When Terrifier 2 raked in over $15M off the back of its $250,000 budget last year, two things were immediately certain: we'd definitely be getting a Terrifier 3, and director Damien Leone was all but guaranteed to snag a bigger budget this time around. Consider the insane tableaux Leone arranged on a quarter-mil. Now imagine what he could do with, say, $5M.
Lo and behold, those assumptions have been proven correct by a new report over at Deadline, which tells us that French distributor The Coven is launching world distribution sales for Leone's Terrifier 3 (it should probably go without saying that, yes, both David Howard Thornton's Art the Clown and Lauren LaVera's Sienna will return) and that this time around, Team Terrifier will really be swinging for the fences:
"Made for around $250k, Terrifier 2 took more than $15M at the global box office, including more than $10M in the U.S. for Cinedigm. The film, which debuted at Frightfest and FantasticFest last year, was noted for its gore and for leaning in to 'old school' practical effects. It has an 85 and 80 percent critical and audience score, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes."
Says The Coven's Priscilla Smith:
“There will be a much bigger budget this time around, which is intended to give the filmmakers more creative freedom, and let them be as wild as they can be. And, all jokes aside, we are going for that Oscar this year.”
Adds Leone:
“Terrifier 3 will be another boundary pushing addition to the horror genre, continuing the no holds barred, uncompromising exploits fans of the franchise have come to expect and celebrate. If you thought Art the Clown’s reign of terror in part 2 was extreme, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
"Haven't seen anything yet?" My brother in Christ, we watched Art the Clown literally disassemble a woman in real time in Terrifier 2. What the hell have you got planned for the next one? Is Art going to kill every man, woman, and child on Earth with a riding lawnmower? Is he going to rip off God's fucking face? One wonders precisely how far this series can go ... which, I suppose, is part of the point.
There's nothing further to report on Terrifier 3 at this time, but if you're a fan of this franchise, do stay tuned: we'll keep you informed as further updates on Leone's latest make their way onto our radar.