Terrifier 3 Will Be A Christmas Horror Movie, So Deck The Halls With Human Entrails
On October 25, 2023, the Daily Mail posted an image depicting Art the Clown from the popular "Terrifier" slasher series in his holiday best — a Santa hat and the flayed face of Kris Kringle himself, wielding an axe in front of a Christmas tree. The bottom of the poster had "Damien Leone's Terrifier 3" listed as the title. Considering the abundance of fan art made from the film series, there was debate whether or not this was leaked promotional material or just a well-made bit of fantasy booking. Well, Bloody Disgusting and Cineverse have cleared the air to confirm that the poster was legitimate, and that "Terrifier 3" will be a Christmas horror movie.
The announcement comes paired with the theatrical re-release of the 2022 hit "Terrifer 2" on November 1, 2023, which will include an exclusive sneak peek teaser for the holiday horror slasher. "For those of you speculating that the 'Terrifier 3' teaser is just gonna be some 20-second gimmick, I assure you it's a legit teaser/trailer," Leone told Bloody Disgusting. "It's over 2 minutes long, and you're gonna f***ing love it." The screenings will also include a special introduction from Leone, but details regarding what that entails have not been made public.
Thus far, the "Terrifier" films, as well as the short film "All Hallow's Eve" which served as the introduction to Art the Clown, have all taken place on Halloween. The new Christmas setting is a brand-new playground for the killer clown and gives Art the space to join the ranks of a well-loved but often overlooked holiday tradition.
Christmas horror is a vital service
Despite popular belief, the holiday season is not always "the most wonderful time of the year." Songs like "Let it Snow" are a curse to anyone who has had to wake up at 5 a.m. to dig their car out of their driveway before a morning commute and plenty of people loathe the obligatory family gatherings often required throughout the season. Yet the rest of the world carries on with sickly, saccharine sweetness. This is why Christmas horror movies — especially Christmas slashers — have remained so popular. Films like "Black Christmas" and "Silent Night, Deadly Night" are rightfully considered Christmas slasher classics, and gateway horror films like "Gremlins" and "Krampus" have become mandatory annual rewatches for many horror fans.
"Terrifier 3" joins the upcoming holiday slasher "It's a Wonderful Knife" in recent offerings, but it's safe to assume that both films will take wildly different approaches to the subgenre. "It's a Wonderful Knife" plays like a Hallmark Christmas movie set in the "Scream" universe, while Art the Clown is notorious for his over-the-top kills, like slaughtering children in the original short film, vertically bisecting Dawn upside down in the first "Terrifier" film, and eating Brooke's heart in "Terrifier 2." Damien Leone has a tradition of trying to one-up his own brutal ideas, so "Terrifier 3" will certainly be loaded with gory goodies.
The first two "Terrifier" films were set around Halloween, but with the new holiday setting, Art has an entirely new arsenal to bring the Christmas carnage. Broken ornaments, sharp icicles, rock-hard fruitcakes, gigantic Christmas trees, and even chestnuts roasting on an open fire all have the potential to be manipulated into sinister instruments of torture. If anyone can figure out how to deck the halls with human entrails, it's Art the Clown.
Twisted Christmas
"Terrifier 3" is the result of the unbelievable success of "Terrifier 2," which brought in over $15 million at the international box office against a reported $250,000 budget. Art the Clown is also quickly becoming a horror merchandise juggernaut, with horror convention floors flooded with his unsettling makeup on t-shirts, mugs, stickers, and the like. Even the littlest horror fans are drawn to the figure, with Leone admitting that he's met toddlers who have actually watched the "Terrifier" films before they're old enough to tie their own shoes. This makes Art a slasher icon for a new generation to grow up with, the way Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Chucky, Leatherface, Ghostface, Pinhead, and all of the rest of the usual slasher franchise crew did before.
In addition to the special previews during the "Terrifier 2" return to theaters, Bloody Disgusting also reports that on opening night, the first 100 fans at each theater will receive an exclusive "Terrifer 3" poster, the same design that was originally leaked that forced the hand of the studio to announce the film in the first place. The "Terrifier 3" trailer will be played after the run of "Terrifier 2," so if you're hoping to catch the first look at the new film, you'll have to sit through all 138 minutes of the film. This is a treat for diehard fans, not folks hoping to sneak in, catch the news, and leave.
Tickets are on sale now wherever movie tickets are sold and you can check local listings to see if "Terrifier 2" is playing in a theater near you.