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Terrifier 3 is a 2024 American Christmas supernatural slasher film written and directed by Damien Leone. It stars Lauren Lavera, Elliott Fullam, Margaret Anne Florence, Bryce Johnson, Antonella Rose, Samantha Scaffidi and David Howard Thornton. On the days leading up to Christmas, the story follows Sienna Shaw as she attempts to rebuild her life. At the same time, Art the Clown is pursuing her alongside his new accomplice, a possessed Victoria Heyes. It is the sequel to Terrifier 2 (2022) and is the third installment in the Terrifier franchise.

Following the critical and commercial success of Terrifier 2, Leone began writing for the third film with plans for an overarching narrative. Leone wanted to feature Victoria more prominently, as he regretted leaving the character underdeveloped in the first film. Principal photography began in February 2024 and wrapped that April.

Terrifier 3 premiered at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas on September 19, 2024, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 11, 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics. The film has grossed $18.3 million on a $2 million budget, making it the highest-grossing film from the franchise.

Plot[]

In the present time, Art the Clown invades and brutally murders a family during Christmas. Five years prior, after being decapitated by Sienna Shaw during the events of the previous film, Art's headless body makes its way to the asylum where survivor Victoria Heyes, now possessed by the Little Pale Girl, has just given birth to his head. They kill a nurse and a guard before fleeing to an abandoned house. Victoria smashes her face into a bathroom mirror and uses a glass shard to kill herself in a bathtub, and Art sits in a rocking chair in the attic; the two become dormant.

In the present, Sienna is released from a hospital to stay with her aunt Jess, who lives with her husband Greg, and their daughter Gabbie, who idolizes Sienna but has no knowledge of the events. Sienna is suffering from survivor guilt and frequently has hallucinations of her deceased best friend Brooke, whose death she feels responsible for. She struggles to reconnect with her younger brother Jonathan, who is now in college trying to move on with his life. Art and Victoria are woken from their slumber when two workers stumble upon their bodies in the house. The duo kills the workers, and Victoria begins working on a costume, while Art ventures off on another killing spree. Art meets a Santa Claus impersonator at a bar and murders him and other patrons. Art then impersonates a Santa at a local shopping mall and uses explosives disguised as gifts to slaughter several shoppers, including children. Sienna sees Art at the mall before the explosion, but her family does not believe her.

Sienna visits Jonathan at his university, where she meets Jonathan's roommate Cole and his girlfriend Mia, who hosts a true crime podcast. Mia pressures Sienna and Jonathan to participate in an interview about the Miles County Massacre, but Sienna refuses. Sienna confesses to Jonathan that she thinks Art is still alive, showing him letters he wrote to her while she was in the psychiatric hospital stating demons can be reborn through a host, like Victoria. She also tells Jonathan she plans to return to the Terrifier haunted attraction to retrieve her father's sword. Art arrives at the university and kills Cole and Mia with a chainsaw while they are having sex in the showers. Sienna learns about the mall killings on the news and panics. Greg leaves to collect Jonathan while Sienna falls asleep; she dreams about the angels crafting her angel warrior costume. She wakes to find Art and Victoria, now dressed in a clown costume, have invaded her home, and Art incapacitates her with a mallet.

As Sienna regains consciousness, she sees Greg's body pinned to the wall, and Jess tied up across from her. Victoria shows them a skinned head consumed by rats, telling her it's Gabbie's, and then Art kills Jess by hammering a tube down her throat, forcing the rats in her throat with a blowtorch. Art suddenly enters with Gabbie as a hostage, and Victoria reveals to Sienna that the head is Jonathan's. Victoria places a crown of thorns on Sienna’s head and tries to possess her, but she resists and manages to open a gift, stabbing Victoria with its contents, her father's sword. Sienna decapitates Victoria, who disintegrates. Art attacks Sienna with his chainsaw, but she gains the upper hand. Victoria's blood burns through the floor and creates a portal to Hell. Gabbie falls and holds onto the edge, and Sienna leaves Art behind to save her. Sienna fails to save her, and Gabbie falls into the abyss with the sword. Art flees through a window and boards a bus while Sienna vows to find and rescue Gabbie.

Cast[]

Release[]

The film was theatrically released in the United States on October 11, 2024, by Cineverse, who acquired distribution rights in June 2023, setting it for a wide release, with an exclusive streaming debut on its Screambox service.[5] It was originally scheduled for October 25,[6] but was moved forward to its new date in May 2024.[7] The film had its world premiere on opening night at the 2024 Fantastic Fest on September 19.[8] In select AMC Theatres, the film played as a double feature with Terrifier 2, followed by a music video presentation of the film's official song "A Work of Art" by Ice Nine Kills, featuring System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian.[9] The song was released as a single in tandem with the film's theatrical release on October 11.[10] Cineverse spent under $5 million to acquire and market the film; print and advertising costs were under $1 million, as the film was largely marketed to Cineverse's Bloody Disgusting fanbase and 80 million streaming subscribers across 30 channels.

