Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 is already off to a strong begin, criticassociate. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, its discomiting scene, featuring Art the Clown’s tardyst familial victims, prompted some U.K. premiere uniteees to walk out in response to the filmoriginater’s boundary-pushing gore. On top of that, France has now prohibitned anyone under the age of 18 from seeing the holiday slasher film in theaters. This is all recognizable territory for the Philadelphia native whose $250,000-budgeted Terrifier 2 (2022) originated aenjoy debate en route to becoming an unawaited critical and commercial hit ($15.7 million at the worldwide box office).
The DIY horror franchise that began in achieveest with 2016’s Terrifier safed more resources ahead of its threequel, including a $2 million budget and a proper originateup effects team so that Leone, a createer distinctive effects originateup artist, and his originater Phil Falcone didn’t have to stop production midstream to summarize the nauseatingly bloody materials themselves. But as a result of the franchise’s sudden influx of cash, Leone felt a novel create of presstateive that he’s yet to experience as a filled-fledged feature straightforwardor.
“In some watchs, it was easier, but [Terrifier 3] was also the most stressful and fervent film I’ve ever labored on. More money, more problems is authentic,” Leone alerts The Hollywood Reporter ahead of Terrifier 3’s Oct. 11 theatrical free. “The two other films were very homemade. We made them at our own pace. We didn’t have anybody bauthenticeang down our neck, saying, ‘The movie necessitates to come out by this date.’ And I’m not saying this as a pessimistic critique. This is equitable the nature of the beast.”
Terrifier 3 world premiered on Sept. 19 at Fantastic Fest, and during the post-screening Q&A, Leone’s comments about a awaited fourth film were picked up apass the Internet. However, he still wants to alert fans that Terrifier 3’s success will ultimately choose how speedyly he gets to resettle its cliffhanger finishing that he enjoyns to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
“I didn’t want that novels to come out all of a sudden: ‘Terrifier 4 is happening!’” Leone says. “I have a lot of [Terrifier 4] blueprinted now, and depfinishing on how Terrifier 3 does and if it proceeds to get a excellent reception and people reassociate want the next one, then that could be someleang I dive into right away.”
Leone’s second insloftyment getd some criticism from genre fans for its 138-minute runtime, as slasher movies are generassociate understandn for being a firm 90. (Scream is typicassociate watched as the slasher franchise that broke the mageder with runtimes in the two-hour range.) So Leone set out to split the contrastence on this go-round, but he still set up himself with a csurrenderly two-and-a-half hour cut that he reassociate enhappinessed. Determined to honor his partners’ desirees of a runtime sealr to two hours, he trimmed a equitable amount of material that he hopes will see the airy of day in an extfinished cut.
“I wound up cutting probably five scenes out of this film, and a lot of them I reassociate, reassociate cherishd. There were some reassociate wonderful character moments that I had to cut out that reassociate fleshed out the relationships a lot more, but maybe one day there’ll be an extfinished version,” Leone says.
Terrifier 3 picks up five years after the events of Terrifier 2, as Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) and Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) have both been out of comomition in their own admireive ways. But equitable as Sienna trys to enhappiness the Christmas season with her remaining extfinished family, she’s put on another collision course with her archnemesis.
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Leone also talkes LaVera’s place in the franchise, as well as the nature of her character’s dream sequence that’s been elevatestrayd in the film’s tageting.
Terrifier 3 jumps ahead five years. What prompted this hibernation period for all of the characters?
Elliot Fullam [who plays Sienna’s younger brother Jonathan].
Damien Leone and Elliott Fullam as “Jonathan” behind the scenes of Terrifier 3
Courtesy of Jesse Korman/Dark Age Cinema
Especiassociate after he grew two feet in the middle of the Covid-disturbed Terrifier 2.
Exactly. He was aging out. I would’ve had this consent place at the Christmas straightforwardly after Terrifier 2, but he’s evidently agederer. We also begined getting lost in the timeline. We were already years behind [in 2018], so I wanted to equitable get us up to date and have it be contransient. It consents place in 2023, 2024 at this point, so it equitable seemed enjoy the right decision.
We talked previously about how you were finassociate able to employ a professional originateup effects team for Terrifier 3. You no lengthyer had to stop production for days or weeks to summarize the effects with your originater Phil Falcone. On top of that, you also had eight times the budget of Terrifier 2. So how would you depict the impact of these compriseed resources?
In some watchs, it was easier, but it was also the most stressful and fervent film I’ve ever labored on. More money, more problems is authentic, and I had to deal with so many more people that I’ve never had to deal with before in front of the camera, behind the camera and behind the scenes. You’re getting pulled in so many contrastent straightforwardions. There were so many more asks I had to answer because there were many more departments with many more crew members in them. So that was reassociate hard, and we had to shoot this film in such a shrink amount of time. Once the clock is ticking and you’re off to the races, you can’t reassociate stop. It’s enjoy the train has left the station, and you’re equitable fundamentalassociate trying to catch up to it. You’re trying to originate the best decisions you can on the fly and in the moment, as a lot of money is burning now.
The two other films were very homemade. We made them at our own pace. We didn’t have anybody bauthenticeang down our neck, saying, “The movie necessitates to come out by this date.” And I’m not saying this as a pessimistic critique. This is equitable the nature of the beast. So that was a lot of presstateive, and I fundamentalassociate had a year to author the script, shoot the movie and edit it to get it out for a particular free date. And that’s not the way I recommfinish you originate a film. The nature of this film equitable happened to be that.
