Art the Clown is back and slicing his way through a new holiday inTerrifier 3. Created by Damien Leone, the slasher horror franchise first found life in short films and as part of the anthology franchise,All Hallows' Eve, before kicking off the standalone series in 2016. Thanks to its cult film status, Leone successfully crowdfunded the production of its sequel,Terrifier 2, which became a viral sensation upon its 2022 release for its extensive gore and gaining rave reviews from critics, bringing in nearly $16 million against its $250,000 budget.
Leone returns to the writing, directing and editing chairs forTerrifier 3, which picks up five years afterthe events ofTerrifier 2and sees Sienna going to stay with her aunt, uncle and cousin for Christmas after completing her stay in a mental rehabilitation center. While she looks to reconnect with her family, including her younger brother Jonathan, who is now in college, Art the Clown re-emerges from his dormant state, now teamed up with original final girl Vicky, and goes on a killing spree through Miles County, requiring Sienna to regain her strength and take him down.
This Upcoming Slasher Sequel Could Be 2024’s Scariest Movie Yet
Terrifier 3 could be the scariest horror movie of 2024 due to the scary teaser trailer and the franchise’s historical reputation for gory scenes.
Lauren LaVera and David Howard Thornton return to lead theensembleTerrifier 3castfeatures both new and returning faces, including Elliot Fullam as Sienna’s brother Jonathan, Samantha Scaffidi as Vicky, Chris Jericho as a hospital nurse, and horror legends Daniel Roebuck as Santa Claus, Tom Savini, Jason Patric and Clint Howard, among others. Having already premiered at Fantastic Fest to rave reviews from critics, the movie’s balance of deeper character development and grisly kills has raised the bar to make it the best installment in the franchise thus far.
In anticipation of the movie’s release,Screen Rantinterviewed writer/director/editor/producer Damien Leone to discussTerrifier 3, the importance of bringing back Vicky and transforming her into a vicious killer, why the story has a five-year time jump instead of the previous film’s one-year jump, the challenge of editing it down to its current runtime, and the chances of an extended cut being released in the future.
Vicky’s Ambiguous Fate “Always Fascinated” Leone Before HerTerrifier 3Return
“…she now plays one of the most important roles in the entire franchise.”
Screen Rant: You’re keeping things alive and fresh with so manycrazy new ideas inTerrifier 3, especially in its world building for both Vicky and Sienna. I know you’ve talked before about wanting to bring Vicky back into this one to really sort of develop her further. What was the key goal for you in bringing her back and showing her as this villain in comparison to what we saw in previous films?
Damien Leone: Yeah, well, that character always fascinated me. It always excited me where we left off with her, because it’s not the most typical thing where you have this final girl, or the character we set up to be the final girl, who then turns into a monster, basically. She loses her mind, and she becomes a murderer, and then just finding a way to keep her on a thread through the movie. And in part 2, she plays a pivotal role, and she now plays one of the most important roles in the entire franchise. She’s essentially possessed by The Little Pale Girl, the apparition that is The Little Pale Girl in part 2 takes Art the Clown’s head, brings it into another dimension, possesses Vicky, because she’s a broken character, and she’s susceptible.
Basically, she is able to rebirth Art the Clown into existence. And she’s able to embody her and live in the flesh. And I thought that was so cool that that character now has a way to interact with anyone, and you learn what the ultimate goal of that evil is, and why it chose Art the Clown, and how Sienna becomes sort of anointed to combat that character. How all these puzzle pieces start to come together. It’s so different than anything that I’d seen in a slasher film before, and it was one of the things that excited me that I could really explore this supernatural aspect of the evil, and what brings your boogeyman back to life. Why do they suddenly become supernatural? I really wanted to explore that as if it was a character, instead of just glossing over and saying, “It’s just the trope. It’s what the boogeyman does.”
That’s become one of the most exciting things to me. And it was super exciting to see what Samantha Scaffidi could do with the role now, because it was unlike anything she’d ever done, or anything we really explored before with the character, and now we’ve just turned her into this ultimate evil. Basically, I wanted to make sure she didn’t become a sidekick, because you don’t want Art the Clown to become overshadowed by anyone.
It’s a risky move. Art the Clown’s doing just fine on his own, he doesn’t really need villains, but this character was so organic, it was so necessary, as I was writing this, and she’s got some of the greatest scenes in this movie. After the first premiere at Fantastic Fest, audience members were saying that she was the MVP, and she really stood out to them. So that was exciting to hear. I’m excited for people to see her character.
