Film Review: 'Terrifier 3' Has Better Story And Even More Gore Than The Last One

In the genre of slasher films, the story goes like this: a studio releases a film, realizes they can cheaply make a blood-and-gore fest of epic proportions with the thinnest storyline possible, and repeat. The story is often sacrificed in favor of more blood and killing, with each sequel getting progressively worse than the last until the audience gives up. From that point on, the series is “rebooted” (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween), or rebooted and then held up in rights litigation that drags on for years (Friday the 13th).

But the Terrifier films are a different breed. In fact, the Damien Leone slasher films have managed to get incrementally better on all fronts with each continuing entry. Terrifier 3 is far from perfect and still has much to improve upon, but is better than the first 2016 movie,  introducing the world to the most vile, vicious, venomous slasher character, Art The Clown. Even though I didn’t love the first Terrifier movie, I left genuinely disturbed by the demonic Art and the killings that took place. It was the first time I felt that a slasher character could go up against Freddy, Jason, and Michael.

Terrifier 3 picks up five years after the shocking events of Terrifier 2. At the end of the second film (spoiler) Art The Clown is decapitated in epic fashion by final girl Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera). His body is left for dead at the abandoned carnival where the final confrontation took place. But this is a horror movie. Somehow, Art returns (and you won’t forget how when you see it). Pairing up with a possessed Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi, returning from her brutal near-demise at the end of the first film), they hunt down and destroy everyone in their path as they look to find Sienna, right as she leaves the mental hospital she’s been living in for the past five years.  Terrifier’s gory kill scenes have become the stuff of legend, prompting conversations that lead with “you have to see it to believe it”. While they can be stretched over the top, past the point of believability, it is graphic enough that you buy into it. I found myself trying to watch through squinted eyes at certain points; Art has absolutely no mercy, and he enjoys it.

Oh, and did I mention that this takes place at Christmas? Oh yes. Terrifier 3 makes movies like Black Christmas look like Toy Story in comparison. There were reports that walkouts occurred during the first ten minutes of the film when it premiered in England, and upon seeing it for myself, I get why it happened (note: if you’re averse to even the implication that children are being hacked to death by a demonic serial killer, this one probably isn’t for you). But even through the extremes of this film, it begs the question: if you’re that disturbed by Art The Clown and his weapon-wielding ways, hasn’t the film done its job? If you’re still thinking about the film days after, doesn’t that mean that the film was good?

I’ve gone back and forth on this argument, and I do think at the end of the day, Terrifier 3 is a good movie, and probably the best in the series thus far. Leone has been able to hone his skills a bit more with each movie, bringing in better storytelling, camera work, actors, and special effects. These films have a small budget, yet Leone and his crew maximize their production value with every sequence. Leone also manages to explain the lore in a succinct manner, building out the story and the rules of the universe with more clarity. There’s still a few things left to be explained, but I feel more confident that answers will come in future installments.

Warning: the ending of Terrifier 3 is bleak. It has maybe the darkest kill scene I’ve witnessed in a slasher film to date, and it should be apparent throughout this film that no one is safe. The Christmastime theming only makes it feel heavier, but I’ve felt more invested in these characters than any other trope-driven blood fest in recent years. This is due in part to the acting: LaVera and Elliott Fullam (who plays brother Jonathan Shaw) do some of their best work here, diving deeper into the post-traumatic stress that accompanies the horrific events their characters endured in Miles County just a few years ago. Thornton shines as Art, making you laugh at the most uncomfortable of moments while simultaneously making you fear for your life. He’s a sadistic Harpo Marx, never uttering a word, letting his facial expressions say everything that needs to be said.

If you’re averse to chainsaw violence, knife violence, hammer violence, gun violence, liquid nitrogen violence, torture violence, or any other kind of gory violence you could possibly imagine happening in a film like Terrifier 3, then you’re really not going to like Art The Clown. If you think you can stomach it and you’re a diehard horror fan, I think you’re gonna be pleased. These films are only getting better.

Release Date: October 11th, 2024
Rated: NR (but contains strong violence/gore, scary moments, language, and sexual content)
Running Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Directed by: Damien Leone
Written by: Damien Leone
Produced by: Damien Leone, Phil Falcone, Steven Della Salla, Jason Leavy, Michael Leavy, George Steuber

Starring: Lauren Lavera, Elliott Fullam, Margaret Anne Florence, Bryce Johnson, Antonella Rose, Samantha Scaffidi, David Howard Thornton, Alexa Blair Robertson, Mason Mecartea