The first ten minutes are incredible. Santa will never be the same again.

Nothing that follows holds a candle to that opening. Not even the film’s centre-piece kill, which is all manner of fucked up, but doesn’t land the same visceral punch. 

Terrifier 3 is a better film than Terrifier 2. With money (and I assume a larger crew), there’s an assuredness to the film-making. The acting from the cast, including Lauren LaVera, who plays Sienna Shaw, is much improved.* It’s not great, but it’s much improved. 

The story, however, still sucks. Part of the problem is the pacing. Terrifier 3 does not tell a complete tale, which only becomes apparent during the subdued (for a Terrifier film) climax. Too much of the movie is spent on Shaw trying to convince her Aunt, Uncle and even brother that Art the Clown is very much alive and back to killing people, leading her family to question whether she should be sent back to a facility. It’s repetitive and tiresome, and it ends up robbing Sienna of her agency.

Thankfully, Art the Clown, as he does in the second movie, reinforces a limp narrative. Leone and David Howard Thornton have somehow performed the impossible and created a villain on the same level as Freddie, Jason and Chucky. If anything, Art has surpassed them—I think he’d give Freddie nightmares, would slice up Jason for shits and giggles and rip Chucky apart, then turn him into a devious weapon.

Art the Clown is the only reason I’ll watch Terrifier 4. I’m not invested in the characters or the over-arching plot. It also befuddles me why these movies are so long. But I’ll grit my teeth through all that just to see what fucked-up shit Art the Clown gets up to next. Not sure what that says about me. Probably nothing good. But I do adore my gore.

*Always happy to see Clint Howard pop up. He clearly had a blast in his scene with Art the Clown.