In 2022, a transgressive gorefest called TERRIFIER 2 was given a limited unrated release in AMC theaters. Kinda like GODZILLA MINUS ONE the next year it proved to be so popular they kept adding another set of screenings and another and another. There was enough of a buzz that I set aside my usual disdain for clown horror and fired up the first TERRIFIER on the ol’ Roku. That went pretty well so when TERRIFIER 2 screened in Seattle again I went, and kind of loved it. Later I caught up with ALL HALLOW’S EVE, the anthology made from two short films that introduced the idea of TERRIFIER.

So by the time of TERRIFIER 3 I’m a fully converted fan of the series, and there must be a whole lot of other people who followed that path, because this is truly unprecedented: an extremely gory unrated part 3 slasher movie that opened #1 at the box office. For extra laughs, it happened to beat out week two of a Hollywood evil clown sequel with literally a hundred times its budget. I’m pretty sure no one in the TERRIFIER camp was even trying to do that. But it’s a genuine phenomenon.

For the uninitiated I’ll give a little pitch for the series, which does not seem tailored for this level of mainstream recognition. It’s about Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton, some guy who played the Joker in a Nightwing fan film but turns out to be brilliant), a mysterious non-verbal clown who walks around on Halloween night with a garbage bag over his shoulder and commits sadistic murders. The first one is ambiguous about what his whole deal is, but in part 2 and 3 we have confirmation that he’s some sort of demon from Hell. I had liked the idea that he was just some misogynistic asshole living out his dreams on Halloween, but it gets much better the more outlandish it turns.

Writer/director/editor Damien Leone is also in charge of special makeup FX, and the thing that stands out most about the movies is the extravagant kill sequences that are sort of the horror equivalent of the fight scenes in a JOHN WICK movie. They have a similar spirit of envelope pushing and one-upmanship, but in this case they’re also a challenge to horror fans – how much can you take? That’s one reason these play so well in theaters. There’s a feeling of the audience going through something together that I’ve rarely seen outside of the JACKASS movies.

They’re also a tonal highwire act. I think of them as being somewhere in the blurry area between winky put-on and serious fucked up movie (though if I had to choose they’re closer to PLANET TERROR than ANGST). You will ideally be upset at times, but mostly having fun. The uncomfortable moment when you stop belly laughing because it’s gone too far is kind of their sweet spot.

I’ll go more into what I think makes Art the Clown so effective, but the other thing that really made this series click is part 2’s addition of Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera, body double for Anya Taylor-Joy in SPLIT). She’s a young person with normal human problems in addition to her horror movie ones, but also she’s a badass final girl, talented costume designer and possibly some sort of angel warrior destined to stop the evil of this fucking clown. At some point. The nihilism of the first film is part of what makes it unique, but once that’s balanced with Sienna’s element of hope the whole thing really starts to sing.

TERRIFIER 3 mixes some of the gritty nightmare feel of part 1 with the extra strength formula of part 2, and adds one major twist: it’s Christmas horror now! (Yet another reason it seems impossible it’s a big hit this October.) It cold opens as a killer Santa movie with some poor little girl telling Mommy she hears Santa on the roof. Mommy thinks it’s her imagination, but of course it’s you-know-who, and he does what he tends to do. One subtly wise choice made in this drawn out suspense sequence is that funny holiday gimmicks are saved for later, he’s just using an ax. So there’s no comedy to leaven the horrific atrocities he’s committing (uncharacteristically off screen, but with completely unrestrained sound effects). It’s only after we’ve had to stew in the ugliness for a while that we’re dared to laugh at a punchline about what he does after the massacre. (I did laugh but I think this is a choice every horror fan must make for themselves.)

Then it skips back five years to follow up on the insane ending of part 2, so we do get some Halloween representation. I love this chunk of weird demonic nightmare stuff, rooted in those shorts that introduced the character, but with more of a budget and improved directorial chops. It’s easy to compare Art to the slasher movie icons like Freddy and Jason, but it’s a little more SAW-like that he has as a supporting character like Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi, DEMON HOLE), who he basically mauled like he was a monkey, and she looks like a monster. I guess she’s now possessed by the little clown girl from part 2, but I’m glad I missed that because I always thought she was driven mad by her experience and continuing the cycle of violence, adding weight to Sienna’s struggles with PTSD and fears about inheriting mental illness. I suppose all that is still metaphorically true.

The story proper picks up with Sienna released from a mental hospital to spend the holidays with her aunt Jess (Margaret Anne Florence, THE IRISHMAN), uncle Greg (Bryce Johnson, SLEEPING DOGS LIE, WILLOW CREEK, GOD BLESS AMERICA) and younger cousin Gabbie (Antonella Rose, Fear the Walking Dead), who idolizes her. Sienna tries to hold it together and have a nice time but she’s plagued by hallucinations of her dead friends and then by a (correct, obviously) feeling that Art is coming for her.

Sienna’s little brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam, voice of “Sal the Rooster,” Get Rolling with Otis) is now in college. I was wondering about this because 2 years have passed in real life, 5 in the movies, is that kid really old enough to be in college? Yes, it turns out, but seeming younger than his cool-guy roommate Cole (Mason Mecartea, 1 episode of Stranger Things) really works for the character. His neck and limbs have stretched out considerably but he still looks and sounds very young, that awkward transitional period into full adulthood. Perfect for a shy kid who used to be obsessed with serial killers who’s now trying to have a normal life after being terrorized by one.

