Having been a horror fan for my whole life now, it's pretty rare for me to be rattled entirely by a film. I have tested my limits over the years with A Serbian Film and The Human Centipede 2. Terrifier 3 joins that exclusive club now, with directors receiving reports of audiences leaving early within the first 10 minutes of its UK showing, and one with the person vomiting.
Damien Leone continues to push boundaries of the slasher genre with Terrifier 3. The third franchise installment — theatrically set to drop on October 11 — once more centers Art the Clown, a malevolent killer brought back by supernatural means. But the movie is stirring controversy as is—Leone was frank enough to admit that Hollywood studios didn't want to finance it because of the gruesome opening scene. Though he could have afforded the safest route of working for someone else to earn the money to bring his uncompromising vision to life, Leone chose to take the independent route.
The film's DNA includes its shocking opening—there's no shock value, it just is. In fact, Leone has previously stated that the first five would be the most controversial, and early reactions seem to be confirming that. But this opening is only the tip of the iceberg. Fans of the franchise understand that Terrifier doesn't pull punches, and it seems Terrifier 3 has embraced even more over the top levels of gore.
The polarized audience reactions that can be predicted should doom Terrifier 3 to a 28% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but the film is instead averaging more than 93% approval. Terrifier earns its place on the modern horror cult favorite backsplash because, although it's not for the faint of heart, it's a repulsive and intriguing film.
So, will Terrifier 3 be remembered as a horror masterpiece or merely another exercise in excess? That depends on your threshold for terror. If you're a fan of truly extreme horror, this film might just be your next obsession. For everyone else, proceed with caution—you've been warned!
