Terrifier 3’s gore and intense opening scene have spurred vomit and audience walkouts at an early screening. The upcoming Terrifier 3 is the third installment in the violent slasher franchise written and directed by special effects artist Damien Leone, starring David Howard Thornton as the homicidal villain Art the Clown. For the first time, Art’s murderous rampage takes place during the Christmas season, picking up five years after the previous movie when survivors Sienna (Lauren LaVera) and Jonathan Shaw (Elliot Fullam) are still trying to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Per LADbible, the first official UK screening of Terrifier 3 has provoked an outsized audience reaction. PR representatives for the movie confirmed that the intense opening scene, which is so gory that Leone says it prevented the $2 million movie from getting Hollywood funding, caused nine walkouts within the first few minutes of the movie. By the end of the screening of the extremely violent slasher, 11 total walkouts had occurred and an audience member was confirmed to have vomited, though it is unclear if said audience member is numbered among the walkouts or finished watching the movie after falling ill.

In a statement, Leone responded to the news of walkouts and sick audience members. Check out his comments below:

“Typically people walk out of a movie because it sucks. When someone walks out of a Terrifier film, it’s a testament to the special makeup fx team. I guess we’ve done our job!”

What This Update Means For Terrifier 3

This news out of the early screening shows that the new Art the Clown movie seems to have recaptured the lightning in a bottle that made Terrifier 2 so successful. The 2022 title was an unlikely success, as it was a four-years-later follow-up to a movie with a limited release that only made $416,000 in theaters and earned a lukewarm 57% score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, off the back of reports of people falling ill from its extreme violence, the second installment grossed $15.7 million against its $250,000 budget in addition to earning a Certified Fresh 86% score from critics.

The original
Terrifier
was also a microbudget movie, costing roughly $50,000.

It remains to be seen if Terrifier 3 is a critical and commercial improvement on the previous installment in the same way. However, all signs seem to be pointing to yes. Early reviews have earned it a strong 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes and the audience reaction from this screening shows that it seems to have upped the ante on the provocative power of Terrifier 2.

Our Take On The Terrifier 3 Screening
This Could Only Benefit Art The Clown’s Latest Movie

The significantly increased budget of $2 million means that there is more on the line for the new sequel, though it is still not taking a risk at the level of a major Hollywood blockbuster. However, it seems that Leone has spent his newfound money wisely, using it to push the envelope as much as possible in bringing his grotesque vision to the screen. The increased Art the Clown antics promised by the Terrifier 3 trailer could very well draw in audiences in untold numbers, especially if further screenings provoke even stronger reactions, making the new movie even more notorious.

Source: LADbible, Damien Leone