By Brennan Klein Published 1 day ago
Writer-director Damien Leone shares a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the horror villain Art the Clown from the set of the upcoming Terrifier 3.
This article is part of a directory: Terrifier 3: Release Date, Cast, Trailer & Everything We Know About Art The Clown's Return
Previous
Terrifier 3 Will Be Scariest Yet, Says Hit Horror Movie Director
Current
Terrifier 3 Set Photo Offers New Look At Art The Clown’s Return
Summary
- Writer-director Damien Leone shared a behind-the-scenes image of Art the Clown from the set of Terrifier 3 .
- The threequel, featuring David Howard Thornton as Art the Clown, takes place during Christmas, promising a bloody rampage.
- Art the Clown became an overnight horror icon with the success of Terrifier 2 , which earned over 60 times its budget.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
A Terrifier 3 set photo offers a new glimpse at David Howard Thornton's return as Art the Clown. The upcoming sequel will see the horror villain, who has previously only struck during Halloween time, going on a bloody rampage during the Christmas season. The returning cast also includes Samantha Scaffidi as Victoria Heyes, who originally appeared in 2016's Terrifier, as well as Terrifier 2 survivors Lauren LaVera as Sienna Shaw and Elliot Fullam as Jonathan Shaw.
On his official Instagram account, writer-director Damien Leone shared a set photo from the upcoming Terrifier 3. Check out his post below:
The image shows a monitor on set bearing the image of Thornton in costume as Art the Clown, with a caption that reads "Are you ready for more??" and the hashtag "#hesback." Art presents a clean, unbloodied face in the image, which likely means he has not yet resumed his reign of terror during the scene that they are filming.
How Art the Clown Became an Overnight Horror Icon
Although the killer Art the Clown has only become an iconic horror villain recently, he has already appeared in a wide variety of projects. Before Thornton took over the role in the Terrifier trilogy, the character was played by Mike Giannelli, who has since retired from acting. Giannelli's Art appeared in the short films The 9th Circle and Terrifier, which were released in 2008 and 2011, respectively, and were later folded into the feature-length anthology All Hallows' Eve, alongside a third Halloween horror story featuring an Art the Clown reference, in 2013.
Despite his wide body of work, Art the Clown didn't become a proper horror icon until the 2022 release of Terrifier 2. In spite of the fact that it was a sequel to a movie that didn't have the same pop culture impact, it became a surprise smash theatrical hit. The movie gained notoriety due to stories of people falling ill in the theater as a reaction to its intense gore and violence and its box office ballooned, eventually earning back more than 60 times its budget.
Terrifier 2 only cost $250,000 and earned $15.7 million by the end of its box office run.
After the explosion of Terrifier 2, Art the Clown joined the pantheon of horror killers and has appeared on a wide variety of merchandise. He has even been included in a cameo appearance in the legacy sequel The Mutilator 2, which features a sequence set at a Halloween party where someone is dressed as Art. It remains to be seen if Terrifier 3 will bolster that legacy by becoming a hit, but for the time being, the future of the bloodthirsty villain seems very bright.
Source: Damien Leone/Instagram
Director Damien Leone Studio(s) Dark Age Cinema , Fuzz on the Lens Productions Distributor(s) Cineverse Writers Damien Leone Cast David Howard Thornton , Lauren LaVera Franchise(s) Terrifier prequel(s) Terrifier , Terrifier 2