Picking up the baton as a character morbidly obsessed with murder is Cole’s hot-girl girlfriend Mia (Alexa Blair, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LONG HAUL), who has a true crime podcast and the audacity to think Jonathan will be impressed by how much she’s followed his case. There’s a darkly hilarious moment where she’s musing about what it must feel like to be in the presence of an evil like Art the Clown just as he’s walking past her dorm. I love that Leone (SPOILER) does the later-FRIDAY-THE-13TH thing of a victim who’s easy to hate, followed by the TERRIFIER thing of going so overboard in her death that it obliterates any sense of “deserving it” in horror movie terms. And her ordeal may even be overshadowed by what happens to Cole, which feels to me like a retroactive counterweight for the most upsetting part of the first TERRIFIER. See? Men are also treated horribly in these movies.

It’s not just the disgusting things Art does to human flesh that make him a standout horror villain. He’s a genuinely interesting character to watch. Yes, he’s a demon on a mission from Hell or something, but he also has some worldly interests. He has a fondness for novelty sunglasses, creeping people out on public transportation, and getting kicked out of establishments (usually for peeing or pooping). Halloween gives him the ability to walk around in public without drawing much attention, but it feels like an escalation when has the balls to do it in December. One of the great scenes in T3 is when we find out where he got the costume. He’s so excited when he spots a Santa Claus (Daniel Roebuck, THE LATE SHIFT) in a bar. The poor Santa is amused by this weirdo (he nicknames him “Clowny”) and has no idea it’s doom for him and his friends (Clint Howard and Bradley Stryker).

I still think evil clowns are usually corny, but I called Art “ugly” in my TERRIFIER review, and I gotta confess that at some point I realized he’s an excellent design. The clean, solid black around his eyes and mouth work so well with Thornton’s exaggerated expressions, he’s got that simple black and white outfit that gets refreshed at the beginning of each chapter and then bloodied (such a funny reoccurring gag). He’s like both stages of a Ren & Stimpy character – the line drawing and the detailed close-up painting. I like looking at him now. He’s fascinating.

And he’s such a bastard! He continues to break slasher taboo by sometimes using guns, and worse. He could be mistaken for a terrorist in this one. I don’t want a future where this is commonplace in horror, but it has a real stomach-churning resonance here because it’s crossing the line between horror movie iconography and the sickness of modern real life violence. I think part of what makes Art powerful is that he’s so thoroughly despicable, even compared to Freddy, Jason and Michael. He is pure, disgusting evil, no iota of tragedy to his existence, no possible reason to feel sorry for him, no code or sense of fairness like Pinhead. I look forward to the day when Sienna figures out how to stop him for good, but also, I’m afraid, the guy makes me laugh. My point stands that he’s able to be funny Freddy without being grating because he has to do it without talking. Best of both worlds.

I think T3 is Thornton’s strongest performance to date. There are so many laugh out loud reactions and movements. Funnier than most non-evil clowns! But the laugh is rarely, if ever, the climax of a scene. Inevitably it’s the prelude to Art and/or the movie pushing things too far, making you feel a little self conscious that you were just laughing a second ago.

What I like more and more about these movies is their complex palate – deliberately using conflicting tones conventionally considered to not work together. Forgive me if I’ve used this analogy before but a favorite pizza topping combination for me is jalapeno and pineapple. There’s a burn, there’s a sweetness, those sensations bounce off each other, so it hurts a little, but mostly tastes good. Maybe for people less attuned to gore this is more like pineapple and ghost pepper. But the point is those two contrasting flavors bring something out of each other that can’t be achieved separately.

I think TERRIFIER 3 manages this sort of thrill ride at least as well as part 2. It flows a little better, deepens our attachment to the characters, and gives LaVera room for a really layered performance. I also like that (SPOILER) it leaves her a rescuing-Han-from-Jabba’s-palace type mission for the sequel. My one complaint is because she doesn’t get to fuck up Art as thoroughly as last time the ending is a little less satisfying. But that’s minor.

It’s weird to be judging this in October, but I do think TERRIFIER 3 is strong in the Christmas horror spirit, fulfilling my preference for season-specific imagery. It has snowy nights, Art dressed as Santa, a major mall Santa scene (and mall shopping), another Santa at a bar, Christmas milk and cookies, important presents under the tree, it even has a crown of thorns! It has Art decorating a tree with intestines and a severed head – that rates high. Also visual quotes of SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT and BLACK CHRISTMAS. It has numerous Christmas carols, and it’s pretty great that it has an original song called “It’s a Terrifier Christmas,” though I gotta note that it sounds pretty similar to “Christmas in the Playhouse” from the Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special.

I have read that Leone has an ending planned for the series that will probly be the next movie but could possibly turn into two more. Since T3 never actually makes it to Christmas day, and Leone says what he has planned for the next one is “almost experimental,” I’m thinking we’re gonna be opening our presents in Hell. I was hoping for the 4th of July, honestly, but I’m sure the final showdown with Sienna will provide some fireworks no matter the time of year. For now, I think I’m gonna watch the first one again and hopefully return to this one in December.