Terrifier 3director Damien Leone recalls a studio’s attempt to acquire the franchise and reduce the level of gore. Reduced in 2016, the firstTerrifiermovie introduced audiences to Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton), following the maniacal killer as he goes on a very bloody murder spree. The film was a surprise indie hit, and Art recently returned in the successfulTerrifier 2in 2022. Now, Leone is gearing up for therelease ofTerrifier 3, which chronicles Art’s further murderous adventures and is, like its predecessors, not rated by the MPA.
In a recent interview withTotal Film(viaGamesRadar+), Leone reveals that a mainstream movie studio expressed interest in picking up the rights to hisTerrifierfranchise to “reboot it for a wider audience.” Instead of going unrated or NC-17,this reboot would have toned down the gore to an R-rating, which isn’t something Leone was okay with. Check out the director’s comment on the situation below:
“They wanted to reboot it for a wider audience. That’s not what I was interested in. They would say, ‘It’s gotta be rated R, it can’t be as gory as you made it.’
“I knew they’d never let me shoot the first 10 minutes of what I wanted to do [in Terrifier 3]. So I thought, ‘Let’s just stay true to what this franchise is.'”
What Terrifier Staying Indie Means For The Franchise
How Studio Backing Would Have Affected The Art The Clown Movies
The firstTerrifiermovie was made on an estimated budget of only $35,000 and ended up grossing over $416,000 at the box office. The sequel upped the budget to $250,000 and grossed $15.7 million.Terrifier 3’s budgetis estimated to be $2 million and, while no longer in the microbudget territory of its predecessors, the film is still very much a low-budget independent production.
Leone’s decision to reject studio advances means that he will retain creative control over theTerrifierfranchise, presumably meaning that the levels of gore and violence will not be decreasing anytime soon. Backing from a studio, however, would probably have resulted in the proposedTerrifierrebootbeing made at a higher budget level.Studios also typically have more reach and power when it comes to distributionin North America and internationally, which likely would have resulted in higher returns at the box office.
Art the Clown’s first film appearancewasn’t in 2016’sTerrifier, but actually in a 2008 short film calledThe 9th Circle.
Our Take On Leone’s Terrifier Franchise Update
Why It’s For The Best That Leone Retains Creative Control
The twoTerrifierfilms have thus far proven that Leone can do a lot with a little. $250,000 is a remarkably small amount of money with which to make a film, butTerrifier 2’s box office haul suggests thatLeone doesn’t need the studio system to be successful in this space. The franchise now has a passionate fan base that continues to grow, and the third film is poised to exceed its predecessor.
Terrifier 2’s Post-Credits Scene Explained (& How It Sets Up Another Sequel)
The gruesome post-credits sequence of Damien Leone’s Terrifier 2 promises more of Art the Clown’s maniacal violence in an appropriately gory manner.
Sacrificing the shocking gore ofTerrifierwould be to move away from what made the franchise popular in the first place. Such a move could end up alienating those who helped the films find success, so it’s probably for the best that Leone opted to pass on the studio’s offer. It’s not clear ifTerrifier 3is the end of the line or not, but audiences can evidently expect any future installments to be suitably sickening in terms of their gore levels.
Terrifier 3
Cast
Terrifier 3 follows Sienna and her brother as they attempt to move past the traumatic events of Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre. As they embrace the Christmas season, Art reemerges, intent on turning their holiday into a nightmare, continuing his reign of terror.
