‘Terrifier 3’ Director Damien Leone Gets Candid on Franchise’s Success: “More Money, More Problems Is Real”
Damien Leone's Terrifier 3 has received positive reviews right from the start. However, its opening scene, which showcases Art the Clown’s new victims, caused some viewers at the U.K. premiere to walk out due to the extreme gore. Additionally, France has prohibited anyone under 18 from watching the holiday slasher film in theaters. This situation isn't new for the director from Philadelphia, whose previous film, Terrifier 2 (2022), made waves with its $250,000 budget while stirring up similar debate, ultimately becoming a surprising success with a total of $15.7 million earned worldwide.
The DIY horror series that took off in 2016 with Terrifier has gotten a significant boost in funding for its upcoming third installment, with a budget of $2 million and a professional makeup effects team. This means that Leone, who has a background in special effects makeup, and his producer Phil Falcone won't need to halt shooting to create the gruesome special effects themselves. However, with this unexpected financial support, Leone now faces a different kind of pressure that he hasn't encountered before as a feature director.
“In certain ways, it was simpler, but [Terrifier 3] turned out to be the most challenging and demanding project I’ve ever been a part of. The saying ‘more money, more problems’ really holds true,” Leone shared with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the film's release in theaters on October 11. “The previous two films had a very DIY feel. We worked on them at our own speed without anyone pressuring us with deadlines. I’m not bringing this up as a criticism; it's just how things go.”
Terrifier 3 had its world premiere on September 19 at Fantastic Fest. After the screening, during the Q&A session, director Damien Leone sparked a lot of discussion online by mentioning the possibility of a fourth film. However, he emphasized to fans that the success of Terrifier 3 will play a crucial role in determining how soon he can wrap up the cliffhanger ending, which he compares to that of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
“I wasn't ready for the announcement to just drop: ‘Terrifier 4 is on the way!’” Leone explains. “I’ve done a lot of planning for [Terrifier 4] already, and it will really depend on the success of Terrifier 3. If it receives a positive response and audiences are eager for more, I might jump right into it.”
Leone's second film faced some backlash from fans of the genre regarding its 138-minute length, as slasher movies are usually around 90 minutes long. (Scream is often seen as the series that changed this standard by having films that run about two hours.) With this in mind, Leone aimed to find a middle ground, yet he ended up with a nearly two-and-a-half hour version that he loved. Committed to respecting the preferences of his collaborators for a runtime closer to two hours, he cut a significant portion of content, which he hopes to include in a future extended edition.
"I ended up removing about five scenes from this movie, and many of them were ones I truly cherished. There were some fantastic character moments that I had to eliminate, which would have added depth to the relationships significantly. However, maybe one day there will be a director's cut," Leone explains.
Terrifier 3 takes place five years after the events of Terrifier 2, with Art the Clown (played by David Howard Thornton) and Sienna Shaw (played by Lauren LaVera) both having been inactive in different ways. Just when Sienna is trying to celebrate Christmas with her extended family, she finds herself once again facing off against her greatest enemy.
In a recent chat with THR, Leone talked about LaVera's role in the franchise and shared insights into the dream sequence of her character that has been hinted at in the film's promotional materials.
Terrifier 3 takes place five years later. What caused this extended break for all the characters?
Elliot Fullam, who portrays Jonathan, Sienna's younger brother.
Particularly after he shot up by two feet during the pandemic-related pause in the making of Terrifier 2.
Absolutely. He was growing older. I initially planned for this to occur during the Christmas right after Terrifier 2, but it’s evident that he’s aged. We also started losing track of the timeline. By 2018, we were already years behind, so I thought it would be best to catch up and set the story in the present. Now, it’s set in 2023 or 2024, which felt like the right choice.
In our earlier discussion, we mentioned that you successfully brought on board a professional makeup effects team for Terrifier 3. This meant you wouldn’t need to pause filming for extended periods to brainstorm the effects with your producer, Phil Falcone. Additionally, you secured a budget that was eight times larger than that of Terrifier 2. How do you feel these extra resources have influenced the project?
In some ways, things were more straightforward, but it was undoubtedly the most stressful and intense film project I've ever been involved with. The saying "more money, more problems" is definitely applicable here, as I had to interact with numerous people I'd never encountered before, both on camera and off. There were countless demands pulling me in various directions. With so many departments and crew members, I faced a barrage of questions that made things even more challenging. Plus, we had to complete the film in a much tighter timeframe. Once production began and the schedule was set, there was no turning back. It felt like a train had already left the station, and I was just trying to catch up. In the midst of it all, I had to make quick decisions on the spot, especially with so much money at stake.
The other two films had a very DIY feel to them. We worked at our own speed without anyone pressuring us with deadlines like, “The film has to be released by this date.” I’m not criticizing this—it's just how things turned out. It added a lot of stress since I had only a year to write the script, shoot the film, and edit it all in time for a set release date. Honestly, I wouldn’t suggest this approach for making a film; it was just how this particular project unfolded.
