Art the clown gets cheeky in Damien Leone’s best film

“We’re in the same business,” the world’s unluckiest Santa impersonator implores an armed Art the Clown. “We make people Happy.”

A comparison of job descriptions won’t save Santa Claus, with his cherry red nose and white beard, from what awaits him in “Terrifier 3” – but it gets the point across. For a second installment of this indie slasher-turned-runaway-train, star David Howard Thornton returns to his role as Art: a supernatural shepherd of theatrical joy.

Splatter isn’t for everyone and even under the Christmas theme, “Terrifier 3” is intense. But if gore, grit, and plenty of horror-comedy are on your Halloween wish list, then Damien Leone’s best film will put a smile on your face so big it might as well be held in place with meat hooks.

We meet Art five years after the events of “Terrifier 2.” Snowy and spooky in that cozy “Black Christmas” way, the cold takes us to a bright suburban house where an unsuspecting family is fast asleep. When a Cindy Lou Who type stumbles down the stairs and finds a black-and-white Grinch poking around the tree, she tries in vain to warn her mother, father and brother about the intrusion. The family may not live to see tomorrow, but together the four happy meatbags will dictate the rules of this dark and cheerful next chapter.

Yes, art kills children. And yes, that’s him Despite it Torture women. This is sure to outrage people who hated “Terrifier 2” – even though they weren’t supposed to see “Terrifier 3.” And even those who enjoyed the excesses of past films might wish the truly excruciating first scene were quicker. Still, Leone’s misunderstood endurance test knows enough to not make extreme carnage the only selling point.

Art’s latest outing is full of style and a charming testament to the “Terrifier” team’s talent for fantasy world-building. It’s also proof that ultra-violence can sell paranormal concepts that might otherwise be too silly for the screen. As the last living person in Art’s initial rampage screams his way into the title card, “Terrifier 3” embraces the soul of the series as if for the first time – presenting a vignette so disturbing it’s almost biblical.

Viewers who haven’t seen a “Saw” movie are often surprised to learn that these so-called “torture porn” films are mostly dense police procedurals. In this sense, “Terrifier” films are mythical explorations of the splatter punk style and the slasher as a concept. These horror fantasies use exaggerated effects to comment on the genre and experiment with tropes, whether you know it or not. And while it hasn’t always been executed well, by working with a larger budget and crew for “Terrifier 3,” Leone makes the strongest case for his creation yet.

The “Santa Claus for everything” (which, to be fair, goes along with the “Jesus for everything”) helps establish “The Killer Clown Who Can’t Be Killed” as a legendary horror icon worthy of its box office success. Revealed like a forbidden graphic novel, this truly epic descent into holiday hell begins with a prelude that creates its own kind of demented nativity scene with brutal effects and fairytale-like imagery. Drenched in blood and sitting at this poor family’s kitchen counter, Art finishes his disgusting warm-up act by eating milk and cookies, washing the dishes, and grinning from ear to ear while “Come All Ye’ Faithful” blares in the background.

It’s a stunning scene (not just in the sense that it makes you gag) and an obvious achievement for people well versed in the subgenre. If you experience a catharsis of shocking horror coupled with sharp comedy, then this visually and sonically stunning film is for you. And if you’re a nerd who loves hidden gems of the superhero saga and is willing to risk suffering severe, irreversible psychological damage at the movies, then maybe this movie is for you too.

As stunning and formidable as ever, with a backstory rooted in her dead father’s comics, Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) fights against art for a second time. The girl’s final nightmarish encounter with the Miles County Clown from the last film leads to her living in a psychiatric care facility at the start of “Terrifier 3.” The Christmas season offers Sienna a good excuse to visit her now college-going brother Jonathan (Elliot Fullam) and their extended family, who are understandably suspicious of the siblings’ past.

It’s easier to accept stories about an ark angel and a magical sword with glittering holiday ornaments in the frame – and Leone puts his heart and soul into preparing this exhibition to succeed. A confident and comfortable script explores the recognizable sequel archetype of a traumatized hero like a fresh iceberg, outwardly presenting Sienna as a steely and stoic persona as her hallucinations and diary entries sink into the sordid past she must recapitulate.

In doing so, Leone better develops the already dead characters he could have said more about in “Terrifier 2,” and evokes the kind of unexpected cameos seen in “Scream,” “Halloween” and other storied slashers. The filmmaker understands the spirit of horror, and the “Terrifier” world always feels more alive and alive because of that appreciation. He also knows how to write a feminist fantasy hero. Sure, Sienna wears some sort of impressive combat outfit in Terrifier 2, but even in a Christmas sweater, she’s just as reluctantly powerful as any Valkyrie.