Reception[]

Box office[]

In the United States and Canada, Terrifier 3 was released alongside Piece by Piece, The Apprentice, My Hero Academia: You're Next, and the wide expansion of Saturday Night, and was projected to gross $10–11 million in its opening weekend, with one estimate by Boxoffice Pro at $12–18 million.[11][12][13] The film made $8.2 million on its first day (including an estimated $2.6 million from Thursday night previews). It went on to debut to $18.3 million, topping the box office. As an indie film, Terrifier 3 notably placed ahead of DC Comics holdover Joker: Folie à Deux.[14]

In France, the film opened number one box office on its first day with 45,000 admissions, more than other horror films like Saw X (35,000) and Smile (33,000).[15]

Critical response[]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 76% of 103 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Taking an axe to yuletide cheer and everything else in its path, Terrifier 3 is a bloody fantastic stocking stuffer for the holiday season."[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 76% overall positive score, with 59% saying they would definitely recommend it.[14]

Writing for Slant Magazine, Rocco T. Thompson described the storyline as being "half-formed" but praised the leading performances and the practical effects.[17] Thompson highlighted Scaffidi's performance in particular: "it's the surprisingly spooky Victoria Heyes who emerges as the film's villain MVP, what with the overwhelming Art often playing second banana in their scenes together. Through it all, Scaffidi exudes a chilling sense of evil from beneath pounds of prosthetics."[17] Thompson also noted that LaVera brought "emotional intensity to the narrative" in her portrayal.[17] In a review for The Austin Chronicle, Richard Whittaker highlighted the film's continued worldbuilding, the transgressiveness of the Art character, and Victoria's expanded importance as a villain in the series.[18] Similarly, Matthew Jackson of The A. V. Club praised the script and the performances of Thornton and LaVera.[19] Jackson stated that LaVera "cements herself as one of horror's brightest new stars with her second time out as Sienna Shaw."[19] In a positive review for IndieWire, Alison Foreman highlighted the script as "confident and comfortable."[20] She praised the development of both Sienna and Victoria, describing the latter as Leone's "secret weapon." Foreman states that the film gives the two characters "plenty of story to carry."[20]

International responses[]

France's Classification Committee banned viewers under the age of 18 from seeing the film, the first time such a ban had been issued since the release of Saw III in 2006. There were also reports of audiences vomiting and leaving theatres after watching the film's opening scene in the United Kingdom.[21][22][23] Another report consisted of two people passing out during a screening of the film in Australia.[24]

Controversy[]

A Christian group outside a movie theater in Kansas City, Missouri protested the film, calling it a "satanic Santa" film.

Sequel[]

In 2023, Damien Leone spoke about plans for a potential Terrifier 4.[25][26][27] In September 2024, Leone confirmed that Terrifier 4 was in development.[28][29]

Trailer[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Terrifier 3 (2024).
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Terrifier 3 (2024) - Financial Information.
  3. Terrifier 3 (18) (September 19, 2024).
  4. Terrifier 3. IMDbPro.
  5. Earl, William (12 June 2023). Terrifier 3: Cineverse Acquires North American Rights; Director Reveals How He's Planning to Top Gory Sequel: 'I Can't Let the Fans Down'.
  6. Squires, John (November 2, 2023). 'Terrifier 3' Will Slay Christmas in Theaters on October 25, 2024!.
  7. Wiseman, Andreas (1 May 2024). 'Terrifier 3' U.S. Release Date Brought Forward To October 11.
  8. Miska, Brad (August 15, 2024). 'Terrifier 3' to World Premiere at Fantastic Fest on Opening Night!.
  9. Squires, John (2024-09-16). Official 'Terrifier 3' Music Video from Ice Nine Kills Slashing into Fantastic Fest & AMC Theatres! (in en-US).
  10. Carter, Emily (October 11, 2024). Ice Nine Kills unveil Terrifier 3 single and video: “Our most glorious and goresome offering yet”.
  11. Rubin, Rebecca (October 9, 2024). Box Office: Joker: Folie à Deux Braces for Brutal 65% Drop, Terrifier 3 Aims for Solid $10 Million Debut.
  12. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 9, 2024). Terrifier 3 Looks To Slash Joker: Folie à Deux At Weekend Box Office With $11M+ Opening – Preview.
  13. Weekend Preview: Terrifier 3 Looks to Pull a Shock Upset at the Box Office (October 9, 2024).
  14. 14.0 14.1 D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 13, 2024). Clown Vs. Clown: Terrifier 3 Shows Teeth With $18M+ As Joker 2 Posts Record Drop For DC Character Pic; Awards Season Darlings Shriek – Sunday Box Office.
  15. https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3835069/terrifier-3-tops-the-box-office-in-france-with-monster-opening-day/
  16. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terrifier_3
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/terrifier-3-review-damien-leone/
  18. Fantastic Fest Review: Terrifier 3 (September 20, 2024).
  19. 19.0 19.1 Art the Clown kills Christmas in Terrifier 3, his best outing yet (September 20, 2024).
  20. 20.0 20.1 ‘Terrifier 3’ Review: Art the Clown Gets Even Naughtier in Damien Leone’s Franchise-Justifying Best Movie (September 26, 2024).
  21. McArdle, Tommy (October 4, 2024). This Gory Horror Film Scene Had Viewers 'Walking Out' of U.K. Premiere and 'Vomiting' (in en).
  22. Evans, Greg (2024-10-04). Gory new horror film’s opening scene is causing viewers to ‘vomit’ after watching it (in en).
  23. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/terrifier-3-extended-cut-1236024893/
  24. Miska, Brad (2024-10-07). ‘Terrifier 3’ – An Eyewitness Account of Two People Passing Out at a Theater in Australia (in en-US).
  25. Lund, Anthony (February 3, 2023). Terrifier 2 Creator Says Terrifier 4 Will Possibly End the Art the Clown Saga.
  26. Fuge, Jonathan (October 27, 2023). Terrifier 3 Poster Reveals Sequel Is a Christmas Horror Movie.
  27. Hermanns, Grant (November 1, 2023). Will Terrifier 4 End The Viral Horror Franchise? Director Isn't Sure Yet (But Has Ending In Mind).
  28. Scott, Ryan (September 20, 2024). Rejoice! TERRIFIER 4 Is Officially Happening.
  29. Betancourt, Emiliana (September 20, 2024). 'Terrifier 4' Confirmed by Creator Damien Leone.
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