Movie Review: 'Terrifier 3'

Terrifier 3

Directed by Damien Leone

Written by Damien Leone

Starring Lauren Lavera, David Howard Thornton, Samantha Scaffidi

Release Date October 11th, 2024

Published October 15th, 2024

The tricky balancing act between cult phenomenon and mainstream, money-making, success has caught up with the Terrifier franchise in Terrifier 3. Not that Terrifier 3 has gone mainstream, per se, but rather that the culture has caught up to Terrifier and creator Damien Leone is apparently eager to get some of that mainstream money by finding ways to extend the Art the Clown I.P. In the case of Terrifier 3 this means creating a lore that can sustain the franchise beyond the appeal of the extreme, graphic, and gory violence that made the budding franchise a cult favorite. This introduction of lore may be appealing for some but I found it tedious and not particularly compelling compared to the dark humor and over the top viscera that made Terrifier 2 a decent surprise.

Terrifier 3 picks up the story of Art the Clown (the wildly expressive face of David Howard Thornton) and his partner in crime, Valerie (Samantha Scaffidi), hooking back up and heading home for a bit of rest, but not before they murder members of a hospital staff, including beloved professional wrestling star, Chris Jericho, reprising his cameo from Terrifier 2. Why Art and Valerie decide to sleep for five years is never explained but it doesn’t really matter either, the lengthy slumber is, perhaps, intended to give Sienna (Lauren Lavera), and her brother, Jonathan (Elliott Fulham), the chance to recover and cover for them having aged up a little from Terrifier 2.

Sienna is freshly released from a stay in a mental hospital following her having beheaded Art the Clown following his previous murder spree. With her father, played in a flashback cameo by Speed 2 star Jason Patric, having died, Sienna is going to stay with her Aunt and Uncle who hope that her delusions over the supposedly late Art the Clown will subside so that they can all live happily ever after. Naturally, that’s not going to happen. After 5 years of slumber, Art and Valerie are awakened by demolition workers who’d come to tear down their decrepit home. After disposing of these hapless victims, Art returns to his killing spree while Valerie works on readying them for a fight against Sienna, their arch rival.

Terrifier 3 is set at Christmas and Art happens to be a big Christmas fan. Acquiring a Santa suit from yet another hapless victim, Art sets about spreading his brand of Christmas cheer via bloody, violent, and graphic murder. The film begins with a parody take on Christmas slasher movies past such as Silent Night, Deadly Night and Christmas Evil as our villain enacts Twas the Night Before Christmas with a sack of terrifying toys and a very large ax. Unlike other horror movies, not even children are safe from Art’s comical lust for blood and guts. Two children face his wrath in just the opening 10 minutes of Terrifier 3.

Terrifier 3 does carry forward the dark humor of Terrifier 2, mostly expressed in Art’s grisly, black-gummed smile and a pair of Terrifier Christmas songs that bookend the movie. That said, I found the film lacking in the playfulness that made Terrifier 2 palatable amidst the excessive blood and guts violence. Art’s sense of humor remains but is a tad bit toned down, lacking in the silent movie style shenanigans of Terrifier 2. This may be because the movie is layering in so much of Sienna’s story of acclimating to her new home that the film doesn’t have the time to be patient as Art mugs about. The film clocks in at a tedious 2 hours and 7 minutes.

This is where the lore bogs things down for me. In an effort to fully establish Sienna as Art the Clown’s version of Laurie Strode, we have to watch as the movie clumsily cuts from Art and Valerie to repeated scenes of Sienna expressing the trauma she’s been through while trying to pretend that she’s healed. Scenes of Sienna’s new family fearing that she will never recover from her many delusions over Art the Clown still being alive, stop the movie dead and cause a tonal whiplash as we switch back to Art committing horrific violence.

For the Sienna vs Art the Clown battle to matter, both sides have to be equally compelling and, unfortunately, Lauren Lavera is no Jamie Lee Curtis. While Art the Clown can definitely hang with the Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger’s of the horror genre, Lavera ranks well below the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis or even lesser icons like Heather Langenkamp. Lavera is not a bad actress but for her to match up with Art the Clown, she needs a better script and a more compelling supporting cast of potential victims for her to avenge.

Without an even match between Art the Clown and his nemesis, I found it impossible to care about the lore of Terrifier 3. I’m told by others that Art is an ancient demon and Sienna is destined to be his Angelic foe. I don’t know, I checked out during the scenes where the Valerie character was used to deliver exposition. I was bored and spent more than a few minutes wondering whether Art the Clown is supposed to be real in the Terrifier universe or a myth. People wear Art the Clown costumes in the movie but then a true crime podcast parody in the movie blames Sienna for the murders in Terrifier 2 as if she’d made up Art the Clown. Who knows, it doesn’t seem to matter.

The best part of Terrifier 3 is a cameo by special effects legend, Tom Savini as a witness to a massacre at a mall. Savini’s influence is all over the Terrifier franchise as the filmmakers have dedicated themselves to practical horror effects and makeup that Savini made famous in his many, many low budget horror movies that went on to become horror legends. Seeing Savini on screen in Terrifier 3 feels right because the gory effects of Terrifier 1,2,3 feel like Savini cameos, minus his actual presence, his influence being just that prevalent.

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