Art the Clown resumes his reign of terror during the holiday season in Terrifier 3. Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) has spent the last five years in psychiatric care to deal with the trauma of being one of the sole survivors, along with her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam), of the Miles County Massacre committed by the demonic Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton). Sienna is released from the hospital to spend the Christmas Holidays with her Aunt Jessica (Margaret Anne Florence), Uncle Greg (Bryce Johnson), and cousin Gabbie (Antonella Rose), the latter of whom idolizes Sienna. However, Sienna’s release awakens the dormant Art the Clown, joined by now-possessed original survivor Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi).
Terrifier 3 Synopsis
Terrifier 3 is the third entry of the slasher film franchise, once again written and directed by Damien Leone. Leone switches the setting of this third entry from Halloween to Christmas, established in the alarming opening sequence of Art the Clown dressed as Santa Claus massacring a family on Christmas Eve. The film then proceeds to flashback to the events following Terrifier 2 to show how the decapitated Art the Clown comes back to life and he teams up with the disfigured and institutionalized survivor Victoria Heyes, with professional wrestler Chris Jericho (Dark Match) reprising his cameo as the orderly Burke.
The main plot of Terrifier 3 is set five years later, with the survivor Sienna dealing with major PTSD from Art the Clown’s massacre of her friends and family. Sienna’s younger brother Jonathan wants to move on with this life, however, he finds out that Mia (Alexa Blair), the girlfriend of his college roommate Cole (Mason Mecartea), is a true-crime fanatic, who regularly podcasts about the Miles County Massacre. When Art the Clown reveals his return disguised as a Mall Santa, Sienna begins to fear for the lives of the family she has left.
My Thoughts on Terrifier 3
I’m done at three.
While Terrifier 3 does make some compelling additions to the franchise’s mythology, which explains how original survivor Victoria Heyes becomes a crazed killer in her own right, the film also continues the franchise’s mean-spirited nature and the results are mind-numbing. Without getting into specifics, Terrifier 3 does not hold back at all with its depictions of brutal violence by Art the Clown, which includes but is not limited to a man’s head being skinned with a box-cutter, an entire family being killed with an axe, a showering couple brutally mutilated with a chainsaw, and arguably the most disturbing moment of the film, which I won’t spoil. This moment crosses the line big time, yet my mind is so numb from the carnage that I can’t find myself caring.
Terrifier 3 attempts to counter-balance Art the Clown’s reign of terror with the continued hero’s journey of returning final girl Sienna Shaw. This includes multiple flashbacks to Sienna with her father Michael (Jason Patric), which suggests that Sienna was destined to be the angelic adversary of the supernatural demonic forces that control both Art the Clown and Victoria Heyes. However, it now seems that Damien Leone’s modus operandi regarding the Terrifier franchise is that despite designating Sienna Shaw to be his final girl who will presumably eventually come out on top, he is not against torturing her and elevating her trauma to the brink.
As Terrifier 4 was already greenlit in advance of Terrifier 3‘s release, it already signified that this film wouldn’t have much closure. However, Terrifier 3‘s torture-heavy climax is a test of endurance that rivals the nihilistic downer ending of the original Terrifier. That said, I do have to note that Samantha Scaffidi seems to be having fun under her layers of prosthetic makeup, as she completes her turn from a final girl with barely any character development to a demon-possessed witch, arguably more evil than Art the Clown.
By the end of Terrifier 3, Sienna Shaw has been further put through the ring and so has the audience. What was immensely shocking about Terrifier when it came out in 2016, now comes off as incredibly mundane and formulaic. While Terrifier 3 will undoubtedly continue the cult success story of this franchise, this is the film where I finally jump off the bandwagon. Goodbye, Art of the Clown and your mean-spirited butcherings.
