"Art the Clown wreaks havoc in Terrifier 3, turning Christmas into a blood-soaked nightmare. Samantha Scaffidi returns as the formidable villain Vicky, alongside Lauren LaVera's fierce final girl, delivering the chaos horror fans crave!"
There will always be horror franchises that are made for the fans by filmmakers who truly listen to them. In this new era of horror, which often focuses on mind-bending twists, allegorical madness, or trite commentary on politics or society, we sometimes forget what drew us to the genre in the first place: the kills, the gore, and those ridiculous, laughable scenes we can’t stop watching. Horror fans are a bit twisted, and that's why we still need villains like Art the Clown and franchises like Terrifier. We need to stop taking everything so seriously and just enjoy some chaotic fun. No one is pushing that envelope more than Damien Leone right now.
From an industry standpoint, Terrifier shouldn’t exist—no matter how many cult heroes like Chris Jericho, Felissa Rose, or Tom Savini are involved. The current cancel culture climate would probably use Terrifier as an example of how unhinged society is. But we’re fine with that. Terrifier satisfies the true slasher formula, with the final girl we can't deny in Lauren LaVera and the villains in Art and Vicky. In Terrifier 3, Art takes on Christmas, and it’ll never look the same again.
The film picks up five years after the events of Terrifier 2, and like the iconic franchises of yesteryear, we see a regeneration of both Art and Vicky that raises a big question for the series: what keeps these two ticking, and why did they suddenly stop? Sienna (LaVera) and Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) are trying to move on in their own ways, and kudos to the writing for adding more layers to the story, just as we saw in the previous installments.
Since All Hallows' Eve, we’ve known what Art is capable of, but he takes it up a notch here, so fans won’t be disappointed by his antics and menace. The real standouts, though, are the leading women—LaVera and the incredible Samantha Scaffidi (Vicky), who deserves just as much praise as Art. As with every famous notorious duo, it takes two to tango, and they do so in the best way.
If you're a fan of the franchise, sit back and enjoy Terrifier 3. If you’re new to it, this is the most layered and thorough entry of the series, setting the stage for exciting things to come. Adding a Christmas theme was a great choice—it finally feels like we got the "Bad Santa" we always wanted. Slasher films still have a place in horror, and that's why we still need Terrifier 3.
Rating: 4.5/5
TERRIFIER 3
DIRECTOR: Damien Leone
WRITER: Damien Leone
CAST: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Samantha Scaffidi, Elliott Fullam, Daniel Roebuck, Antonella Rose, Krsy Fox, Clint Howard, Jon Abrahams with Chris Jericho and Jason Patric