Terrifier 3 Review

Art the Clown returns for a third entry in the Terrifier series and tortures and kills his way through Miles County.

Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) has been released from a psychiatric hospital, having suffered from trauma and survivor’s guilt. Sienna moves in with her Aunt Jessica (Margaret Anne Florence) and her family during Christmas. Sadly, for Sienna, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) has survived being decapitated and set up to terrorise the people of Miles County again.

The Terrifier series is a producer’s wildest dream because the first two films were low-budget and highly profitable. Terrifier 3’s budget has increased to $2 million which is still a fairly low-budget film and a fourth film is now in development. The series will probably keep going until the films are no longer profitable.

The Terrifier series does have some strengths. Art the Clown has been a horrifying horror villain because of his clown makeup, sharp teeth, and inability to make a sound. David Howard Thornton has been an expressive performer which makes him stand out as the killer clown. Art the Clown can be so evil that he makes Pennywise and The Joker whine in horror.

As the series progressed, they aimed to have paid more attention to the story. The first film was a simple and sadistic torture porn film, whilst the second was a long affair for a slasher film as it showed Sienna and her brother getting tormented by the clown. The third film added to the mythology that involved the reason why Art the Clown cannot be killed, the connection between Art the Clown and a spirit seeking a new host, and the question about how much Sienna’s dad knew about the Clown. The Terrifier series is walking down the same path as other horror franchises where they have over-complicated themselves to justify their existence.

Even though Terrifier 3 was attempting to expand the story, the plotting was meandering as it showed different characters in different locations. Sienna was struggling to adapt back to the outside world, Jonathan (Elliot Fullam) was trying to move on from the events of the previous film, and Art the Clown was going around killing random people for fun. The most interesting idea involved the characters trying to cope with their ordeal, similar to Sydney Prescott in the Scream series, or Laurie Strode in Rob Zombie’s Halloween sequel, where they may have survived a horrific event but mentally they are screwed up for life. However, the writing and acting were strong enough in the threequel. Sienna’s relationship with her cousin, Gabbie (Antonella Rose) had an overly hokey quality.

The main selling point of Terrifier 3 was the gore effects, but that’s all the film had. It was a film that was made to shock rather than entertain. An early example of this involved a woman masturbating with a broken bit of mirror. That wasn’t fun or scary it was just gross. This was a film that wanted the audience to relish watching the violent deaths of children which again was meant to shock. It showed Art the Clown was evil but that’s it. The final act of the film turned into torture porn since the characters suffered from brutal violence and psychological torment. It wasn’t fun to watch. It wasn’t like Halloween where there was a lot of tension or the Friday the 13^th films where the audience could enjoy the kills. Freaky and Thanksgiving showed slasher films could still be creative and enjoyable as they showed people getting killed in entertaining ways.

The Substance was a violent film that made me nearly throw up my dinner because it was so gory. However, I enjoyed it because it was a film that offered commentary about beauty standards and the treatment of women. It was a pointed satire about show business. Terrifier 3 didn’t have the substance to justify its violence.

Terrifier 3 was a film that was made for hardcore gorehounds since they would be the only people who would enjoy it. It was a film that felt like it was made by a psychopath for psychopaths.