Terrifier 3 Bypassed A Truly Wild Art The Clown Sequence

Warning: Major spoilers for Terrifier 3 below!Terrifier 3 is about as far from restrained as a horror movie can possibly be, but it still decided to bypass an obvious setpiece. Art the Clown may have much in common with slashers like Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, but one area where he differs is the sheer excess of his attacks. While Jason might hack off a head with a machete, most of his kills are quick. Art, however, takes great delight in inflicting torture and dismemberment before finally - almost mercifully - putting his victims out of their misery.

Terrifier 2's controversial bedroom kill is the true litmus test of whether viewers have the stomach for the franchise or not. The Terrifier movies almost revel in Art's gruesome murder setpieces, which are brought to vivid life by the practical effects employed. Director Damien Leone certainly has a wild imagination when it comes to bringing these sequences to life, with Terrifier 3 featuring some outlandish kills. This includes the use of a chainsaw, liquid nitrogen and some hungry rats - though thankfully not all at the same time.

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Terrifier 3's College Party Could Have Been The Setting For Art's Wildest Attack Yet

Art the Clown employed some rare restraint

For much of the latest entry, Art has disguised himself in a Santa outfit - though it's debatable if this makes him any more inconspicuous. Around Terrifier 3's midway mark, the demonic clown sneaks into a college party in search of Jonathan (Elliott Fullam). While he racks up a couple of gory kills, Art decides to leave the college party alone, bypassing what could have been a truly bloodsplattered affair.

It's easy to picture Art locking all the doors and diving into the crowd with a revved-up chainsaw, but he resists temptation. Of course, much of Art's murder methodology involves taking on one or two victims at a time and really savoring their torment. Facing more than two people seems to overwhelm the twisted clown, such as in an earlier Terrifier 3 scene when he's faced with three men and opts to simply shoot two of them.

Having Art lay into dozens of students at once at the Beta Bash would have made for one of the sequel's most elaborate and impressive sequences. That said, Terrifier 3 is still a relatively low-budget affair, so staging such a setpiece may have been too expensive to set up and shoot. Given the film's impressive box-office haul, maybe the inevitable Terrifier 4 could see Art the Clown break up a party in the bluntest way imaginable.

How An Art The Clown Attack At A College Party Would Be So Different

The Terrifier movies have yet to feature such an ambitious attack

While the scuzzy nature of the franchise is an acquired taste, it can't be denied that creator Damien Leone is great at raising the bar for each installment. Every Terrifier features creatively bloodthirsty executions, with the third film's ending showcasing one of the most disturbing of the entire series. The scale and mythology only gets bigger (as does the budget) each time too, but having Art attack a crowd has yet to happen.

This is the case with most slasher movies though, though the Halloween or Friday The 13th sequels usually feature at least one sequence when their boogeymen go on a killing frenzy. It boggles the mind to imagine what Leone would do with a whole crowd setpiece, though it would force Art the Clown to be more efficient and less thorough than usual. Still, it would be something the franchise has yet to attempt - which would only make it more unique.

Why Art The Clown Didn't Attack The College Party

Art had a mission in Terrifier 3

Again, Art invaded Terrifier 3's Christmas party with a specific goal in mind, which was to find the younger brother of nemesis, Sienna (Lauren LaVera). Instead, Art overhears Jonathan's roommate Cole (Mason Mecartea) and his girlfriend Mia (Alexa Blair Robertson) talking about him, with the latter being a true crime fan and podcaster. This focuses Art's attention on them, so when Mia and Cole retreat to a shower for some alone time, Art decides to use his chainsaw to break up their fun in suitably graphic style.

Art has such a good time doing this, he even makes himself a blood angel in the aftermath. Art seemingly spares the house party because his focus is on finding Sienna and Jonathan, and news of a college massacre would only make that task more difficult. Art and accomplice Victoria (Samantha Scaffidi) are on a mission to make Sienna's life a misery so she can be possessed by the demon inhibiting Victoria.

While they certainly succeed in driving Sienna to the brink of her sanity, they ultimately fail to break her spirit. Terrifier 3's cliffhanger ending sets up Sienna and Art's final confrontation for the next sequel - though it feels doubtful the twisted clown can ever truly die. While Art resisted attacking an entire crowd this time, maybe part four will see him get more ambitious.

Terrifier 3 follows Sienna and her brother as they attempt to move past the traumatic events of Art the Clown's Halloween massacre. As they embrace the Christmas season, Art reemerges, intent on turning their holiday into a nightmare, continuing his reign of terror.

Director Damien Leone

Release Date October 11, 2024

Studio(s) Dark Age Cinema , Fuzz on the Lens Productions

Writers Damien Leone

Cast Lauren LaVera , David Howard Thornton , Antonella Rose , Elliott Fullam , Samantha Scaffidi , Margaret Anne Florence , Bryce Johnson , Alexa Blair Robertson , Mason Mecartea , Krsy Fox , Luciana VanDette , Clint Howard , Bradley Stryker , Daniel Roebuck , Chris Jericho , Tom Savini , Jason Patric , Alex Ross , Kailey Hyman , Kellen Raffaelo , Lisa Marie Falcone , Stephen Cofield Jr. , Corrine Kelly , Joe Falcone , Peter Mitchell , Marie Maser , Jon Abrahams

Runtime 125 Minutes