Terrifier 3

by Mike McGranaghan

Damien Leone’s Terrifier and Terrifier 2 gained a well-earned reputation for pushing the level of onscreen gore to new and sickening places. In the case of the latter, there were even reports of people throwing up and fainting during showings of the movie. It’s true that seeing if you can handle the gross effects is part of the fun. At the same time, Leone is aiming for more than just a geek-show vibe. That’s most evident in Terrifier 3, which expands the franchise in terms of budget, scope, and stomach-churning grossness. This is the goriest of the bunch, but also the funniest.

Five years have passed. Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) is still dealing with the trauma of her encounter with the sadistic Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton). She decides to spend Christmas with her aunt, uncle, and young niece Gabbie (Antonella Rose). Evidence soon presents itself suggesting Art is still alive and coming for her. He’s got an assistant, Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi), a former victim who survived with severe facial disfiguration. While he pulls off violent slayings along the way, Sienna works with younger brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) to determine if and how he can be stopped.

Obviously, the first thing anyone wants to know about a new Terrifier sequel is how crazy the violence is. I won’t spoil any specific moments, but Leone absolutely commits himself to going further than ever before. A murder involving rats is particularly gruesome, as is Art’s hatchet work. One scene surpasses the notorious bedroom attack from Terrifier 2 in terms of brutality. It takes place in a locker room shower, and let’s just say that Leatherface was never so creative with his use of a chainsaw. Effects work is masterful throughout, fully selling the illusion of grievous bodily harm.

Leone gets away with it by making clear that the story essentially takes place in a fantasy world. Some of that is done via an elevated tone, although humor is the primary method. Macabre jokes are abundant, as when Art decorates a Christmas tree with the entrails of someone he just murdered. Other comedic elements are more benign. Art acts like a typical happy-go-lucky clown, even as he’s tormenting his victims. He’ll make a funny face or engage in a bit of goofy physical comedy amid the slaughter. David Howard Thornton is such a talented practitioner of pantomime that Art gives you chills one second, then has you laughing the next. Terrifier 3 includes this silliness after the gore to break the tension.

With more money to spend, the production values are noticeably higher than in the two previous installments. It’s a good-looking Christmas horror picture that takes advantage of twinkling lights and yuletide decorations. The plot has been similarly upgraded. Sienna is more fully developed as a character, and her struggle with trauma is taken seriously. With the excellent Lauren LaVera once again bringing heart to the proceedings, it becomes genuinely suspenseful when Sienna and Art square off at the end.

Because the series levels up each time, Damien Leone is making clear his desire to craft a true horror epic, one that features a smart heroine and a legitimately threatening villain. Terrifier 3 is a modern-day equivalent of the exploitation movies that used to play in 42nd St. grindhouse theaters, except made with more skill and personality. Yes, the movie is gory as hell. You know what else it is? Funny, exciting, and, in its uniquely demented way, artful.

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