Movie Review: Terrifier 3
Have yourself a terrifying little Christmas.
(This post was originally supposed to be posted on Halloween, but I needed more time to research. Since it’s a Christmas horror movie it works well today, too.)
While listening to the radio I heard a news story about a movie called Terrifier 2 making audiences throw-up and faint. I had to see this movie! And I did, along with other films by Damien Leone - Terrifier's creator. I’m now a big fan.
I don’t always agree with Leone’s creative decisions. But I respect that he makes movies the way he wants them to be made. In fact, after enjoying some success with the first two Terrifier films a studio approached Leone with an offer to take the franchise mainstream. But Leone rejected that offer, saying (according to Total Film),
They wanted to reboot it for a wider audience. That’s not what I was interested in. They would say. “It’s got to be rated R; it can’t be as gory as you made it.” ... So, I thought, “Let’s just stay true to what this franchise is.”
There are few people out there who possess this kind of artistic integrity.
Not only this, but Terrier 3 was a rousing success. On a miniscule budget of $2 million it made $53 million domestically. Compare that to, say, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning which lost $100 million. Terrier 3 also opened number one in the box office, dethroning Joker: Folie a Deux. This is proof that a low budget, independent film can play with the big boys.
Still more, we must consider that Terrier 3 was released without an MPAA rating. This is significant. The MPAA holds a lot of power in the movie making industry. A film with an NC-17 rating - or no rating at all - is usually dead-on-arrival; typically, theaters won’t show it. Therefore, the MPAA can act as a gatekeeper. This was allegedly the case for the creators of Orgazmo, Tray Parker and Matt Stone - better known for South Park.
Orgazmo is not a pornographic film - not by a long shot. It is a comedy about the porn industry, but it’s remarkably clean especially compared to other films that dealt with the same subject, like Boogie Nights, which was rated R. Despite this Orgazmo received an NC-17 rating. The MPAA never explained their decision. As a result, the movie faced limited distribution and marketing opportunities.
Parker believes the MPAA is “in bed with all the studios” and the “independent film makers just get fucked.” To this Stone adds, it “discriminates” against the independent film maker; “it’s the big guys controlling the market and making the rules…” In other words, the MPAA squashes competition.
This brings us back to Terrifier 3. Leone released his film without a rating, and theaters showed it anyway. Moreover, it earned back 35-times its production budget globally. Leone successfully circumvented the MPAA! This could usher in a new area of profitable independent films.
“But T. C., is it any good?”
Well, it is a gory horror film. If that’s not your cup of tea, then it’s not your cup of tea. There is no changing that.
However, David Howard Thornton’s portrayal of Art the Clown is worth the price of admission alone. Long time readers will know I espouse the view that movie stories should be told visually. Thornton takes this to the next level. His ability to communicate his character’s thoughts and moods without a word spoken is nothing short of remarkable.
On the downside, Terrifier 3 attempts to expand on the lore but only succeeds in confusing it more. Who or what is Art, a killer clown that can come back from the dead? What’s the deal with Sienna Shaw and her father (Laruen LaVera, Jason Patric)? Both of these characters seem to have superpowers. What dose Vikki (Samantha Scaffidi) want with Sienna? And so on. I wonder if Leone himself knows. This is only a minor criticism, and all maybe revealed in the upcoming Terrifier 4.
Overall, it’s a delightfully disgusting movie. I therefore invite you to support independent films by having yourself a terrifying Christmas this year - if you got the belly for it. Terrifier 3 is available to buy or rent on Prime Video.
