I'm a bit late to reviewing this due to my travels, but I'm kind of glad because it allows me to talk about what transpired with the film this weekend. On a pretty small budget of $2.5 million, Terrifier 3 managed to take storm and finish atop the box office despite being a gruesome indie horror released unrated, already grossing more than the first two films combined. It beat out the second weekend of Joker: Folie a Deux, the sequel to a billion dollar movie, and just goes to show how great well-budgeted horror can do in terms of making money.
Terrifier 3 is of course the third film in the Terrifier franchise. The first film essentially acted as a playground for gruesome gore and Art the Clown to take centre stage, offering lots of squirming but little to no story. With the second film writer/director Damien Leone clearly heard the narrative critiques and delivered a low-budget horror epic coming in at over two hours and fifteen minutes. Terrifier 2 is one of the most gruesome movies I've seen, and with a massive jump in budget, Terrifier 3 offers even more of what we've come to expect.
This latest entry takes place around the holidays, five years after the events of the second film. Sienna (Lauren Lavera) has been in and out of institutions trying to figure her life out after her run in with Art, while her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) is adjusting to college life where everyone seems to know his story. When Sienna goes to stay with their aunt, uncle, and cousin for Christmas, Art makes his return, causing mountains of Christmas chaos along the way.
This is one of those cases where if you liked the last movie, you'll like this one, and if you hated it, no chance this one wins you over. As a lover of horror and practical effects, these are right up my alley. As was the case with the second film, there are plenty of moments where the script is lacking either in the dialogue or in logic. While Lauren Lavera is terrific, the cast around her still often feel like they're acting in a low-budget horror movie, but ultimately at this part in the franchise I think that kind of adds to the charm. Lavera immediately became one of the best horror protagonists in recent memory, and she's even better here, carrying the grief and trauma from the last film incredibly well and cementing herself as one of the genre's icons. Even more iconic though is David Howard Thornton's performance as Art. Part of Art's rapid rise to iconography is his simple yet unsettling character design, his black and white get-up just looks great and toes that line of cartoonish and menacing that the character is known for. Thornton however brings everything to the actual character, putting on what is essentially a mime performance that somehow makes you die of fear and laughter.
I wasn't sure how Leone would top Terrifier 2 when it comes to the gore, but while I do think the second film still has the best (or worst depending on how you look at it) kill, overall this one ups the ante in terms of how it butchers people. One scene in particular really went off the rails in a glorious way. One thing I was surprised by though was how actually tense the film can be. The first two are without a doubt gross rather than scary, and that's still mostly the case, but there are some moments of genuine tension that almost threw me off. The opening scene in particular is really well done, setting the tone incredibly well for the rest of the film.
I do think the runtime is still a bit long even if it is a bit shorter than the last film, and there are points where I found the energy lacking a little bit. That being said, this is a pretty great follow up, building even more on the lore of the last film and making this a new staple horror franchise. The Christmas setting makes for some very clever moments as well as an added rewatchability, but really it's Lavera as Sienna, David as Art, and that continued pushing of the envelope in terms of practical gore effects that will keep me coming back to these movies. 3.5/5
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