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Sometimes you just need a little early dose of holiday fun. Yes we can all complain endlessly about how Christmas and the holiday season starts too early every year, but what if this time around we start it off with not just decorations, reindeer and Santa but also throw in total carnage, a demented clown and enough bloodshed to fill up Santa’s entire North Pole. TERRIFIER 3 is the perfect holiday treat for all the sickos out there that are not only devoted to Art the Clown but want to see how this sleeper hit franchise continues to expand in ways one could never imagine. The Terrifier films and more specifically “Terrifier 2” rocked the independent film world and left studio heads shaking in their boots when it grossed fifteen million on a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar budget. It proved that yes, audiences want to see some nasty blood and guts but even more so that the response to filmmaker Damien Leone is proof that the more heart and soul you put into a film, the more people will follow. Leone with his impeccable makeup skills brought along images that many of us still haven’t been able to shake, along with crafting of film that while it may be twisted is bringing out a classic tale of good vs evil. TERRFIFIER 3 is not only a continuation of this ongoing battle but dives deeper into the lore and gives its lead Lauren LaVera as Sienna Shaw so much depth that she has clearly already left her mark in final girl history. To watch TERRFIFIER 3 is leave feeling unsettled and possibly with a fucked up grin on your face, but even more it’s a film that will leave you inspired by just the mere fact that a franchise has been able to grow out of this horrifying clown. That alone is the perfect cinematic gift.

Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) is home for the holidays. Well maybe not his home but some unfortunate families to be exact. TERRIFIER 3 knows its audience and knows exactly what they came for and in one of the most exciting opening sequences for modern horror wastes no time getting nasty. Set five years later from when we last saw Sienna (Lauren LaVera) behead Art and leave his rotting corpse, the clown has returned with a little help from a demonic friend in Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi). But while Art may quickly find himself in his old ways, Sienna has great troubling moving forward. Spending the past years in and out of psychiatric treatment centers, Sienna is trying to start over spending Christmas with her niece Gabbie (Antonella Rose) and her parents. But even knowing she defeated Art and has some otherworldly powers about her, she can’t shake the feeling that Art is not down with her. It doesn’t help that she’s grown distant from her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) whose now in college, or that she still sees images of her dead friends. Even when she finally does get some sleep its full of distorted memories of her late father (Jason Patric) an artists who may be the key to all of Sienna’s abilities. Leone is an exciting storyteller and with TERRIFIER 3 gets to expand on this mythology of who or what Sienna may be and her unending connection to Art. Is she the full embodiment of good to counteract his pure evil? Or is she just someone that’s really good at kicking the clown’s ass. Leone does not want to spill out every secret this time around but instead give LaVera a performance that allows her to discover Sienna in bigger and more drastic ways. LaVera as Sienna brings such a heartfelt performance to an already broken and traumatic character. The film amongst all its bloodshed greatly takes its time to allow us to see the fighter in Sienna as LaVera gets to show off some intense acting chops fighting back every tear until its all too difficult to keep inside her. It’s a role of a lifetime for LaVera but even better its more proof that is an actor who deserves to be a major star.

Sienna being forced to fight her demons gives Art plenty of time for some holiday treats. To say this film is graphic is the understatement of the year. It is downright diabolical. Leone and his makeup team (Leone himself designs many of the makeup effects.) had their work cut out for them in trying to top some of the nasty kills in the previous films, but make no mistake they easily live up to the challenge. For any (unfair) criticisms of the film’s male characters getting softer deaths, TERRIFIER 3 is here to laugh in your face with a bloody grin. There is a great patience in the film that doesn’t allow every Art scene to just be one kill after the next, but rather a gradual buildup that’s heightened by Howard Thornton’s frightening vaudeville performance. When the limbs start flying its only after Art has spent a good amount of time screwing with you. But when those kills come get ready for some watching through your fingertips as you want to look away but just can’t as Art always has a way to draw you in and never let go. As the years go by and we keep having horror icon discussions Art the Clown not only needs to be near the top of the list, but David Howard Thornton needs to go down in cinematic history for what he is able to pull with Art. It’s a performance that is as brutal as it is playful in the most messed up ways. The way Leone allows his performers to take expand their roles while bodies get torn apart is quite impressive since many horror films of this particular gory genre often see each character as disposable. Scaffidi as a now fully demonic Victoria carries the heavy lifting of the demented dialogue having to speak when her partner in crime cannot. It’s an all out role that Scaffidi has a blast with but still finds a way to go from humorous to mortifying in a blink of an eye.

TERRFIER 3 will and should become a Christmas classic for those looking to mess with their snowy nights, and while the film feels like a middle chapter at times (get ready for Terrifier 4!) it is still a grand achievement to even see this thing become a fully thought out franchise in the first place. As Sienna dives deeper into the powers inside her the film pivots to a bigger world building that leaves plenty of questions but still feels complete in its depiction of if good can ever truly conquer evil. No spoilers but TERRFIER 3 is meant to scare you and even make you laugh but its dedication to Sienna as the main focal point is greatly appreciated. It allows for all those gross but darkly humorous moments to stand out but never distract you from the fact that Art truly is evil in every sense of the word and that for as fun as he can be this is the Sienna story and its all the better for that. The Christmas atmosphere is a blast, seeing several Santa’s get annihilated will bring fucked up cheers but TERRIFIER 3 loves its human characters and may even have a glimmer of hope for them, but for now their holiday joy is gone forever but the audience will continue to get the best Christmas treat they could ask. Just don’t forget to leave some milk and cookies out for Art, because the last thing you need is to be on this clown’s naughty list.

A-

TERRIFIER 3 HAD ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT THE 2024 FANTASTIC FEST IN AUSTIN TEXAS. THE FILM WILL BE RELEASED IN THEATERS ON OCTOBER 11