With Todd Phillips' experimental DC sequel Joker: Folie À Deux going a little bit *wah wah wahhh* at the box office this past fortnight, another killer clown has risen to the top of the pile. After growing a passionate core fanbase with two increasingly shocking, low-budget outings, Art the Clown has been galling and enthralling the masses in Damien Leone's cut-throat (and hack-off-head) threequel Terrifier 3, cruising to a cool $18 million in its opening weekend on a $2 million budget. Now, in an interview with DiscussingFilm, Leone has revealed his future plans for David Howard Thornton's jugular-busting jester.
When asked whether he sees Terrifier piling up the sequels and eventually going full-Jason X with spacefaring follow-ups for Art and final girl Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera), Thornton was quick to shoot down the idea of his unholy terror outstaying its welcome. "On one level, I would absolutely love to see him in space or go to Las Vegas or the Wild West," says Leone, "but I can’t imagine it going past two more movies. For me, personally, as a storyteller, I think that my well is going to eventually run dry, plainly because I pack so much into each movie.”
What's more, the filmmaker has a similarly economic outlook when it comes to potential Terrifier 4 and 5 runtimes, having taken on board critiques of the second film's monstrous two-and-a-half hour arterial sprayathon. "I could want to make one more movie, but I have so many set pieces, kill scenes, and scenarios that I want to put Art the Clown in where I could wind up with another two-hour-and-30-minute movie," explains Leone. "I don’t want that because I know the audience doesn’t want that, either. At least the majority of fans would rather have a 90-minute movie. If that’s the case, then I would probably split them up into, say, two more movies. But I truly don’t see it going on further than that.”
Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, there's no denying the visceral impact the Terrifier movies have had on cinema goers, driving audiences to the multiplex with the promise of DIY setpieces and Savini inspired practical FX that push the boundaries for a modern audience the way the video nasties of yore did for past generations. And if Terrifier 3 is anything to go by, then consider us down to clown with Art and co for another couple of movies at least.