries when looking at Pet Sematary, Hereditary, and Halloween 3.
Despite this, projections have Terrifier 3 slashing, gashing, and thrashing the box office. Deadline projects Terrifier 3 will gross at least $11 million in its opening weekend in the U.S., with Box Office Pro projecting between $12-18 million. These are staggering numbers for a film that is not rated in the United States.
Terrifier 3 also pays homage to the fans of the series, as well as horror in general. In what was a truly incredible opening scene that could have served as its own standalone horror short, Art the Clown does his best Jack Nicholson impression in The Shining.
At the end of the film, a woman is seen reading a book titled The 9th Circle, which fans of Art the Clown know as the title of Art’s first onscreen appearance in a short made by Damien Leone in 2008. Leone also previously stated that Terrifier 3 drew great inspiration from one of the original great slashers, Black Christmas.
Comments