Smears of a Clown

The story of the success Terrifier 3 is enjoying is at least as interesting as the film itself. Over the course of three movies, writer director Damien Leone has grown the franchise from a $35,000 labour of love into the number one film at the North American box office. Whatever you might think of the films themselves, this a pretty impressive achievement and proof that even in this age of mega franchises and hundred million plus advertising budgets there's still room for a plucky underdog to find its audience with some gorilla marketing.

As for the film itself, it's niche to say the least. An ultraviolet, gonzo gorefest about a killer clown called Art and the "chosen" girl who (provided she is in possession of her magic sword) is the only one that can put him down. If you don't find humour or amusement in people being dismembered in cartoonish but very gory ways, this film is not for you. If you are stressed out by on screen children in extreme peril, this film is not for you. If you simply don't like grimy, icky films that make you feel like you need a shower after you've watched them, then this film is not for you. This film is probably not for you. If this film IS for you, chances are you've already seen it and loved it.

In fairness, Terrifier 3 is a little more mainstream than part 2 (and that was a lot more mainstream than the original). A budget of $2 million may not sound like much but that's eight times as much as its predecessor and practically an Avengers level stack in the world of low cost horror. Wisely this money has been spent on improving the "filmy" aspects of production; everything is crisp and clearly shot with plenty of characters and extras making the world feel large and lived in. The gore effects are left more or less the same as part 2, which is the right move. Were the effects to get any more realistic it would only detract from the spirit of the movie and be downright unpalatable. Besides, who even knows, or would ever want to know, what a guy being split in half with a chainsaw (testicles and all) actually looks like?

It also has a little more narrative meat than before, although emphasis is on little. The film begins with Art (played with glee by David Howard Thornton) traveling to a mental asylum where horrifically scarred former victim Victoria has birthed him a new head since he was decapitated by protagonist Sienna (Laura La Vera) during the climax of the previous film. He and Victoria do some murder on the staff then retire to an abandoned house where they become dormant. Five years later Sienna is released from her own mental treatment to live with her Aunt, Uncle and younger cousin. Simultaneously, Art and Victoria are awoken by a couple of construction workers and the killer clown embarks on a rampage in a Santa costume (this instalment is set at Christmas rather than Halloween), culminating in another showdown with Sienna. That's pretty much it for story, with the film mostly cutting between Sienna hanging out with friends and family while stressing about Art's possible return and the black and white faced killing machine indulging in murder and mayhem before the pair duke it out for round two.

Really, people are paying their money because they want to see ridiculously over the top slasher kills and they enjoy the persona of Art The Clown. Both of those things are OK. The kills are extremely graphic but don't really up the ante in terms of inventiveness from what we've seen before, if anything they are a little dialled back from the previous film. As for Art, his simplistic look is striking and Thornton's gloriously over the top facial expressions give him a tonne of character but his actions are a bit too inconsistent for him to have a real personality. Adding Victoria to the mix allows the demon behind the clown to speak but its screeching voice is more grating than chilling and detracts from the killers menace rather than add to it.

Terrifier 3 is in a pretty unique place, feet still firmly planted firmly in the bargain bin nastiness of minimal budget horror but with toes starting to dangle in the waters of main stream cinema. In some respects the movie is an absolute triumph but it's hard to say it's a particularly good film. It will be fascinating to see what Leone does in the next instalment, with an even bigger purse and built in fanbase.

6 post slaughter cookies out of 10

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