Terrifier 1 and 2 recap

Key Takeaways

Terrifier 3 continues the story of Art the Clown with a new holiday twist.
The film builds upon the mythology established in the first two movies, delving deeper into Art’s supernatural terror.
Damien Leone is already working on Terrifier 4, ensuring the franchise’s continuation beyond the third installment.

Art the Clown is back in Terrifier 3, the continuation of the cult sensation that has its roots in no-budget 2000s horror. The franchise has gained a sizable following in recent years on streaming services like Tubi, leading to the surprise box office success of Terrifier 2 in 2022, all thanks to its creepy clown villain and some of the goriest and most inventive kills in horror movie history.

Though the first feature film in the franchise didn’t have much in the way of narrative mythology, that changed in a big way with Terrifier 2, which delved further into the supernatural terror behind Art the Clown. And while the first two films were set on Halloween, Terrifier 3 swaps that out for Christmas, making it a holiday movie you probably won’t want to bring the whole family to.

For those heading out to see Terrifier 3, though, here’s a recap of Terrifier 1 and 2, and everything you need to know about the franchise before the theater lights go down and the blood starts gushing.

Terrifier 3

Release Date: October 11, 2024
Director: Damien Leone
Cast: Lauren LaVera , David Howard Thornton , Antonella Rose , Elliott Fullam , Samantha Scaffidi , Margaret Anne Florence , Bryce Johnson , Alexa Blair Robertson , Mason Mecartea , Krsy Fox , Luciana VanDette , Clint Howard , Bradley Stryker , Daniel Roebuck , Chris Jericho , Tom Savini , Jason Patric , Alex Ross , Kailey Hyman , Kellen Raffaelo , Lisa Marie Falcone , Stephen Cofield Jr. , Corrine Kelly , Joe Falcone , Peter Mitchell , Marie Maser , Jon Abrahams
Runtime: 125 Minutes
Writers: Damien Leone
Studio(s): Dark Age Cinema , Fuzz on the Lens Productions

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Who is Art the Clown and where did he come from?

The mysterious killer clown is the heart of the franchise

Bloody Disgusting

Though the first Terrifier movie only came out in 2016, the series’ roots stretch back a lot further. The evil antagonist, Art the Clown, was first brought to the screen by creator Damien Leone in the 2008 short film The 9th Circle. Art returned in the follow-up short film, 2011’s Terrifier, and both shorts were later included in the 2013 horror anthology All Hallows’ Eve. Not much is known or understood about Art the Clown’s origins, though he does have some supernatural abilities. What he’s most known for, though, is his creepy white-and-black clown makeup, tiny hat, and his penchant for gruesome murders committed seemingly at random. Eventually, with the help of a crowdfunding campaign and an interested producer, Leone was able to give Art the Clown his own feature film in the form of 2016’s Terrifier.

The Terrifier Timeline:

2008 – The 9th Circle short film
2011 – Terrifier short film
2013 – All Hallows’ Eve anthology
2016 – Terrifier
2022 – Terrifier 2
2024 – Terrifier 3

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What happened in Terrifier?

A scary clown comes to town and nobody is safe

On Halloween night, Tara Heyes, played by Jenna Kanell, and her sister Victoria, played by Samantha Scaffidi, become the targets of Art the Clown, who stalks them around town attempting to kill them.

When Tara wakes up, she sees Dawn hanging from the ceiling, leading to the most notorious, gruesome murder in the series.

When Art follows Tara and her friend Dawn to a pizzeria, he kills the workers there, and slashes the tires on Dawn’s car, trapping them. They find refuge in a building’s basement, while waiting for Tara’s sister to come to their aid. Soon, though, they are attacked by Art. When Tara wakes up, she sees Dawn hanging from the ceiling, leading to the most notorious, gruesome murder in the series, in which Art cuts Dawn in half lengthwise with a hacksaw. Tara manages to get free, only for Art to shoot her dead.

Vicky finally arrives to find her sister killed, and though she attempts to flee, Art manages to catch up to her, hitting her with a pickup truck, knocking her unconscious, and then begins to eat her face. Soon, though, the police arrive and Art shoots himself. Art’s body is taken to the morgue, but thanks to some supernatural magic, he is reaminated and swiftly kills the medical examiner and goes free. Vicky, meanwhile, is left disfigured by the attack.

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What happened in Terrifier 2?

The Terrifier mythology gets a whole lot deeper

The gruesome kills, practical gore effects, and creepy image of Art the Clown carried the first Terrifier movie to success on streaming, but some people did criticize the movie for its paper thin characters and over-reliance on murder sequences. Leone took those criticisms to heart when he mounted 2022’s Terrifier 2, which expanded the mythology of the series (and upped the length from an easy 85 minutes to an epic 138 minutes).

The sequel picks up a year after the events of the first movie, with Art the Clown back on the loose, terrorizing a town on Halloween. Teenager Sienna Shaw, played by Lauren LaVera, has a nightmare about Art, and when she wakes up, her dresser is on fire. Left unscathed, though, is a sword gifted to her by her father, who died of a brain tumor. Her brother Jonathan also finds sketches of Art in their father’s old sketchbook.

The sequel picks up a year after the events of the first movie.

While out at a Halloween shop, Sienna and her friend Allie see Art. The clown kills the shopkeeper and then makes his way to Allie’s house where he kills both Allie and her mother. Jonathan, meanwhile, has pieced together information from his father’s sketchbook, which shows Art’s first victim, Emily Crane, who looks just like the Little Pale Girl seen earlier playing with Art.

Art manages to get to Sienna and Jonathan’s family, killing their mother, kidnapping Jonathan, and stealing their father’s sword. Sienna then sees the Little Pale Girl at a party, and is tricked into following her to the Terrifier attraction at an old, abandoned amusement park. After being knocked unconscious, Sienna wakes up to see Art taking a scalpel to her brother. She starts attacking him, and soon enough she and her brother manage to kill the clown. Only, he keeps resurrecting himself. Finally, Art kills Sienna with her father’s sword, throwing her into a water torture cell. But in a twist, she is resurrected by the sword, and manages to decapitate Art before he can kill her brother.

Of course, it’s not over yet. In a mid-credits scene, Vicky, now a patient in a psychiatric ward, is seen writing “Vicky + Art” on her cell walls before giving birth to Art’s head.

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What do you need to know before Terrifier 3?

The terrifying adventure continues, with a holiday twist

Unlike the first two films in the series, which were set at Halloween, Terrifier 3 takes place during Christmas, with Art the Clown all decked out in a Santa Claus costume. At 125 minutes, the film is a bit shorter than Terrifier 2. Along with LaVera’s return as Sienna Shaw, the new sequel also features the return of Samantha Scaffidi as Vicky, who has now become Art’s partner in crime. Terminator 2 star Jason Patric and horror icon Tom Savini also join in the terror.

This likely won’t be the end of the Terrifier franchise, either. Damien Leone is already reportedly at work on Terrifier 4.