Art the Clown in the Terrifier movies is known for conducting ultra-gory scenes that make audiences queasy. The first movie had a dreadful murder involving a woman and a hacksaw. Its sequel had the mutilation of a woman in her bedroom that made audiences in theaters puke. According to Terrifier 3’s director Damien Leone, his sequel will take it up a notch with its “controversial” opening scene.
November began with a teaser trailer for Terrifier 3 released during the previews of the re-release of the second movie. The bone-chilling supernatural entity Art the Clown poses as Santa, waking up kids in the house he breaks into. Director Damien Leone spoke to JoBlo about how his opening scene of Terrifier 3 is so “controversial” that movie studios would never approve it.
“So mark my words, I guarantee you the first 5 minutes of this movie is going to be very controversial,” said Leone. “But that’s not even the big kill scene. So like that’s why I was like, I need to just make this movie on my own, because it’s just too… it’s too insane.”
Damien Leone continued to say that he met with Hollywood studios interested in developing a third movie. However, they had major concerns about the level of gore featured. Hearing their concerns and believing studios would be quick to turn down five pages of Leone’s script was enough for him to realize it was in the best interest of the movie if he made it independently. This way, the horror film director can deliver to audiences the franchise’s signature move of blood and guts.
What Can We Expect From Terrifier 3?
The previous Terrifier movies took place during Halloween, with Art the Clown blending in with costumed townspeople or amusement parks. The third time around, this maniacal being will tackle Christmas in the form of a killer Santa. When Damien Leone spoke to BloodyDisgusting, he teased that he wanted to head back to the slasher tone of the first Terrifier movie. The All Hallows Eve director also mentioned that he never wants to stray further away and ignore his roots.
With a bigger budget, Damien Leone wants to use A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors as his inspiration. He promises it to be more epic in scale with a bigger budget and shot in anamorphic widescreen. Leone said it may look and feel different but will deliver what audiences already love while still being fresh.
We don’t know for sure what will happen in the opening of Terrifier 3. Maybe it’s the teaser trailer scene where Art the Clown comes face-to-face with innocent kids. If the controversy follows the doomed fates of these toddlers, it would make sense why studios would be hesitant. After all, it was revealed in Terrifier 2 that Art the Clown’s first victim was a little girl named Emily Crane. Everyone will know for sure once Terrifier’s third movie premieres in theaters on October 25, 2024.
