TERRIFIER 3 (2024)

3 stars (4 stars if you are a gorehound!)

Signature Entertainment. Cinema. 11th October

Is Art the Clown heading towards being a horror icon for the 21st century? I am sure creator Damien Leone and actor David Howard Thornton would happily accept that crown. After the low budget first film and the more successful sequel, we now have the third in the story, continuing on from part 2, with a bigger budget and a push into cinemas.

A Christmas set horror, this has a strong opening sequence as a young girl hears noises on the roof and is excited that it might be Santa Claus. Unfortunately for the family it is actually our friendly neighbourhood killer clown dressed up as Father Christmas — he proceeds to brutally kill them. The director has said that he was partly inspired the 1972 Amicus production TALES FROM THE CRYPT and more especially the part ‘And All Through the House’. This is clearly the influence for this part. However how this relates to the rest of the film is beyond me.

Lauren LaVera is back as Sienna and this is several years after the previous outing. In and out of mental facilities, she is still trying to get to grips with her trauma, as she is haunted by visions of what went on. Meanwhile her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) has gone to college and has attempted to move on.

It’s Christmas time and Sienna has gone to stay with her aunt Jessica (Margaret Anne Florence) and uncle Greg (Bryce Johnson) and their enthusiastic younger daughter Gabbie (Antonella Rose), who is excited by the arrival of previously absent relation. Of course, it isn’t long before our heroine starts to believe that Art is back and killing people — despite the ending of the previous entry — in what I guess we should now be calling a franchise.

She’s not wrong, as the killer clown begins to cut a bloody, splattery path through all and sundry often going to places other films wouldn’t dare to touch — including killing kids. And what he does with a chainsaw has to be seen to be believed! He is aided in this by Vicky (Samantha Scaffadi).

The problem here is that whilst the gore soaked practical make-up effects are exemplary, they take place in random scenes that often only seem to be loosely attached to any plotline. They are bloody, intense and wildly over the top and as a demonstration of the craft of the artists involved are to be applauded. It just would have been better if there was a decent throughline in the narrative, as there was in part 2, instead of jumping about all over the place in service of showing as much grisly violence as possible. If you are a fan of such, then you’ll have a blast – I would have liked more story to back it up. Having said that, you are unlikely to see another film as gory as this this year (or maybe any year soon) I would think.

LaVera is great once again in her role and Thornton inhabits his character using his movements and facial expressions.

That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. The silent and miming Art is a great creation and has a nice line in humour throughout. However it could have done with tightening in the edit and a less messy, more cohesive narrative. The finale is well staged and gripping.

Look out for Tom Savini and Clint Howard in small roles.

Steve Kirkham