S Poddar
The Terrifier 3 certainly does cause a splash with reports surfacing to say that the movie garnered walk-outs during its first UK screening. According to The AV Club, eleven people left the theater during the screening, while nine of them walked out within the first five minutes of the film, all apparently because of one shocking and intense opening scene.
Director Damien Leone, not a stranger to pushing the envelope with his films, here in these waters also said that as far as he saw the audience reaction, he saw it as the best indication to him and his crew about how well they’re actually doing. He was proud of the visceral impact of the movie and claimed, “Generally, people leave a movie because it sucks. When someone leaves a Terrifier film, it’s a badge of honor for the special makeup fx team. I guess we’ve done our job!”
Leone is, in turn, vocal about the intensity of Terrifier 3, earlier having hinted how far the movie would go in terms of gore and shock value. Earlier in an interview with JoBlo, he recalled that Hollywood studios were not willing to give him the permission to go forward with the project based on the first five pages of the script, calling the scene “insane”. He even called that the opening would cause a stormy response, saying, “Mark my words, I guarantee you the first five minutes of this movie is going to be very controversial.”.
Even though the walk-outs, Leone doesn’t seem too fazed by this, thinking it’s a sign of just how successful the crew was in getting the brutality and gore tone that *Terrifier fans are used to. He explained his commitment to making the movie on his own terms by describing the project as so extreme that big studios were reluctant to back it: “That’s not even the big kill scene. So that’s why I was like, ‘I need to just make this movie on my own,’ because it’s just too… it’s too insane.”
For the uninitiated with the franchise, Terrifier 3 continues the gory tale of Sienna Shaw and the infamous serial killer known as Art the Clown. Known for pushing boundaries with gore and disgusting visuals, the franchise has a cult following because they can’t get enough of its unapologetic approach to horror. Early reviews and first reactions suggest the third installment stays true to the bloody legacy of the franchise-if not beating it.
Critics have already begun weighing in on the movie. Writer Alex Papaioannou called it “absolutely depraved sicko shit,” while James Preston Poole remarked that Terrifier 3 is “truly evil in the best possible way.” Another early viewer teased the fans, hinting at the horrors yet to come: “You silly fools have no idea what is waiting for you in Terrifier 3. You wouldn’t believe what these eyes have seen.”
These reactions only continue to fuel the hype for Terrifier 3, which fans eagerly await to see if something will manage to outdo the shocking moment or two from the previous films. The original Terrifier and its sequel have not only succeeded in the realm of cult following by gaining momentum for its gruesome and relentless violence but have also instilled Art the Clown into modern horror.
With the date almost upon us, the chatter—both among the walk-outs and from initial praise from reviewers—has set the stage for Terrifier 3 to leave an indelible mark on the horror genre. The extreme opening of the film has driven some viewers away in an attempt to seek not the light at the end of the tunnel but a piece of peace, but for others will have firmly rooted the status of the movie as one of the extremest entries into recent horror cinema.
Terrifier 3, which promises further blood-spilling sagas for Art the Clown, is scheduled to hit theaters October 11, 2024. To start the twisted journeys, Terrifier is available for streaming on Prime Video with the first two films.
