Terrifier 3

Terrifier 3
Starring Lauren LaVera, David Howard Thornton, Elliott Fullam, Antonella Rose
Directed by Damien Leone

We all know the Mount Rushmore of horror icons: Freddy, Jason, Michael, Leatherface...icons that have withstood the test of time, as decades pass and people still don their costumes every Halloween. They're the ones who don't necessarily strike fear in our hearts, but ones we have an odd fondness for, villains we oftentimes root for against horny teenagers or unruly youth who invade their property - of course that's not always the case, but as you get older you start feeling more for these villains than their victims in most situations. Since Jigsaw in "Saw" there hasn't been an iconic villain of this caliber, until now. Now we get Art the Clown, this generation's prolific horror icon that's now slayed his way through three major motion pictures and a few shorts that has cemented his legacy in the pantheon of villains, all without saying a word.

Five years after surviving the attack from the demonic Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton), Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) leaves the mental institution and moves in with her aunt Jess (Margaret Anne Florence) and uncle Greg (Bryce Johnson) and their young daughter Gabbie (Antonella Rose) while her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullman) attends college. Still haunted by the events of the past, Sienna suffers from visions of Art and his victims while trying to lead a normal life, but she knows deep down that the terror isn't over. The terror is indeed not over, as Art is now reborn and back from a five-year slumber, as he begins a blood-soaked adventure to get back to Sienna and finish what he started.

Damien Leone's "Terrifier" series is unique in that, in all honesty, there's no real plot to the movies. Instead, they're about the gore and practical effects as Art uses unique methods of murder to gruesomely dispatch his victims. Sure, there's a plot that Sienna is an angel of sorts that's destined to take Art down, but that's a bare skeleton of a story. What people really go to see is the carnage and Art's eccentric personality, and "Terrifier 3" delivers that in spades. The film seems like it was shot in a series of vignettes, jumping from Sienna's story to Art moving from one set piece to another killing at random, and proving no one (not even children) are safe from his wrath. Bodies get dismembered, but that's just the start to Art's violence, as many people watching the movie couldn't stomach what they were seeing (I, for one, found myself laughing in glee over it, which made me wonder if I'm actually a psychopath).

Sienna's story drives the narrative, as we see how she deals with survivor's guilt in being the survivor - along with her brother - after the last film. This serves as Leone's downfall, as the story he tries to tell is convoluted, filled with an odd mythology, and riddled with stinted dialogue that makes you roll your eyes until Art returns to wreak some holiday havoc. In most cases, I prefer a movie that has a strong story, but "Terrifier" isn't one of them: I'm here strictly for the blood and guts, I don't want a coherent (or, in this case, semi-coherent) story.

That's not knocking Lauren LaVera's performance, as Sienna could easily go down in the annals of final girl history, but she's not given a lot to work with apart from dealing with survivor's guilt and PTSD from her last encounter - odd considering she's supposed to be this angelic being to go against Art's demonic counterpart. You sense her fear and turmoil as she struggles with what's happened to her, but if she's supposed to be a chosen vessel, she doesn't really show it, which adds to the convoluted nature of the film. Instead, she constantly worries Art is out there, and values time spent with her young niece who obviously exists to eventually serve as Art's possible victim. To that end, young Antonella Rose does a decent job playing the stereotypical horror movie kid - sweet, but also annoying.

Yet this is about Art, and David Howard Thornton once again excels in the role. Playing a character who doesn't speak, he has to rely on his physicality to tell the story, and he proves himself more than capable of the task. It's hard to feel horror when he's chopping up a body but silently laughing about it, or brandishing holiday-themed sunglasses while wielding a chainsaw. Thornton clearly is having the time of his life in this now-iconic role, and the audience is all there for it, even if sometimes it goes a bit too extreme for some.

For many horror films today, CGI runs rampant, giving a lost sense of reality - but with the "Terrifier" series, there's little to no CGI to be had. Instead, Leone and company rely on practical effects to tell the tale, and boy do they have a whopper. The effects are superior, even for a film costing only $2 million to make, and leaves indelible imprints on your mind long after it ends. What Leone fails in storytelling he more than succeeds in practical effects, which is why people keep flooding the cinema to see Art - hopefully the next installment improves on the storytelling.

The Score: A-