Two weeks ago, we learned that production had wrapped on writer/director Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3, which started filming back in February and was, at the time, aiming for an October 25th release date. Now Deadline reports that fans will have the chance to see this supernatural slasher sequel two weeks earlier than expected, as the North American theatrical release date has moved forward to October 11th! Along with the new release date announcement comes the unveiling of an image from the film, and you can check that out at the bottom of this article.
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 has a substantially higher budget. A “couple million” is going into this one. It 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. Chris Jericho, who had a cameo in Terrifier 2, is also 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 Terrifier 3, and are you glad to hear that it has a new release date that brings it two weeks closer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.