In Terrifier 3, It's five years after the events of Terrifier 2 and Christmas-time is here. Sienna (Lauren LaVera) is living in a home for the mentally unwell, haunted by hallucinations of her slaughtered love ones. Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) is busy in college and doesn't have time for talk about Art. Sienna is invited to shack up with her uncle Greg (Bryce Johnson), aunt Jessica (Margaret Anne Florence), and young cousin Gabbie (Antonella Rose) for Christmas, but Art (David Howard Thornton) re-awakens with a crazed and evil Vicky (Samantha Scaffidi) in tow. While Art and Vicky have themselves a very merry Christmas, Sienna tries to hold it together as she can't be sure the glimpses of the carnage she catches is real or just a symptom of her fragile mental state.
Terrifier 3 has had a lot of buzz surrounding it for a while. From the rumors that a young child would be graphically murdered in the opening scene to the reports of multiple people leaving the theater within the first eleven minutes of the film. Can Terrifier 3 possibly live up to such hype and expectations? You bet your ass it can! On a sidenote: I personally found the bits that followed the opening scene to be far more graphic and disturbing than the opening scene itself was. As for the rumors about a young child being axed...This is a Terrifier film, what do you expect?
Terrifier 3 is directed by Damien Leone, the same man who directed, edited, and wrote the previous two Terrifier films. Many lauded much praise upon Terrifier 2, but I has my issues with the film. Luckily, Terrifier 3 is a large step up from the previous installment. This go-round, we actually have a plot, the screenplay is pretty solid, and every character is well-written and likable.
For example, Jonathan has a room mate, Cole (Mason Mecartea). Cole has a smoking hot girlfriend, Mia (Alexa Blair Robertson). In most films, Mia would just exist to be a slutty, untrustworthy, and unimportant side character. Here, she has some development. She has her own true crime podcast and is obsessed with Art the Clown. She totally loses her cool whenever she runs into Jonathan or Sienna, as she is both a major fan and would also kill to have them on her show. While some might call her a leech, Mia comes across as bubbly and cute. She never seems to have ill intent.
As for Cole, it feel like he should be your typical douchey jock-bro. However, he is never shown to be cruel or arrogant. In fact, he seems like a mostly nice dude. He encourages Jonathan to get out and be social. Cole can even be seen cringing in the background whenever Mia nerds out over Jonathan or Sienna. Greg and Jessica also get some development too. Greg has reservations about hosting Sienna concerning her mental state, but he never ostracizes her and is generally pretty nice and accommodating. All of our cast feel real and human this time.
What about the gore, I hear you ask? You know how the colors of Christmas are red and green? Well, Terrifier 3 says "Screw green, it's all about the red, baby"! Every single kill scene plays like the filmmakers asked themselves how they could one-up the bedroom slaughter from Terrifier 2. Oh yes, Terrifier 3 aggressively pushes the boundaries of good taste. This is easily the meanest, most brutal, bloodiest, and goriest Christmas horror film I've seen in a long time. There's also a decent amount of sacrilegious imagery. For me, every single kill after the opening scene floored me in both good and bad ways. I'm tempted to call Terrifier 3 transgressive, that's how intense this flick gets.
Lauren LaVera remains one of the great final girls of modern horror. She nailed her role in Terrifier 2, and she does so again here. In fact, she's actually better in this one. LaVera has a lot to play with here, and she impresses. Antonella Rose as Gabby is totally winsome and adorable. Gabby and Sienna make for a great team, so look forward to that in future films, I guess.
David Howard Thornton has always been iconic as Art, but this is easily his best turn as the character yet. It just feels right to have Samantha Scaffidi from the first film return for round 3, and the film gives Vicky a lot to do this time. Terrifier 3 likely could have easily put anyone under the prosthetics and we likely would have been none the wiser, so it means a lot they brought the original actress back.
Unfortunately, not all is shiny and bright with Terrifier 3. Yes, this flick does A LOT right...but it's still not without its flaws. Let's talk about Jonathan. I love Jonathan, he was one of the brightest spots of Terrifier 2. Elliott Fullam has a career as a musician/singer as well, so that might explain why Jonathan is treated the way he is here. Jonathan is actively running from the memories of Terrifier 2. He would prefer to live a normal, ordinary life. He's even disowned punk music. In other words: Jonathan has changed. We watch him struggle with himself and his choices. Where his character ends up plays like waving a gigantic middle finger in the face of the audience/Terrifier fans. It also makes everything surrounding him and his college seem meaningless/pointless, including the characters of Mia and Cole. If future Terrifier films commit to what Terrifier 3 set up in regards to Jonathan, I'll give them this: They have gigantic, swinging balls.
Terrifier 3 sets up that Sienna is dealing with severe trauma from the events of Terrifier 2. This trauma heavily affects Sienna throughout Terrifier 3. While it is tempting to roll your eyes at the mention of the word trauma (Trauma is the hot word in horror right now, after all), these parts are handled very well. In fact, there should have been more hallucinations. As is, we get less than a handful. Something is better than nothing, I guess.
Those walking in hoping for answers to questions raised during Terrifier 2 are going to be disappointed. The Clown Cafe plays no role here except for two brief callbacks. There is no explanation as to how Art and Sienna's dad is connected (Terrifier 3 seems to say that Sienna's dad was obsessed with Art and his killings...so that might be the answer. If so...LAME!!!!). There's also no explanation as to how The Terrifier is important in all of this. A tiny bit of lore is added, but it's not much. Terrifier 3 seems to be more focused on the film at hand than on setting up future pieces, which is a good thing (duh).
Likely my biggest complaint with Terrifier 3 is its ending. This flick feels bombastic and excessive with how many kills occur and with the manner in which each victim is killed. So it's a bit disappointing when it all leads to an ellipsis or a cliffhanger. I can also understand the kind of thinking that led Damien Leone and crew to leave the character of Sienna where they choose to leave her, but it still feels a bit edgelord. Dark and mean just for the sake of being dark and mean. The finale is appropriately brutal and savage, but surprisingly small scale. It’s effective and tense, but can’t quite match the setting of the Terrifier in Terrifier 2.
Horror films aren't supposed to appeal to mass audiences. They're supposed to shock you, scare you, piss you off. They're supposed to challenge you and make you uncomfortable, maybe even make you sick. Horror films push boundaries. Terrifier 3 understands this. There's a lot here that's going to anger or offend many, and that's a good thing. Terrifier 3 is easily the best of the Terrifier trilogy. It's also one of the greatest/best horror films of 2024. This one leaves a mark.
4.5 STARS
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