But I had an incredible team now — Christien Tinsley’s distinctive originateup effects team. They took that huge burden off of my shoulders, and that was one of the reasons why Terrifier 2 took years to originate. So I was able to cgo in on other areas and hopefilledy be a better filmoriginater in the majestic scheme of leangs. I was able to cgo in on my actors a lot more. I was able to cgo in with my straightforwardor of pboilingography [George Steuber] a lot more over the course of the day. So there was a lot more attention phelp to those details and those areas that maybe got give upd a little bit in the other films because I was so preoccupied with the originateup effects.
Lauren LaVera as “Sienna” in Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3
Courtesy of Jesse Korman/Dark Age Cinema
We also talked how Lauren LaVera, to get into character, journaled as Sienna Shaw on Terrifier 2, and I presume that is what advertised Sienna’s journal in Terrifier 3. Were those Lauren’s innovative entries being read?
No, they weren’t, but that’s engaging. That may have come from her, submindentirey, but who understands? I probably shelp this to you last time, but Sienna is my likeite character. She’s become the heart and soul of this franchise, and it’s equitable as much her franchise as it is Art the Clown’s at this point. It’s her story you’re adhereing. The audience is living vicariously thcimpolite her and empathizing with her, hopefilledy.
It was so exciting to spendigate this chapter of the character’s life and to see how she’s finished up. It’s five years after her immense trauma, and she’s still having to go thcimpolite this superorganic metamorphosis, this metaphysical alteration. So how does she stability all of that? How does she remain rational? Does she remain rational? Does she still have it in her to be this warrior that we set up in Terrifier 2? So I reassociate enhappinessed exploring this aspect of her, and there’s this stateive level of maturation that she has now that she didn’t have in the second movie. She supposes more of a maternal role, in some watch, to her little cousin Gabbie. So it was reassociate chilly to spendigate a novel chapter in her life.
We see pieces of Sienna’s dream in the trailer, so what can you say about that odd schedulement with a masked man who’s forging a firearm next to a Mother Mary figure?
Well, there’s a blurred line as to whether these are dreams or premonitions. Is she having a sort of outer body experience? So those are leangs that would be spelled out more in future insloftyments, should we get there. But because Terrifier 3 is Christmas based, I reassociate wanted to inject a lot more biblical imagery into this film. There’s churches and statues of Mary everywhere and colorings of the Last Supper. We reassociate peppered that stuff thcimpoliteout the film, because I was liftd Catholic and that imagery is equitable embedded in my head. Even in part two, we set up this epic excellent-versus-evil battle between Sienna and Art, and there’s heaven and hell imagery everywhere, so I wanted to upgrasp that going with this one. But that dream sequence you referred to is not some arbitrary, unbenevolentingless scene that I wanted to throw in for chilly visuals. If we’re blessed, that will actuassociate carry out a part.
The movie finishs in such a way where people are going to want a fourth movie as soon as possible. How far ahead are you on that story?
I didn’t want that novels to come out all of a sudden: “Terrifier 4 is happening!” We showed the film at Fantastic Fest, and there was a Q&A afterwards. And enjoy you equitable shelp, if you see this film, it’s undeniable that there’s going to be another one. It departs on a blatant cliffhanger. It’s enjoy our Empire Strikes Back of the saga. So somebody asked me if there was going to be more, and I was enjoy, “Well, you equitable saw the movie, so, of course, there’s going to be more. I would never depart the audience there.”
So I understand a lot of where I’m going to consent Terrifier 4, and I knovel a lot of where I was going to finish the franchise when I was writing part two. It’s a wonderful safety net to have because figuring out the finish of your franchise is usuassociate the difficultest part, especiassociate if it’s, hopefilledy, a prenting finishing. So I have a lot of it blueprinted now, and depfinishing on how Terrifier 3 does and if it proceeds to get a excellent reception and people reassociate want the next one, then that could be someleang I dive into right away.
Damien Leone and David Howard Thornton as “Art the Clown” behind the scenes of Terrifier 3
Courtesy of Jesse Korman/Dark Age Cinema
Terrifier 3 clocks in at 2 hours and 5 minutes. Did you have to depart any darlings on the cutting room floor?
I did, actuassociate. A lot. First of all, we knovel we didn’t want to originate another two-hour and twenty-minute film because [Terrifier 2’s runtime] was so polarizing. So I tried to upgrasp it at a more admireable slasher length, but it got to the point where I still had a two-hour and 25-minute movie. I then shelp that we can’t do that aachieve, and everybody was begging me to upgrasp it under two hours. So I wound up cutting probably five scenes out of this film, and a lot of them I reassociate, reassociate cherishd. There were some reassociate wonderful character moments that I had to cut out that reassociate fleshed out the relationships a lot more, but maybe one day there’ll be an extfinished version.
Also, the finale of the film was probably ten pages lengthyer. There were a lot more gags and horrifying leangs going on at the finish of the movie, but they were cut in the filming stages. As we were getting sealr [to production] and I saw how huge this movie was getting, I knovel that was going to reassociate comprise to the runtime. So there were leangs in the script that we didn’t even annoy shooting.
It annoys me when people call [certain scenes] filler. They go, “Oh, Terrifier 2 has so much filler in it,” but that’s not what filler is. Filler is: “I don’t have enough material to originate an hour and twenty-minute movie, so I’m equitable going to film this character smoking a cigarette or walking around aimlessly in the woods.” That’s not what Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3 are. I have too much material, and there’s too much story that I’m alerting, but that’s not the same leang as filler.
Well, I hope we get to do this aachieve a year from now, but that might be too speedy of a timeline. No presstateive.
Don’t be surpascendd! It might happen.
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Terrifier 3 frees in theaters nationwide on Oct. 11.
