Terrifier 3 (2024), directed by Damien Leone, stars Lauren LaVera, David Howard Thorton, Samatha Scaffidi, Antonella Rose, Elliot Fullam, Margaret Anne Florence, Bryce Johnson, Alexa Blair Robertson, Mason Mecartea, and Krsy Fox. The film is the third installment in the Terrifier franchise and focuses on Sienna (LaVera) following the events of Terrifier 2 (2022). After she’s released from the mental hospital, Sienna attempts to move on and enjoy the holidays with her extended family. Unfortunately for her, Art returns to wreak havoc on the town of Miles County, leaving a trail of bloody corpses in his wake. 

David Howard Thorton as Art the Clown somehow tops himself once again, delivering one of the most maniacal and strangely funny slasher villains ever conceived. It goes without saying that he tops his previous performances in terms of brutality, but he also tops himself in terms of comedy. It’s strange to describe a villain this violent as occasionally funny, but it’s the reality of the situation. The script does something unique and allows the main source of scares (Art) to likewise be the main source of laughs. This can be occasionally jarring in the sense that it’s tough to laugh at someone who just ripped another person apart, but it works more often than not. In most scenes, it actually ends up creating more tension in the sense that we don’t exactly know if Art is going to make a joke or chop someone’s head off at any given moment. We know Art will EVENTUALLY go for the kill, the question is: When? 

LaVera is also once again great as the franchise’s heroine: Sienna. It’s such a strong, balanced, and charismatic performance that it makes a person wonder why she has yet to be cast in any mainstream projects. It helps that her character is written in a way that feels like she has forward momentum. In other words, she never feels stagnant as a character. She’s constantly changing, but not in ways that sacrifice what was likable about her from the start. 

This is (unsurprisingly) a step up in terms of brutality/shock value. If you see this movie (the THIRD installment may I add) without knowing what you’re getting into, I’m sorry, but that’s entirely your own fault. That being said, even as someone who isn’t squeamish when it comes to gore, I feel as if there is at least one sequence that goes a bit too far for my personal taste. Thankfully, the rest of the kill sequences mostly serve to increase the stakes for our main players. The movie also finds ways of executing certain “taboo” or “frowned upon” elements in ways that are shocking but palatable (for lack of a better term). Again, if you are even slightly disgusted by gore, you should stay far away from this movie (but you should know that by now). 

Many people have criticized the Terrifier films for displaying terrible violence against women, but that’s quite frankly an ignorant take on the material. Yes, women are often mutilated in over-the-top ways, but this is a slasher film. Female characters are inevitably going to die, because surprise surprise, the main cast of these movies is almost entirely female. Do these people want a slasher movie where no one dies? Where it’s not shocking? Do they only want males in the cast? If so, I assume these people would just complain about the lack of female representation. There’s no winning against the critics for fans of this kind of movie. These criticisms can sometimes be valid, but this is not one of those cases. 

The Christmas setting is a lot of fun and provides the proper vibes, I just wish they would have leaned more into Christmas story-wise. This setting is palpable and allows Art to engage in some fun holiday-themed kills, the problem is, the story being told could’ve been set whenever. Emotionally, I loved it. Intellectually, it doesn’t work.

Where I was a bit mixed is the fact that this installment leans much more heavily into the fantastical side of the franchise’s lore. I don’t have a problem with this on paper, it’s how it’s executed. Like the previous film, supernatural elements are implemented, but they’re never explained beyond what they mean thematically. There’s an implication that they’re saving the explanation for the next film, but it feels like you’re being strung along. I want cliffhangers in terms of story, not in terms of lore or the state of the film’s reality. 

Overall, this a balls-to-the-wall horror sequel that pretty much delivers just about everything fans of the first two movies were expecting. Everyone else will find this to be a shameless exercise in gratuitous gore. If the gore distracts you, you won’t remember anything else. If gore doesn’t bother you much, you’ll be able to appreciate the relentless genre fun the movie has to offer. If you know Terrifer, check it out immediately. If you don’t, do some research; A lot of it. B