A decade ago, the idea that Terrifier 3 would be opening in theaters with the potential to topple a $200 million DC blockbuster was unthinkable. Against the odds, Art the Clown has slashed up his preview night, and opened to a near perfect Rotten Tomatoes audience score to boot, and the weekend box office is preparing to be torn up by the maniacal murderer as he aims to hack his competition to pieces.
The Terrifier series has redefined horror at a time when several slasher franchises have been birthed with the arrival of characters like Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse in the public domain. While these movies tap into the outrage of taking a childhood icon and turning them into monstrous killers, Damien Leone has managed to outdo all of them with an original character simply by refusing to play by the rules of Hollywood’s major studios.
Early critical reactions to Terrifier 3 were almost unanimously positive, taking the film’s Tomatometer score as high as 92%, before a run of “rotten” reviews pulled that down to 74%. However, as quickly as the critics’ score dropped, audiences have more than made up for it by lapping up the sadistic antics of Art. At time of writing, the Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter is sitting at 94% – by far the highest score of the franchise and one that, unlike that of critics, is only likely to increase as more gore-hungry fans turn out this weekend to see a horror icon go to work on more unsuspecting victims.
Terrifier 3 Pushes Boundaries and Then Keeps Going
One thing that has become clear with the Terrifier franchise is that creator Damien Leone has no intention of selling out to the highest bidder, and is more than happy to continue making Terrifier movies on a budget that many filmmakers would balk at. From producing Terrifier for less than $50,000, and Terrifier 2 on a crowdfunded total of $250,000, the third movie’s budget has ballooned to $5 million. While that is a huge amount for Leone’s franchise, compared to every other movie currently playing in cinemas, it is miniscule.
However, that budget has allowed Leone to continue pushing boundaries as an Indie production, something that seemed almost impossible to do following the “bedroom scene” of Terrifier 2. Audiences have been both horrified and gleefully delighted to discover that Terrifier 3 is continuing to increase the inventive and relentless killing spree of its central character. While one reviewer called the movie “a little more demonic than expected,” another countered with “the kills were nothing that graphic.” Clearly different strokes for different folks.
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What is clear is that Leone’s steadfast integrity to making the movie he wanted to make without having to answer to the faceless studio overlords is paying off in buckets – of blood naturally. The director has already revealed his plans for a fourth movie, and potentially a fifth if everything goes to plan. So far, the Terrifier train is just reaching top speed, and it looks like there is still plenty of track before it reached the end of the line.