Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you must’ve at least heard of the horror series known as Terrfier. The series originally started out as a low budget horror movie made in 2016; only having a budget of 35,000$. The story was non-existent and the characters weren’t exactly compelling. Pair that with mediocre acting at best and the horribly flat cinematography and you had a failure in the making. However there was one thing that set Terrifier apart from all the other low-budget horror movies-Art the Clown.
Art the clown, or simply just Art, is the sadistic clown antagonist of the film. He’s a classic horror slasher. But what separates Art from the hordes of horror movie villains like Michael Myers or Freddy Kruger is his sheer brutality. Unlike other antagonists, Art isn’t just out to kill the characters. But brutally torture and maim them in the most hideous ways imaginable. Adding to his unique cruelty is his behavior. Art, much like Jason Voorhes and the previously mentioned Michael Myers, is a silent killer. He doesn’t speak nor make audible sounds; Nevertheless, he makes up for it with his wild expressions, and mime-like behavior. Director Damien Leone said that when making Art he was out to make a pseudo opposite of Stephen King’s Pennywise. Pennywise is “colorful, chatty, and supernatural, while Art is black and white, silent, and more natural.
The first movie to feature Art was Damien Leone’s The 9th Circle (2008), where he played a small role. The first person to play Art was Mike Giannelli who wasn’t even an actor. He was just ok with being in make-up for hours on end. He was later replaced by David Howard Thortan for Terrifier (2016), an actual actor who has experience as a mime. This change was a major reason Terrifier was such a success. Thornton was the perfect man to bring the character to life.
The Plot
The newest installment in the series, Terrifier 3 offered a simplistic yet refreshing experience in horror. The story follows Sienna Shaw and her brother, two survivors of the halloween bloodbath that took place five years ago in the previous film, and how she copes with all her friends and her mother being dead. We soon find out that the bloodbath isn’t over however, as Art is back and ready to take everything from Sienna and those around her.
To not go too much into spoilers, the opening scene of the movie is a short involving a family that “gets involved” with Art. It’s a decently long scene for having nothing to do with the rest of the plot, however it is a great tone setter.
The rest of the film follows Sienna and her brother in their daily life, interlaced with footage of Art killing random characters and preparing for his eventual meeting with Sienna. This adds to suspense as we get to see some of the devices Art creates and wonder how it impacts the cast. We also get to guess when, where, and how the cast will meet their fate with Art.
One last thing I need to touch upon is the ending and how the franchise will continue. This is a slight spoiler so proceed with caution, the ending of the movie is somewhat ambiguous as to the fate of certain characters. But what is to be sure is that Art is alive and there will be a continuation to the Sienna saga. This will disappoint at least a few people as some were expecting Art to finally be put down for good. Sorry, but there’s no way the studio is gonna pass up on the opportunity to milk this franchise for all it’s worth.
The Issues
Now don’t let the praise this film has received fool you, this isn’t a modern day Exorcist or anything. It’s a campy slasher with cheesy dialogue and some wooden acting here and there. So don’t watch this movie if you expect a complex narrative or deep character writing.
The first real issue I have with this movie is the plot. I know I just said these movies aren’t meant to be watched for their plots but still the plot is almost non-existant. The second movie introduced the idea of Art being some sort of demon with a connection to other demonic entities, and the only way to kill him is to do so with Sienna’s father’s sword. The idea of that is fine, but in this movie they never expand upon it. They have a flashback of Sienna’s dad, sure, but they still never explain how the dad had the foresight to make a magical sword to have his daughter kill demon clowns. Or how Art is connected to Hell or the demon girl of the second movie. There were some clues in the second movie, but again, those clues never went anywhere.
Along with the plot, the pacing is all over the place. The beginning and middle were fine. Sure there were times when the story slowed down to introduce certain unimportant characters or side plots, but for the most part it’s fine. It doesn’t detract from the entertainment value of the film. The end of the movie however is a different story entirely. The story literally cuts from a scene where Art is brutally killing someone, to the final clash between Sienna and Art. The ending was so unnecessarily rushed. If only they had a few scenes in between those two and it might’ve not felt so rushed.
Now we’re onto the biggest qualm I have with this film, the offscreen deaths. There are a total of three offscreen deaths in the movie. You might be thinking, “that’s not that bad” or “if it’s minor characters, then who cares” but you’re wrong. The first one was a really minor character, I don’t even know if she had any lines. But the second one was an important supporting character, who we only see the aftermath of. And the third and worst case was the offscreen death of a main character. This character was probably the second most vital character (besides Art and his hello kitty girlfriend Victoria) and yet they were killed. Worst part is we don’t even get to see their body. They just tell us they died, and that’s it. It felt incredibly cheap and unfair to see that character go like that, and I pray that they don’t continue this in the fourth movie. This contributes massively to the rushed ending I spoke about previously.
The Rating
In conclusion, Terrifier 3 was a critical and financial success that entertained audiences with its campy tone, terrifying villain, and fantastic gore effects. Although the pacing and tone was sort of all over the place, Art challenges the viewer’s ability to watch which actually makes the movie more engaging and much more enjoyable. If I were to numerically score the film overall, I’d say it’d be about a six out of ten purely for Art carrying the movie on his back.