Terrifier 3’s Five-Year Time Jump Has Two Very Practical Reasons Behind It
“I would’ve loved to have this take place one year after…”
One lore question I did have for you, though, in this film is that we see that there’s a five-year time jump, but in the second film, there was a one-year time jump between the films. Is there a specific reason why there’s a five-year jump between the second and third one? Is it for Art’s sake? Is it for Sienna’s sake?
Damien Leone: No, the only reason is because Elliot Fullam just aged out so much from part 2 to part 3, because we started shooting part 2 in 2018, and now, by the time this movie comes out, it’s 2024. So, we had to really compensate for that gap, and how did that happen? I would’ve loved to have this take place one year after — not even, it would’ve been two months after the events of Terrifier 2. I would’ve went right into that following Christmas, but it wouldn’t have made sense, because Jonathan’s just so obviously so much older.
Plus, we were getting lost in the timeframe where we were years behind reality. So, I wanted to get it up to speed, and have it just be contemporary. It’s taking place now, it’s not still taking place in 2017 or 2018. So, that was the reason why I did it. And it was interesting to figure out, “Well, what the hell is Art the Clown up to for five years?” And I thought it was funny. I liked what I decided to do with the characters for that amount of time, so it worked out, but that’s really the reason why there was a five-year gap.
KeepingTerrifier 3To A Modest Runtime Was “Very Difficult” For Leone
There’s One Very Specific Critique The Filmmaker Doesn’t Agree With
So we’ve talked a little bit about exploring the supernatural side of things and building that world out more, butI remember talking with you forTerrifier 2, one of the things you said was you wanted to make sure that3wasn’t quite as long. In trying to build out the world for future installments while also still telling a full story in this one, how hard was it for you in the editing bay to really hone that down to the 125-minute runtime we have now?
Damien Leone: It is very difficult because, like you said, I didn’t want it to be another two-hour-and-20-minute movie. Not for me, I don’t mind that runtime, it’s very hard for an audience to take these days. Which is a little disingenuous, because I think it’s just become more of a negative talking point. Just because it’s a slasher film, and they just say, “The audacity that it’s this long.” And people will say, “Oh, there’s so much filler.” It’s like, “Don’t tell me what filler is. That’s not filler. Filler is having an 80-minute movie that you don’t have enough material to make an 80-minute movie, so in between your slasher kill scenes, you just have characters walking around smoking a cigarette.”
That’s filler, is purposely trying to pad out your runtime. I don’t purposely try and pad out my runtime. I have tons of material of a story to tell, you know what I mean? So, again, making part 3, I had a two-hour-and-25-minute cut originally, and there were already scenes that I didn’t even bother editing, because I knew I could have gotten by without them, and it was just going to add to the runtime. So, I had to cut out a lot of scenes, maybe like six scenes, in the film that aren’t in Terrifier 3 that are on the cutting room floor. So, this could have been another epic movie. What people don’t realize is it’s not the drama and the scenes in between the kills that add to the runtime.
It’s the kills and the Art the Clown set pieces that make these movies so unorthodox and so long. In your typical slasher film, Michael Myers, and Jason, and Freddy, they don’t have these scenes of foreplay with the character for five minutes before they go into a three-minute kill scene. It’s just a different character, it’s a different way of telling the story. In part 3, you have a cold open that’s 10 minutes long that serves as its own sort of short film that nobody’s complaining about the runtime of that scene. It’s one of the best parts of the movie, but that’s what makes it so long.
It’s these scenes that everybody loves that really add to the runtime, but then they’ll complain about the scenes in between. They’re like, “Oh, well, we didn’t need those characters talking.” If I took out those characters talking in between and all that stuff, you would not care about a single person in these movies. So, it’s just that it’s an unorthodox method of telling a slasher film, and it’s a different character. I mean, people enjoy seeing this character toy with his victims for a while before he kills them.
And also, you don’t want to do that just once. People want to see a high body count, they want to see him kill as many people as possible. So, it’s a very tricky balance with these films to not go too long, but also give them everything that I know they like. And if I took it out, then they’d really be pissed off. So it’s tricky, but filler is, they use that word wrong.
