Terrifier 3 Review (2024)

                                                                                Ho-Ho-Holy Shit!

After the absolute barbarity and insanity of Terrifier 2, I had no idea where the next chapter of the franchise would go. Then, when it was revealed to be a Christmas movie, I thought it was bat shit crazy enough to work. And generally speaking, I feel it does. By the end, the story gets a bit too ridiculous, which says a lot based on the previous two films. That aside, the bloodshed, black humor and Art’s over the top personality still reign supreme and are showcased through some of the most memorable scenes yet.

The beginning of the movie can be a little confusing because it jumps between a couple of timelines. It starts in present time, goes back five years and then returns to present time. The continuity is there as part 3 picks up where part 2 ended, in the insane asylum where Vicky uses her demonic(?) abilities to resurrect Art. We also learn that Sienna was institutionalized at Sun Valley Treatment & Recovery after her valiant and heroic showdown with Art at the end of the previous film.

After her release, Sienna stays with family and is very apprehensive about starting life anew, as she’s still having visions and struggles with her mental health. She is desperate to reach out to Jonathan and reconnect with him; however, after seeing who she thinks is Art at the mall, starts to sound crazy which pushes Jonathan away, until she convinces him that Art is alive and causing as much havoc as ever. This is where one of the most controversial scenes happens as Art takes over as the mall Santa and gives presents to the kids. Unfortunately for them, the gifts are explosive devices and the mall ends up littered with body parts of children.

Sienna realizes that in order to stop Art, she must reclaim her sword which means returning to the Terrifier to get it. She retrieves it, wraps it up as a gift and puts it under the Christmas tree at the house. This comes into play in the final act where she faces off against Art and Vicky (with help from her niece).  Even though Sienna battles against both of them, it feels less epic than part 2, but the outcome has much more dire consequences. After killing Vicky and dispatching of Art, she notices that Vicky’s blood has eaten through the floor and created an opening to another dimension. This is where, despite her best efforts, she cannot save her niece and is lost to the unknown. In the final moments, you feel Sienna’s exasperation and hollowness as shortly before she lost her niece, it was revealed that Art and Vicky killed Jonathan. She has lost her last two family members and Art has managed to escape.

So where does part 3 land? Well, the first is still my favorite because I’m not a huge fan of all the supernatural elements, even though we are introduced to that at the end of the first film. The second is incredibly memorable and I feel is most people’s favorite (understandably so). There’s no way you weren’t singing the Clown Café song after turning the movie off. And the third is good but not great. I feel it tried too hard to outdo the previous installment (which I feel it did when it came to the brutal death scenes) but just came across as “meh” for me in every other way. The liquid nitrogen fire extinguisher death, chainsaw shower sex deaths, blood angel and Vicky masturbating with a broken piece of glass will require copious amounts of bleach to bathe your eyes in to even begin restoring them back to their previous state before you viewed this.