After the success of “Terrifier 2” and the teased return of Art the Clown at the end of that film even after being decapitated by his cosmic rival Sienna, it was inevitable that “Terrifier 3” was coming. What was unexpected was the five-year time jump and the Christmas setting.
For a franchise that started out deeply rooted in the Halloween aesthetic and lacking much of a plot at all quickly grew into one focused heavily on the spiritual battle of the angelic Sienna destined to defeat the demonic Art the Clown in the sequel.
Now in the third installment, this battle continues five years later on Christmas. Sienna is still recovering from the mental toll that losing all her friends and mother to Art the Clown took on her.
Jonathan, her younger brother, seeks alternative ways to deal with the trauma by attempting to move on. With the sudden return of Art the Clown, their lives are uprooted all over again, as the Christmas spirit quickly becomes corrupted by Art’s presence.
First, we need to address the gore. As with any “Terrifier” movie, this is often the focus of contention with most audiences, with many going to see how they improved on what came before and others simply disgusted by the sheer amount included, as there were reports of people vomiting and fainting during the film.
“Terrifier 3” does not disappoint on this level, as it offers numerous scenes where the gore is excessive, but rather than reaching the levels of the bedroom scene in “Terrifier 2,” it appears to have shifted gears towards being more creative. What was clearly meant to be the new bedroom scene here is not as gruesome as what came before, but simply bloodier.
Perhaps it was the buzz that surrounded this particular scene or the fact that it was clearly trying to one-up what came before, but it did not quite work for me. That is not to say that this film does not surpass what came before, as there is one other specific moment in this film that is even more sick and twisted that really shows the creative lengths the team behind these films are willing to go for a shocking moment.
Moving on from the gore though, the Christmas setting was unprecedented ground for this franchise, as most of Art’s antics are made possible by people assuming he is just dressed up for the season.
While the Christmas setting does see him add Santa’s suit and beard to his clown aesthetic, it does not prevent him from his usual antics of tricking his soon-to-be victims into a false sense of security that David Howard Thorton continuously excels at as Art. These are often the best scenes of this franchise and several scenes in this film, including one that had the entire theater laughing out loud, continued to be standouts in this installment as well.
Other than Art, the film also follows Sienna, reprised by Lauren LaVera, who gives a more emotionally driven performance in this installment. We see into the character’s anxieties of what occurred during the events of “Terrifier 2” as she fights to maintain hold of reality. Meanwhile, Jonathan, Sienna’s younger brother played by Elliot Fullam, takes a smaller role in this film, and his performance was unfortunately a low point here.
This younger and immature performance worked well in the last film, but now his character is in college and has sought to run away from the trauma he experienced, so the fact that the character’s mannerisms and tone did not seem to change at all felt very off and unfaithful to the story being told. Luckily, his character takes a back seat in this one, so this is not a pervasive issue.
Overall, though the gore is improved, the characters, except Jonathan, remain just as good or get better, and the plot finds a balance between the gruesome kills of Art and the continuation of the Sienna and Art’s rivalry, ultimately setting the stage for an interesting final chapter to come in “Terrifier 4.”
“Terrifier 3” is now playing in theaters.
