The rise of Art the Clown in pop culture has been swift. In many ways, he’s the most recent horror icon, rising to near-unanimous appeal among the horror hardcores. Terrifier 3 looks to cement Art (David Howard Thornton) and director Damien Leone in the horror Hall of Fame. On some level, the movie accomplishes that goal, somehow crafting even more disturbing images than the last two entries. However, while the effects are god-tier, the story misses the mark in nearly every way.

Picking up during the Christmas season, Art continues to hunt unsuspecting victims. With the help of Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi), this new reign of terror feels even more menacing. When Sienna (Lauren LaVera) and Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) realize the string of murders might be Art, they try to help the town.

Leone undeniably has “it” as a director. Leone creates grotesque imagery unlike any you’ve seen since Herschell Gordon Lewis. At one point, we hear a Christmas Carol, where the carolers belt a tune about Art needing to outdo himself with new creative kills and a higher body count. Leone owns the pressure he’s created for himself, living up to his own challenge to somehow outdo the already stunning makeup and gore effects that made Terrifier 2 a phenomenon. It should be no surprise that Leone’s twisted talents come out in full force, once again rising to the pinnacle of what is possible with practical effects in horror.

We will be far from the last site or publication to tell you how good these effects are. The gore remains impressive for those who love 80s practical effects. In most cases, Leone runs circles around his slasher predecessors, allowing Art to slice and dice to infinity. If it were simply relying on upping a body count, there have been plenty of slashers (e.g., Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives) where the icon ups the body count on characters with zero purpose besides becoming meat bags.

This makes Terrifier 3 extremely frustrating in many other regards. The screenplay for this Terrifier is functional at best, but the exposition is boring at worst. Characters get bogged down in the story, explaining events to characters that will already know what happened (because, in several cases, the characters were also present when the event took place). Scenes stop dead in their tracks to let Art go to town on a body while pointing and laughing.

Art’s antics have been enjoyable in past entries. However, we’re now at a stage where the Terrifier movies suffer from extreme bloat. It’s one thing when you’re a horror movie from the 70s or 80s, barely slapping together eighty minutes to feel like a feature film. Terrifier 3 is over two hours, down from the nearly two-and-a-half-hour Terrifier 2, but still far too long for this gimmick. Midway through the scenes, the narrative thrust disappears. We do not need every moment to progress the plot, but the sheer number of scenes where the plot fully does not matter wears out the audience’s patience.

That’s not to say horror films need to be wholly focused on plot, either. Terrifier 3 is easily comparable to Scream 2 or Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers. Body counts are higher, the legacy of the violence still hangs over the family, and one of the teens even made it to college. It also returns us to characters still living with the traumatic effects of their shadowy hunter. Art is a demonic force sweeping through town, and Sienna’s struggles with mental illness cannot be cured with mere time.

Terrifier 3 wisely puts Sienna and Jonathan in positions to verbalize their frustrations with how the world treats them. However, the execution in these scenes is poor at best. Based on the conversations the young adults have, there’s nothing unique to either of our returning characters that makes their experience with Art the Clown unique. Instead, they speak in platitudes about their experience, as if they are any survivor of a tragedy. The lack of specificity in this aspect of the story makes Sienna and Jonathan less compelling characters.

Terrifier 3 has a more challenging time selling the goods in the execution of its storytelling. There’s no reason that Art is choosing to kill kids and adults around Christmas outside the mere shock of it. Some of his victims are unique to the ongoing story. Others have nothing to do with the narrative at all. In Terrifier 3, several are fan service cameos or create the impression of a one-off sketch. You’d love to see Leone capitalize on these sequences, but at times, Terrifier 3 has a “story” with less narrative cohesion than 90s rap albums.

It’s not Leone alone who has to sell these moments. The reason many will be able to survive the overstuffed sequences lies with the performer behind the makeup. Thornton’s impeccable performance as Art shines again. He’s cruel and funny in equal parts. During one sequence, his zany approach gives way to pure hatred. The shift is so fast it could create whiplash in the audience, but instead, Thornton sells it. There’s something incredible about his ability to convey pure, unyielding malice like few horror icons can. Thornton already entered the pantheon of horror iconography with the second entry. With Terrifier 3, one can easily put Thornton in conversation with Robert Englund and Kane Hodder in this regard.

Despite this, the story of Terrifier 3 will be the push and pull between its absurd violence. The cinematography and production design are acceptable. The acting is average for a slasher, and the screenplay is poorly structured. The mythology of Art seems more convoluted than ever. Terrifier 3 is not fun in the way that cult hits like Dream Warriors or Jason Lives have become. Instead, it’s a movie meant to gross you out. If you want to show up for the hardcore violence of the franchise, you’ll be more than thrilled with the result. Otherwise, it might be a good time to pass.

Alan’s Rating: 4/10Watch Terrifier 3 in theaters on October 11, 2024. Cineverse Entertainment distributes Terrifier 3.Check out the full Fantastic Fest 2024 lineup here! Read our coverage – reviews, lists, and interviews – here!Please check out other Sunshine State Cineplex reviews here!The post Review: TERRIFIER 3 – A Gory Gimmick with Bland Story appeared first on Sunshine State Cineplex.