Leone Is Very Open To The Idea Of ATerrifier 3Extended Cut
“I wouldn’t call it the director’s cut…”
In talking about an extended cut, when I talked with Lauren yesterday, she had mentioned that some of the scenes involving her and her cousin were cut. Have you thought about doing an extended cut release at some point, or are you just going to keep those scenes for deleted scenes for when the home media comes out?
Damien Leone: I don’t know, that’s a good question. I don’t think I’d mind releasing an extended cut. I wouldn’t call it the director’s cut, because the director’s cut are the scenes that you’re getting in the movie, basically. It is the one that I’m happy with, the one that I didn’t mind putting out. But there are some really good scenes that, unfortunately, didn’t make it, and scenes that really flesh out, especially the relationship between Sienna and Gabby. So, we’ll see. I don’t mind releasing an extended cut of those scenes, they came out really good, and I think people should see them.
The “Pressure Is Always Mounting” For Leone To Top His PreviousTerrifierKills
“…one of my favorite kills kind of started with nothing to do with Terrifier.”
So, I’ve got to talk about the kills in this movie, as well. Obviously,the bedroom scene inTerrifier 2was quite gruesome, and some people found it to be the biggest one of the franchise thus far. How hard was it for you to find something to top that going into3?
Damien Leone: It’s always difficult, because the pressure is always mounting. The expectations get higher and higher as we go on. When David and I do conventions, it’s one of the most popular questions we get asked, is, “How are you going to top the previous kill scene? Do you think you topped it this time?” It’s like, “Oh boy.” So, I always aim to try my best, and I try and hope inspiration strikes when I’m writing these scenes. You never know where it’s going to come from. There’s only so many things to do to the human body. We’re not just competing with ourselves in these movies, we’re competing with every other Saw movie, every other movie that comes out with these brutal kill scenes. Almost everything’s been done.
But the theme of Terrifier’s kills has always been taking traditional kill scenes that you’ve seen a million times, but then putting another spin on it, because Art’s not very elaborate. He’s not Jigsaw, where he is coming up with these crazy contraptions or these machines — which are amazing. I’m just saying he just grabs a weapon and kills somebody. So, it’s just about doing it in a very different way, or a more graphic way, or putting a twist on it. So, for this film, one of my favorite kills kind of started with nothing to do with Terrifier.
I’ll watch horror movies that I love, and one of them is Psycho, one of my favorite movies of all time. I watch it once, twice a year, and I’ll say like, “Wow, if Hitchcock made that today, would he shoot that the same way? Would he be a little more graphic with the way it’s portrayed? Would he show more penetration with the knife?” I know if I was given the opportunity to remake Psycho or something — which I’ll never get that opportunity — I said, “I would show everything that knife could possibly do. It would be the most graphic scene you’ve ever seen.”
And now, since no one’s going to let me remake Psycho, I’ll just say, “Well, I’ll make my own shower kill scene, and I’ll make it as crazy as possible. And instead of a knife, I’ll give Art a chainsaw. Instead of it being one person in the shower, I’ll put two people in the shower.” And that’s sort of how a scene like that is birthed in your head. That’s the inception, and then it just becomes, “Well, what could we do? How many gags could we fit into this sequence? How many limbs could we show him chopping off? What are some interesting things he can do with that chainsaw? Et cetera.” That’s how a scene like that unfolds, so I think when you do see Terrifier 3, and you get into the shower scene, be prepared.
That shower scene was pretty intense. I think, for me, the ones that got me were the attic scene with the worker, and a certain mother near the end of the film. I think those two were the ones that got me.
Damien Leone: I’m glad to hear that, especially because the scene with the mother was supposed to be way worse. I actually wound up trimming it a lot where the shots that you do see are almost subliminal and everything is so fast. But even still, it’s just the idea of what’s happening is so cruel and gruesome, so I’m glad that it worked.
AboutTerrifier 3
After surviving Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother are struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. But just when they think they’re safe, Art the Clown returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare. The festive season quickly unravels as Art unleashes his twisted brand of terror, proving that no holiday is safe.
Stay tuned for our otherTerrifier 3interview with starsLauren LaVera and David Howard Thornton!
Terrifier 3
Cast
Terrifier 3 follows Sienna and her brother as they attempt to move past the traumatic events of Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre. As they embrace the Christmas season, Art reemerges, intent on turning their holiday into a nightmare, continuing his reign of terror.
