Terrifier 3 director won’t reveal Art’s backstory, and he’s right not to

Terrifier 3 is set to tease more of Art the Clown’s origins, but we’re never going to find out the full backstory, and it’s the right decision for a horror movie franchise. 

Art is the horror icon the world has been waiting for. He’s got charm and charisma, he makes Pennywise look like Barney the Dinosaur, and he has the uncanny ability to make as laugh and spew in equal measure. 

While All Hallow’s Eve and Terrifier are integral to the lore, Damien Leone took it to the next level with his 2022 sequel. For horror lovers across the globe, it was a refreshing no holds barred approach to the genre, securing Art as the best villain since Freddy and Jason.

Thanks to its success, Leone had an even bigger budget for Terrifier 3, but he still avoided going with a major Hollywood studio so that he could continue the story (and give us even more vomit-worthy gore) on his own terms.

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As was shown in the trailer, the threequel will introduce an entity known as “the Terrifier” – and we’ll also get to learn more about Sienna and Jonathan’s father and his ties to Art. 

However, his backstory remains ambiguous. With Terrifier 3’s release date coming up, Dexerto caught up with Leone to find out whether we’ll get the full lowdown on Art’s origins in future flicks. 

His answer? Yes… kind of. “I like getting as much information as possible, but leaving some sort of level of ambiguity,” the filmmaker told us. 

“I think those characters retain more power, the more mystique that they have. When you pull the curtain back too far, and you say, ‘Oh, this character had a traumatic experience and that’s the way he is,’ it just takes all the mystique, all the allure away.”

There’s good reason for this, too. Any horror movie is infinitely scarier when there’s a level of the unknown, especially when it comes to the killer. 

Elaborating on this, Leone continued, “To me, not knowing really why Michael Myers was supernatural or what possessed him, that was so interesting and made it so much creepier. 

“I think we want answers, but they’re usually always very disappointing. It’s a fine line. My job as a writer should be to give you as much information as possible and to come up with the coolest things.

“And I do know lots of information on Art of the Clown. I just don’t know how much I’m going to disclose, or I have to find the right way to do it where it’s satisfying.”

All that being said, as Leone pointed out, with Terrifier 3 you’ll be getting more information about Art than ever before. 

“We spell out exactly what’s going on with the supernatural entity and what its mission is, why it’s here, what its goal is – so that’s the most you’ve ever gotten,” he said.  

“This is sort of the supernatural detour in Art of the Clown’s saga. Because most killers always become supernatural at some point. But the films themselves sort of gloss over the reason. 

“Why are they supernatural? What’s bringing them back? It’s sort of just the trope of what the boogeyman does eventually. He just comes back as supernatural. 

“I thought that was one of the most interesting aspects of the boogeyman. What is that evil? Where is that coming from? Is that another dimension? What is that entity? What’s doing it? Why? 

“We really explore that and, in this chapter, that sort of comes to a close, or an understanding as to why.”

Terrifier 3 slashes its way into cinemas on October 11. Until then, find out how to watch Ice Nine Kills’ ‘A Work of Art’ Terrifier video early, how old you’ll need to be to watch it, and our ranking of the best Terrifier kills.