Terrifier 3 (2024)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Clown the Chimney

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Another surprising sequel in the ultra-gory killer-clown horror series, Damien Leone's Christmastime-set Terrifier 3 has clearly put some thought and care into its characters, situations, and especially its bloody FX.

It's five years after the Halloween massacre of Miles County, as seen in Terrifier 2. Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) has been "in and out of the psychiatric hospital" attempting to deal with her trauma, while her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) is off at college and barely communicates with Sienna. Their Aunt Jess (Margaret Anne Florence) and Uncle Greg (Bryce Johnson) invite the siblings to stay for Christmas.

Sienna arrives, greeted by a gushing Gabbie (Antonella Rose), who worships her older cousin. Meanwhile, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) and his mutated zombie sidekick Vicky (Samantha Scaffidi) have been resurrected, and they begin their unholy murderous rampage once again, this time with Art dressed as Santa Claus.

Terrifier 3 gets out of the starting gate with a bang, and right away we can tell that something is special. The opener is a more or less unrelated sequence as we meet a family of four slumbering in their beautifully decorated holiday house (at least before Art shows up). The movie has a beautiful softness, almost a fine grain like an older film. (Writer/director Damien Leone employed special anamorphic Panavision lenses to achieve the look.) Leone is also known for creating his own, practical gore effects, and his imagination knows no bounds. Even slasher aficionados will be shocked at the graphic carnage this movie comes up with.

But the real secret here is the characters, especially Sienna. Leone gives himself extra time to shape them and build the emotional impact so that the killings mean something. (The movie runs 125 minutes — a little shorter than the 138 minutes of Terrifier 2 — but they are used wisely and never as padding.) The time that Sienna and the hero-worshipping Gabbie spend together helps shape them both and establishes Sienna as more than just a "final girl." It's not just her lack of a sex life that defines her. She has real strength.

Moreover, it's admirable how Leone has shown commitment to learning from his mistakes, especially the ones he made on the dismal first entry, Terrifier. He even has the approval of genre legends like Clint Howard and Tom Savini, who appear in small roles. On the other hand, there's no denying that, while it's a good one, Terrifier 3 is very much a slasher movie and a brutal one, and it's not going to convert any new fans. Beware. And Happy Holidays.