Terrifier 4 will be the final Art the Clown movie, but that’s a good thing

Art the Clown is coming back… to say goodbye, as Damien Leone has confirmed Terrifier 4 will be an “epic close” to the slasher saga. With the threequel raking in millions of dollars, that may seem a bit baffling – but it’s a bold, brilliant decision. 

Echoing its smash-hit predecessor, Terrifier 3 is a bonafide sensation. With a budget of just $2 million, it dethroned Joker 2 at the domestic box office and debuted at number one, outgrossing the entire franchise in one weekend. Even if your stomach turns at a droplet of blood and you find these films reprehensible (lame!), you can’t deny that it’s an incredible feat. 

As if there was any doubt, Terrifier 4 is definitely happening. However, Leone’s latest interview came with an unexpected twist of the knife: it’ll be the final movie in the series. 

“It will certainly be an epic showdown, an epic closure to this Art the Clown saga,” he told Variety. To borrow Jay-Z’s lyrics, being at an all-time high is the perfect time to say goodbye – and there shouldn’t be an encore. 

We need to learn from the slasher movie mistake 

Netflix

There are four quintessential slasher franchises: Halloween, Texas Chainsaw, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. 

They have produced some of the most iconic, seminal images in horror: Michael Myers tilting his head after impaling a teenage boy with a kitchen knife, Leatherface dancing wildly in the warm light of dawn, Alice being dragged into Crystal Lake, Freddy Krueger’s clawed glove emerging from soapy water between a girl’s legs. 

What do all of those moments have in common? They’re from the first entries in each respective franchise, all of which outstayed their welcome in pursuit of box office receipts. Their villains are icons, and Art the Clown wouldn’t exist without them – but, for his legacy’s sake and the health of the genre, they can’t be the blueprint. 

Warner Bros.

Some of their sequels are good, great even: Halloween 3 is incredibly underrated, and its 2018 reboot felt like a breath of fresh air from a corpse; the 2003 Texas Chainsaw remake is the only follow-up to capture the original’s breathlessly brutal and nasty aura; Friday the 13th gets kudos for going batsh*t crazy (Jason in Hell! Jason in New York! Jason in Space!); and Dream Warriors overcame sequelitis with a rare third movie that may be the best film in the series. 

But – and this is a big but – they’re all responsible for some absolute guff, interminable, schlocky crap that people spooned into their eyes like gruel (A New Beginning, I’m looking at you). They took up space, when other slashers could have filled their void with the verve of something new; Scream pulled it off, but nearly 20 years on, early reports about Scream 7 suggest a mercy killing may be in order. 

Terrifier 4 is protecting Art the Clown’s legacy 

Cineverse

If you asked me five years ago if I ever thought Terrifier would be so popular, I’d have said, “What’s Terrifier?” 

That’s the thing: Terrifier is a glorious anomaly, a splatterfest that wasn’t designed for mass consumption but carried itself to worldwide notoriety on its retch-worthy, diabolical violence and David Howard Thornton’s hilarious, terrifying performance as Art the Clown. 

Terrifier 3 will have whet the appetites of its newfound acolytes, and Leone will no doubt feel the pressure to top himself with whatever comes next (though after Vicky’s glass scene, I’m not sure that’s possible). That’s a fair goal, and even if it doesn’t manage it, Terrifier 4 will probably make even more money. 

Signature Entertainment

However, there’s clearly a level of maturity and ambition to Leone’s craft and prospects if he’s willing to part ways with Art the Clown. With just four films (including All Hallows’ Eve), he’s now a globally-known director – it’d be hard to blame him if he coasted with Art for the remainder of his career, eventually going the way of Hellraiser with a deluge of direct-to-VOD Terrifier movies. 

He has other plans. We don’t know what they are, but the fact that Terrifier 3’s box office returns haven’t tempted his greed speaks volumes about his future. I’m expecting years, if not decades of celluloid depravity from him, a video-nasty director with a permit for the big screen. 

Most of all, Terrifier’s legacy will be something to envy: the ultimate indie-to-mainstream dream, ending before it becomes a never-ending nightmare. With Terrifier 4, the franchise has the chance to go big and go home.

If you want to watch it at home, Terrifier 3 will be available on this streaming platform first. You can also find out about one of its kills that was too “graphic” to release, our Terrifier 3 ending explained, and our list of the best horror movies of all time.