Directed by Damien Leone
Art the Clown made headlines when Terrifier 3 seized upon Joker: Folie A Deux’s incredible box office failure and became the number one movie at the box office. I didn’t think I’d see the day when an unrated incredibly gory slasher movie, the third in a series at that, would top the box office in the US, so this must be a Halloween miracle! Even though Art isn’t nearly as famous as Freddy or Jason, he’s carved out a niche for himself with modern horror fans, especially with those who enjoy lots and lots of splattery practical effects. While I’m mixed on the first two movies (one was decent and two were a bit overlong and over the top) I wanted to give this new one a chance, particularly with its wide release.
Five years after the events of Terrifier 2 left Art the Clown without a head and his killer, final girl Sierra, in a rehabilitation center, the town of __ struggles to move on from the brutal killings. Using magic, Art manages to regain his head and, with a helper in tow, goes off on another deadly rampage, during the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas! As the bodies pile up, everyone needs to figure out if Sierra is crazy, or if Art has returned to make this a December to Dismember.
There is one central question that comes up whenever you discuss a Terrifier movie, and it is what separates the Terrifier fans from everyone else – especially other horror fans. That question is; how much do you enjoy extreme over-the-top gore and violence? If you answered ‘a lot’, congratulations, Terrifier 3 is the movie for you! Much like the previous two, Terrifier 3 goes all in on the blood, gore, and violence, lovingly showering the audience with viscera. Not just the amount of gore, but the variety of different…flavors, if you will, of it are truly breathtaking, as are the levels of cruelty and depravity that the killers engage in. I have a pretty strong stomach for this kind of thing and even I had scenes where I struggled to watch what was unfolding.
Everything else comes in second place to the violence and gore in a Terrifier movie, but that isn’t to say that Terrifier 3 is otherwise a bad movie. Most of the performances are at least decent, and the characters are more than enough to keep the storyline going, even when supernatural events keep popping up. I really appreciate the commentary/rant that Sierra has about the true crime genre, which I find interesting in how it juxtaposes how a movie like Terrifier exploits fake violence while true crime movies/books/podcasts exploit real violence. Whether or not you agree with that, I’m glad that Terrifier 3 is trying to say something, and not just be an effects reel.
By now you should have a pretty good idea of whether or not you want to see Terrifier 3, so let me just give a few content warnings. Children are not off limits. Neither are animals or people dressed like Santa. And there is some pretty nasty body horror that isn’t directly related to people getting murdered. If you’re still interested, go check it out, in theaters.
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