I was fortunate to have an amazing team this time — Christien Tinsley’s special makeup effects group. They lightened my load significantly, which contributed to the extended timeline for creating Terrifier 2. This support allowed me to concentrate on other aspects of filmmaking and strive to improve as a director. I could dedicate more time to my actors and collaborate closely with my director of photography, George Steuber, throughout each day. As a result, I was able to pay greater attention to those details and elements that may have been overlooked in previous films due to my preoccupation with the makeup effects.
We talked about how Lauren LaVera prepared for her role as Sienna Shaw in Terrifier 2 by keeping a journal. I imagine this influenced the use of Sienna's journal in Terrifier 3. Were those some of Lauren's original writings being read?
No, they certainly weren't, but that's intriguing. It might have originated with her on some subconscious level, but it's hard to say for sure. I might have mentioned this to you before, but Sienna is my favorite character. She's really turned into the centerpiece of this series; it’s just as much her story as it is Art the Clown’s these days. People are engaging with her journey and hopefully feeling a connection to her experience.
It was thrilling to delve into this phase of the character's journey and see where she is now. Five years have passed since her significant trauma, and she is still undergoing a supernatural change, experiencing a profound transformation. How does she manage everything? Is she able to keep her sanity? Has she retained the strength to be the warrior we saw in Terrifier 2? I truly enjoyed examining this side of her character, as she demonstrates a level of growth that wasn't present in the second film. In some ways, she takes on a more nurturing role, especially towards her younger cousin, Gabbie. It was fascinating to explore this new chapter in her life.
In the trailer, glimpses of Sienna’s dream come to light. What are your thoughts on the strange scene featuring a masked figure making a weapon beside a statue of Mother Mary?
There’s a fine line between dreams and premonitions in this story. Could she be experiencing something like an out-of-body experience? These concepts will be explored in greater depth in future parts, if we get that far. Since Terrifier 3 has a Christmas theme, I aimed to incorporate more biblical imagery into the film. You'll find churches, images of Mary, and depictions of the Last Supper all throughout. I included these elements because I was raised Catholic, and that kind of imagery is deeply ingrained in my mind. In the second film, we established an epic struggle between Sienna and Art, filled with themes of heaven and hell, and I wanted to continue that trend here. However, the dream sequence you mentioned isn’t just a random scene added for aesthetic purposes; it’s intended to have significance and, if all goes well, it will play an important role.
The film concludes in a manner that will leave audiences eager for a fourth installment right away. How much progress have you made on that storyline?
I didn’t expect the announcement to drop so suddenly: "Terrifier 4 is on the way!" We screened the film at Fantastic Fest, followed by a Q&A session. As you mentioned, if you watch this film, it's clear that a sequel is inevitable. It ends on a very obvious cliffhanger. It's our version of the Empire Strikes Back in the series. When someone asked if there would be more to come, I said, "Well, you just watched the movie, so obviously there will be more. I could never just leave the audience hanging like that."
I have a clear vision for where I want to take Terrifier 4, and I had a good idea of how I wanted to wrap up the series while working on the second installment. Knowing the ending in advance is incredibly helpful since coming up with a satisfying conclusion is often one of the toughest challenges in creating a franchise. I’ve laid out a lot of the plans already, and depending on the success of Terrifier 3—if it receives positive feedback and fans are eager for more—I could start working on the next film pretty soon.
Terrifier 3 has a runtime of 2 hours and 5 minutes. Did you have to cut out any favorite scenes during editing?
I definitely did. Quite a bit, actually. First off, we all agreed that we didn't want to create another two-hour and twenty-minute film like *Terrifier 2* since that length divided opinions. I aimed to stick to a more standard slasher film runtime, but I still ended up with a movie that was two hours and 25 minutes long. I realized we couldn't repeat that, and everyone was urging me to keep it under two hours. As a result, I had to remove around five scenes from this film, many of which I was really fond of. There were some fantastic character moments that added depth to the relationships, but who knows, maybe there will be an extended version released someday.
Additionally, the ending of the movie was likely ten pages lengthier. There were many more jokes and terrifying moments planned for the conclusion, but those were removed during the filming process. As we approached production and I realized the scale of the movie was expanding, I understood that would significantly increase the runtime. Because of this, some parts of the script were never even filmed.
It frustrates me when people refer to certain scenes as filler. They might say something like, “Terrifier 2 has a lot of filler,” but that’s not an accurate description. Filler typically means: “I don’t have enough content to fill an hour and twenty minutes, so I’m just going to show a character smoking a cigarette or wandering around in the woods without purpose.” That’s not the case with Terrifier 2 or Terrifier 3. In fact, I have an abundance of material and a rich narrative to convey, which is very different from filler.
I really hope we can do this again in a year, but that might be a bit too soon. No rush!
Don't be taken aback! It could occur.
"Terrifier 3 will hit theaters across the country on October 11."
