With Terrifier 3, Art The Clown proves that he’s a modern horror icon, joining the ranks of other iconic and legendary faces of horror such as Halloween’s Michael Myers, Nightmare On Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger, Friday The 13th’s Jason Vorhees, Child’s Play’s Chucky and more. That’s even more impressive than it sounds on paper because we haven’t had an original new horror icon on that level in literal decades (Saw’s Jigsaw was perhaps the last one and that franchise began in 2004, over 20 years ago).

Blood, Guts And Everything Nice

Terrifier 3 begins with the most vicious opening of the franchise yet, and that’s saying something if you’ve seen the previous two movies. It never lets up from the beginning and despite being around two hours long, the pacing never feels draggy or plodding. One valid criticism about Terrifier 2 was the pacing can sometimes feel a bit off, but that was like because that movie had to introduce brand new characters, including protagonist and final girl, Lauren LaVera’s Sienna Shaw. Terrifier 3 doesn’t have that problem, so it can head straight into the blood and carnage.

Speaking of blood and carnage, if you’ve watched the first two movies, you probably don’t need me to tell you how gruesome and over-the-top the gore is in this franchise. The gory kills are essentially the number one thing that the Terrifier franchise is known for and Terrifier 3 definitely delivers that in buckets. This movie is for horror fans who love blood and gore because if you’re not into those, this movie isn’t for the squeamish. If you think Blumhouse horror movies are already ‘gory’ enough, you won’t be able to stomach Terrifier 3.

Best of all, what makes the gore and gory kills in Terrifier 3 even better than most modern horror movies is that it relies on mostly practical special effects. The gore in the Terrifier movies never really feels mean-spirited or feels like ‘torture porn’ because the practical effects lend themselves to its over-the-top quality. It’s almost corny, even, but in a good and fun way. Also, there are kills in Terrifier 3 that make the ones in previous movies feel like Child’s Play (pun intended). Even beyond the blood and gore, the Terrifier franchise explores a lot of complex themes and subject matter, including the effects of trauma, people taking advantage of trauma victims for their own gain (in the form of true crime podcasters in Terrifier 3), the infinite cycle of good versus evil, and more.

That is in addition to the compelling performances of the cast, especially Lauren LaVera’s Sienna Shaw, who has solidified her place as a Scream Queen at this point. And let’s not forget the phenomenal David Howard Thornton as the mesmerizing Art The Clown. He pulls off being funny and terrifying (pardon the pun) at the same time, which is an impressive feat. David Howard Thorn is the backbone of this franchise. Even after three movies, he’s still fun as hell to watch, with his comical facial expressions and mannerisms.

This is one of the rare exceptions that a two-hour horror movie doesn’t overstay its welcome or feel stretched out. Incredibly, Terrifier 3 actually leaves you wanting more as the credits roll. Perhaps the only flaw of the movie is that it ends with a cliffhanger of sorts, but that can be both a pro and con in itself because at least we have more Terrifier to look forward to and the ending provides an interesting hook for the next movie. Many horror franchises sometimes already lose their steam two or three movies in, but again, the Terrifier franchise is the rare exception. Director Damien Leone continues to improve with every movie and as a horror buff myself, I truly can’t wait to see what’s next.

Last but not least, I want to mention how Christmas or Christmas-themed horror movies tend to either not be very good or get a bad rep just by being set on Christmas. Joy to the world then, because Terrifier 3 is a Christmas horror movie and horror fans can now add it to their list of Christmas traditions alongside watching Black Christmas or Silent Night, Deadly Night.

Season Of Art

Ultimately, Terrifier 3 is certainly not for the faint of heart and it won’t be for everyone, but it’s an unrelenting joyride for anyone who calls themselves fans of all things horror. Art The Clown is part of horror pop culture and the horror icon pantheon, and he’s here to stay, so glad tidings.

FINAL SCORE: 90/100