Writer/director Damien Leone had a budget of around $55,000 to work with on his breakout horror film Terrifier, and a budget of “a little over” $250,000 for Terrifier 2, which was a massive hit when it was released last year, earning $15.1 million at the box office. Since the second film did so well, Terrifier 3 – which is set to receive a theatrical release on October 11th – has a substantially higher budget. A “couple million” is going into this one, and some of that money has gone toward a Hollywood FX team that Leone brought in to help him create the nauseating effects. (For the previous films, the bloodshed was provided by Leone and producer Phil Falcone.) Leone recently took to social media to heap some praise on that FX team, headed up by Christien Tinsley, for the insanely horrific, stomach-turning, mind-blowing work they did on the film.
Leone wrote, “That’s a wrap on our incredible makeup fx team @tinsleymua It was scary relinquishing the makeup fx on Terrifier 3 to another team, since me and @pjfalcone did mainly all of the fx work on part 1 & 2. But this time around, the scope of the film was just too big and the requirements were too great, so it was time to bring in an amazing team so I could focus on directing. Needless to say, the great Christien Tinsley and his crew brought my film into another stratosphere with their incredible artistry. They took on every insanely horrific idea I threw at them with gusto! ‘No’ was never an option, even when it was something I came up with on the spot last minute. Those are the kinds of artists a director dreams of working with, so thank you sincerely for a wonderful collaboration and I can’t wait to see your work thrill audiences. To all the Terrifier fans out there – you seriously can’t imagine what’s in store for you come October! Your stomachs will turn and your minds will be blown! Also, a very special shout out and thank you to two key members who were there with us, knee deep in the bloody trenches every day on set, applying makeup and spraying blood, @heathen_fx and @ryankeithward . You guys are an absolutely joy to work with and total rockstars.“
Terrifier 3 has the following synopsis: Art the Clown is set to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.
David Howard Thornton reprises the role of Art the Clown, a character who was first introduced in Leone’s 2013 anthology All Hallows’ Eve (although Thornton didn’t start playing him until Terrifier). Also in the cast are Lauren LaVera, who’s back as Terrifier 2 heroine Sienna; Elliot Fullam returns as Sienna’s brother Jonathan, Samantha Scaffidi is returning as Terrifier and Terrifier 2 character Victoria Heyes, and Daniel Roebuck has been cast in the role of Santa Claus. FX legend Tom Savini will also be showing up, in an unspecified role. Chris Jericho, who had a cameo in Terrifier 2, is back in Terrifier 3 – but he has let everyone know that his appearance in the film won’t last very long.
Leone has said that this new sequel will be going back to the tone of the first movie, as he’s aiming to make the third film the scariest, goriest, and most depraved of the bunch. He’ll be pulling back on the mystical/fantasy element that was so prevalent in the second film, and is also aiming to make sure this one will be less than two hours long, since the second one surpassed the two hour mark. If you’re worried that Terrifier 3 might wrap the franchise up as a trilogy, have no fear. Leone knows that horror franchises always continue, and anything’s possible once the supernatural gets involved. So even if he brings a sequel to a satisfying conclusion for himself as the creator of the franchise, the door can always be opened to more sequels.
Are you looking forward to seeing the FX work in Terrifier 3? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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