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I don’t know how hardcore fans of the franchise felt about Terrifier 3. I’m not one of them, though I find the whole thing fascinating, but I consider it a mixed bag. In some ways, it’s the most audacious piece of the puzzle thus far. It feels the most like a movie of the three entries, breaking new ground in positive ways. Unfortunately, it also feels like half of a story that manages to take up 125 minutes.
What Happens in Terrifier 3?
Terrifier 3 follows Art the Clown and the only survivor of the first film, Vicky Heyes, five years after the events of the second film. It opens with a schlocky slasher sequence before depicting how Art survived his decapitation in part two. After reuniting with both his head and Vicky, Art enters a five-year hibernation for no clear reason. Meanwhile, final girl and angel warrior Sienna Shaw leaves a mental institution to live with her aunt and uncle. Hallucinations and paranoia plague her every waking moment. Once Art and Vicky reanimate, Sienna becomes painfully aware of their presence. As Sienna’s friends and family doubt her instincts, Art kills several people and steals a Santa costume. Sienna spots Art in disguise at a local mall immediately before a bombing. She reaches out to her younger brother and fellow survivor, Jonathan. It’s a race against time to save Sienna’s family before Art strikes again.
Sienna arms herself with her dad’s sword, aware she’ll have to face Art again. Letters Jonathan sent her during her stint in the hospital tell her that Art’s companion, the Little Pale Girl, was a demon. It would appear Art is at least somewhat human, but the Little Pale Girl grants him immortality and lives on in Vicky as a host. She’s the key to defeating Art. Sienna doesn’t get to use that knowledge. In short succession, Art and Vicky break into her house, kill her aunt, and torture her beloved cousin, Gabbie. They also reveal that they killed Jonathan off-screen. Sienna survives more torture, resists Vicky’s attempt to possess her, and decapitates Vicky with her father’s sword. Vicky’s body devolves into a bubbling acid, which opens a portal to Hell. Gabbie falls in along with Sienna’s sword, and Art escapes into the night.
What Does It Mean?
The Terrifier franchise gets a lot of guff for being little more than mindless gore. It has some other stuff to offer; it’s just that the main selling point violently drowns it all out. The first film is truly without meaning, but the second and third entries find things to say. There are scattered themes throughout Terrifier 3. It has mean things to say for those who obsess over true crime, for example. The central thematic weight lands on traditional Christian interpretations of good and evil. The barebones lore casts Art and his patron as representatives of Satan. Art was an explicit servant of the biblical devil in his first short film appearance. Terrifier 3 gives us a brief glimpse of an angel making Sienna’s sword and armor. Apparently, Terrifier is a story about God selecting a champion who can put down an escaped demon before it’s too late.
The Terrifier movies are more religious than I thought they’d be. In its totality, the third film barely moves the plot along. The main narrative advancements are a list of deaths and a few scraps of new lore. All that’s left for the next entry is Sienna proactively hunting down Art. I didn’t find Terrifier 3 particularly satisfying, but I’m sure fans are delighted to know that there’s another one on the way.
