Terrifier 3 is a 2024 horror film produced by Bloody Disgusting and Dark Age Cinema, written and directed by Damien Leone, and starring Lauren LaVera, David Howard Thorton, Antonella Rose, and Elliot Fullam. I saw this movie on opening night this past week but am writing the blog post the opening weekend numbers and I’m proud to announce as a supporter of horror and independent horror cinema that Terrifier 3 finished at #1 in the box office this past weekend over films like Joker: Folie A Deux, The Wild Robot, The Apprentice, and more on it’s way to making $18.2 million. I saw Joker: Folie A Deux last week on opening night as well so I guess this has been around a week plus of watching clowns in cinema, very clown heavy October this year in the box office, but I can report I had more overall fun out at the movies seeing Terrifier 3. The crowd was full of horror nerds like me just ready to have fun sharing in this gory, bloody experience with one another. I even had a guy dressed head to toe as Art the Clown sitting just 1 seat down from me in the theater, really it was one of the more fun and memorable theater experiences for me this year, partially to do with the crowd and the atmosphere and partially to do with the film itself.
I feel like I don’t even need to leave a disclaimer for this film, the Terrifier film franchise has garnered such a reputation at this point that you don’t even have to be a horror fan to have heard about Art the Clown’s antics or know what these films are about. I mean just look at the poster above. There’s a lot of gore, guts, and violence taking place in this film, it purposefully tries to push the boundaries and break the unwritten rules of what you can’t do in a horror film. It will be triggering to some, but clearly many others love these films, so if this kind of thing I wouldn’t recommend spending the money to go see it in theaters. I’m not even always a fan of these gorefest type of horror films, it’s not necessarily my favorite subgenre of horror, but I’ve grown to enjoy and appreciate them more the deeper into my fandom I’ve explored. Gorefest/splatter films usually have some of the best sequences and uses of practical effects (neck and neck with body horror films) and being a fan of practical effects, I always enjoy seeing that. Terrifier 3 was certainly an example of this, with great and memorable practical effect gore sequences yet again, much like the 2nd film had. People are raving about the shower scene and although certainly memorable and most likely the sequence that will live on in slasher lore for years to come, I think I would say the attic sequence and the rats sequence made me tense up and squirm the most of all the shocking visual effects of the film. This movie also is receiving great reviews which in itself is kind of surprising, a 7.1 on IMDb and a 76% from critics and an 89% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. That in itself I think shows that audiences and critics alike kind of understand these movies and give them a bit of a pass. They’re not taking themselves too seriously or trying to push any certain message (if anything I’d say they’re pushing back against any kind of agenda or message), and although shocking, these movies are kind of an homage to classic slashers of old while creating a supernatural twist in a modern world, creating a modern slasher villain, and having fun and experimenting with what they can do with practical gore effects.
Lauren Lavera was great again and gives a really compelling final girl performance as Sienna, portraying a much more traumatized and messed up but also less scared and more numb version of herself following the events of the second film. David Howard Thorton brings life and a perfect mixture of creepy and unsettling, yet silly and fun to Art the Clown once again. This character, like Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees doesn’t ever speak, but unlike them he is very animated in his expressions and movements giving him his very own vibe. The ability to make audiences squirm in disgust one moment, then turn around and make them chuckle the very next without ever speaking a word is truly something to champion. As I said before, this film won’t be for everyone but for the people it is for, boy this will be a treat. As a horror fan in general, I just love seeing an independent horror film franchise rise through the ranks, garner the media’s attention and create a fanbase organically, and get to a point where they open at #1 in the box office and beat out big budget motion pictures. That’s a true underdog story and I love to see it. Also, if you can’t get around to seeing it in theaters then hopefully this film gets a VOD release before the Holiday season, which I’m sure it will considering this is through and through a Christmas horror film! So you’ll have the perfect opportunity to kick back under a blanket, next to your tree, with a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy 2 hours of carnage candy courtesy of Santa Art.