“I had a fight,” Sienna says casually when asked about the scars she received when Art brutally abused her in the last film. “Yeah, I won.” (See? Superhero shit! And she’s never been forced to entertain a boyfriend.)

It is said that behind every immortal demon clown is a strong, traumatized woman. Art has two. Before he meets Sienna again, we follow his slapstick antics to a reunion with survivor and accomplice Vicky (Samantha Scaffidi), who is Leone’s secret weapon, as revealed in a key flashback. Vicky, the original “Terrifier” victim, was also once in a mental institution. Now she’s Sally to Art’s Jack Skellington – and she’s working on something far more sinister than a fake Santa suit.

Able to scare even art on a whim, Vicky shuffles around aimlessly, honks cutely on a bicycle horn, and sometimes… masturbates with glass? Yes. As her supernatural character builds and the unpredictable role she plays in Arts’ driving reign of terror becomes clearer, dreamlike visions begin to terrorize Sienna. While celebrating with her Aunt Jessica (Margaret Anne Florence), Uncle Greg (Bryce Johnson) and cousin Gabbie (Antonella Rose), our heroine is wracked with crippling guilt and overwhelmed by the looming feeling that the clown isn’t done with her yet is still.

“Terrifier” has been called sexist schlock that gives horror a bad name, and the controversial decision to target underage victims will not help its reputation. However, the suggestion that Leone’s work somehow betrays female horror fans says more about the current acceptance of extreme nudity and violence in film than anything about this particular writer or director. Not only does “Terrifier 3” stick up for Sienna at every turn, but he also takes several brilliant corrective measures in this conversation – at one point providing (non-sexual) evidence that Art has a penis that’s just as vulnerable as that of everyone else.

Sienna and Vicky have plenty of stories to tell, and the female-focused ensemble work ensures that Thornton’s “Who I?!“Clown act – this time involving liquid nitrogen and shooting rampages at the local mall – never gets old. Art and Vicky (“Art + Vicky,” if you will) are attached at the hip for most of their screen time, but the jumping between the three outlandish characters creates an unpredictable rhythm that feels like being squeezed through a tunnel .

Sienna’s paranoia matches the couple’s disgusting chemistry, and almost every dull moment from the last two films fades into memory. The colorful and demonic heart of “Terrifier 3” shines brightest when the gravity of what’s coming for Sienna is inserted directly into her crippling fear of it. With teary eyes, actress LaVera sells these beats as a true scream queen who could just as easily have been cast as an Avenger. (This is not a suggestion that Ms. LaVera pursue a collaboration with Marvel; she is so much better that I would rather turn my back on myself. But if anything could (Theoretically, if I’m interested in these films again, it’s probably because of her.)

Scenes from Jonathan’s College provide a funny and welcome respite from this unnerving trinity of terror – until she Really Don’t, and “Terrifier 3” gives its mind-bogglingly terrible characters what’s coming. An overzealous, over-the-top true crime podcaster named Mia (Alexa Blair Robertson) and her idiot boyfriend Cole (Mason Mecartea), who is also Jonathan’s roommate, could be this film’s Achilles’ heel. And it’s not just because one of them experiences the most graphic gaffe in the history of horror.

Mia and Cole appear in a stunning attack sequence that’s clever because it’s a cheeky reversal of a franchise kill we’ve already seen, but also confusing when viewed as Leone’s latest statement on problematic fan bases. The filmmaker would be wise to give higher priority to satire of the delicate landscape surrounding his work in the already confirmed “Terrifier 4.” But he’s chewing through as much metafruit cake as he can here, and this setback requires more unraveling than even the worst fairy lights.

For now, “Terrifier 3” graces the halls with a triumphant celebration that is terrifying for all the right reasons and highlights what Leone is particularly good at. This may or may not convince people, but it shouldn’t lose repeat customers. Beautifully staged, full of confidence and with an incredible final act, Art the Clown’s holiday extravaganza (which, of course, includes an original Christmas song) could be cheekier – but “Terrifier” never tried harder to play nice.

Grade: B+

“Terrifier 3” premiered at Fantastic Fest 2024 on September 19th. It hits theaters nationwide on October 11 and is expected to debut on Screambox in 2025.

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