Terrifier 3 review.
A good and proper sequel to Terrifier 2…perhaps better titled Terrifier 3 Part 1.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Terrifier 3
Directed by Damien Leone
Written by Damien Leone
Starring David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Elliot Fullman, Samantah Scaffidi, Daniel Roebuck, Sam Raimi and Jason Patric
Terrifier 3 Review
As the theater filled up for the first screening of Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 I was struck by the unlikely path that Art the Clown had taken to this point. The first Terrifier was very much a word-of-mouth movie. Whether in person or online…you’re first exposure to the original film likely came by way of someone asking if you’d seen the ultra-low budget slasher film. A specific kill usually kickstarted the conversation. If you’ve seen the movie…you know the one. I attended the first public screening of 2022’s sequel Terrifier 2 in a mostly empty theater. The release was meant for a short stint…but the film performed better nationally than expected and ended up being a bit of a breakthrough hit. Especially given its still small (but bigger) budget.
The theater was packed for Terrifier 3. Art the Clown is the do-it-yourself little engine that could of modern slashers. From a movie people discovered some time after its release…to a second sequel that can fill a theater that hasn’t been fitted with newfangled seats that take capacity from the hundreds to the dozens. Whether the Terrifier movies are your thing or not…you have to admire what Leone and company have created here. Great practical gore effects, fun performances by David Howard Thornton, a quality returning protagonist (from part 2 on) …all made with nothing but love for the genre.
Not to mention a healthy dose of lore that doesn’t really make much sense. Terrifier 3 adds to the ongoing story of Sienna Shaw, Art the Clown and…whatever is happening in this world. It still doesn’t add up to anything overly coherent. Coherence has never been a calling card of the series. Nor has it been a requirement for its growing legion of fans. Memorable kills performed by a new-age horror icon are. Things are never confusing in these movies…they just aren’t explained unless Leone feels like it needs to be. The secret weapon of the series has always been Leone’s refusal to compromise his vision for it. He’s not going to tone it down. He’s not going to spell everything out. Judging by the size of the opening night crowd…he doesn’t need to.
If Terrifier was the no-budget, no frills, straightforward introduction of the modern slasher villain and Terrifier 2 was the (comparatively) epically scoped establishment of a franchise protagonist to combat him…what is Terrifier 3? From my seat in the back of a theater full of receptive fans…it’s a full embrace of the series growth into a franchise. A good and proper sequel to Terrifier 2 and a statement that the adventures of Art the Clown and Sienna Shaw are far from over.
It’s also a Christmas movie. Art gleefully kills to a soundtrack of holiday staples (and some original compositions). He spends much of the film dressed as Santa. Trappings of the season adorn every frame of the movie. The story shows us what happened immediately following the events of Terrifier 2…but the bulk of the movie takes place five years later. Sienna Shaw has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals, struggling to deal with the aftermath of Art’s last rampage. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Terrifier 3 is how badly it wants to tell her story. For the first time in the series, kills feel secondary to the plot.
That’s not to say that Leone has gone soft. Far from it. Gruesome kills are found all over Terrifier 3. The movie cuts back to Art’s yuletide spree often. Those thirsting for those memorable Fuzz on the Lens practical gore effects will get their fill. There’s nothing as memorable as that scene in the original (or the long bedroom scene in the sequel) …but they aren’t skimping on the blood. The difference is in how these kills are deployed. Most of Terrifier 3 sees Art terrorizing people that aren’t a part of Sienna’s story.
Think back to that memorable kill in the original film. Having been introduced to two lead characters…one is tied to a chair and forced to watch the other get bisected alive. The big kill in part 2 involved Sienna’s friend answering the door for the wrong trick or treater. Terrifier 3’s kills almost all involve characters unrelated to Sienna’s plot. At least, that is, until the climax finally brings Art and Sienna’s stories together.
Terrifier 3 is another fun franchise entry. It lacks the unique charm of the original and it isn’t the leap forward in insanity that its first sequel was. But it knows what you want. Leone also knows what he wants. A deeper story for his protagonist and a larger saga for her ongoing battle with Art the Clown. This is a long-winded way of telling you not to expect a completely satisfying ending to Terrifier 3.
Many members of the crowd stayed in their seats through the credits awaiting a hint about the ongoing adventures. There is no post-credit scene in Terrifier 3. At first, that’s a bit of a surprise. The previous two installments had something during or after the credits that directly lead to where their sequels picked up. It makes a lot more sense when you see this movie for what it really is. A chapter of a book Leone hasn’t finished writing. It leaves us in a place where you might think it should have been titled Terrifier 3 Part 1. Given the franchise’s consistent growth…I’m not sure even Leone knows how many parts remain in this chapter.
Scare Value
Terrifier 3 is a strong sequel in the ongoing series. It’s a tighter film than part 2…though it sacrifices some of that entry’s stranger aspects and unbridled whimsy. LaVera and Thornton shine once again as Sienna Shaw and Art the Clown. Their battle is far from over. This installment has the blood and guts you want…but they’re largely unrelated to the biggest story being told. This is more like the first half of another great entry than a completely satisfying movie on its own. There’s more to come. That’s a good thing.
3.5/5
Terrifier 3 Link
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