Terrifier 3 ★★★

STREWTH. Even die-hard horror fans might wince at a couple of the moments in Terrifier 3.

I certainly did during the first Perth screening unleashed during the recent at 2024 Horrorfest.

Writer/director Damien Leone made no secret of his intention to outdo the last film’s gore quota, succeeding to the point where cuts have had to be made for a release classification in some countries.

Here in Australia Terrifier 3 gets away with scoring an R Rating because it’s ultimately a combination of supernatural and dark comic horror.

Remove those elements and you wind up in the more serious and problematic censor territory inhabited by the likes of The Human Centipede and Martyrs.

In some ways, Terrifier 3 is even more comedic than the previous films, due to the central villain, Art the Clown, taking centre-stage even more.

Leone’s creation likes making people suffer horribly; but does so with this weird smile on his face that means you cannot take this film in any way seriously.

The third film is the series is very much a pure slasher in comparison to the other two, although it does still retain the supernatural aspect.

It’s also set during the Christmas period and the fact it has been extremely popular means Art the Clown is going to be with us for a while yet.

Watched at the cinema.