Terrifier (film Series)

''Terrifier'' is an American horror media franchise created by Damien Leone and consisting of slasher films, comic books, novels, and video games. The franchise mainly focuses on Sienna Shaw, a young woman destined to defeat the enigmatic Art the Clown, a demonic serial killer that inhabits the fictitious Miles County, New York. Additionally, the series follows the Little Pale Girl, a sinister entity accompanying Art, and Victoria Heyes, a disfigured survivor struggling with her mental health who the Little Pale Girl possesses, becoming Art's accomplice.

The franchise began in 2016 with a standalone feature-length film showcasing Art, who had previously appeared in unrelated short films and the anthology film '' All Hallows' Eve'' incorporating the shorts. The 2016 film had a generally mixed critical reception. ''Terrifier 2'' (2022) was a box office success and received positive reviews. ''Terrifier 3'' (2024) received generally positive reviews and was an even greater box office success, becoming the highest-grossing unrated film of all time.

Films

''Terrifier'' (2016)

On Halloween night, partygoer Tara Heyes (Jenna Kanell) and her sister Victoria (Samantha Scaffidi) become the targets of an enigmatic serial killer known only as Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton).

''Terrifier'' was re-released theatrically in 700 theaters on July 19, 2023.

''Terrifier 2'' (2022)

Following the events of ''Terrifier'', Art is resurrected by a mysterious entity to continue his killing spree across Miles County and the pursuit of the teenage Sienna Shaw ( Lauren LaVera) and her younger brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam).

''Terrifier 3'' (2024)

After surviving Art the Clown's Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother struggle to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. However, just when they think they're safe, Art returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare.

Future

After previously expressing interest in 2022 to develop ''Terrifier 3'' and ''Terrifier 4'' back-to-back, Leone confirmed in February 2023 that he plans to make at least one more installment after the third film. The filmmaker explained that by the end of the franchise, the stories of Art the Clown, The Little Pale Girl, Victoria Heyes, and Sienna Shaw would be resolved.

By November of 2023, however, Leone stated that there may be additional installments after production on ''Terrifier 4'' is completed, with the filmmaker stating that his goal is to create "... a satisfying franchise, itha satisfying conclusion where you could just watch it from start to finish and understand the journey and the arcs of your characters... but you never know what's going to happen down the line, but that is the goal is I don't want to make too many of these, and I want it to have a satisfying conclusion." The writer/director later confirmed that the franchise intentionally draws from Biblical imagery, with the story of Sienna's confrontations with Art, being that of an angel versus a demon.

In September 2024, Leone officially confirmed that ''Terrifier 4'' is in development. Although originally intended to be the conclusion of the franchise, in October 2024, Leone clarified his comments of ''Terrifier 4'' likely being the final film, stating the announcement was a bit “premature” and was uncertain whether the conclusion of the franchise would span over one or two more films. On January 29, 2025, Damien Leone posted on his social media during his birthday that the script for ''Terrifier 4'' was in development, promising fans that it would be the final installment of the horror franchise and it would dive deeper into Art's origins.In May 2025. Leone, while attending Texas Frightmare Weekend, gave an update on the status of the 4th film saying "I know this word gets used a lot, but it's going to be epic. It's not going to disappoint. You're going to get Art's backstory in the first 15 minutes of the movie."

Primary cast and characters

Related films

Credited as the 2013 film that launched the spin-off ''Terrifier'' franchise, ''All Hallows' Eve'' was followed by a number of anthology-standalone sequels including ''All Hallows' Eve 2'' (2015), ''All Hallows' Eve: Trickster'' (2023), and ''All Hallows' Eve: Inferno'' (2024). Producer Steve Barton stated that in collaboration with Horrible Imaginings Film Festival, future ''All Hallows' Eve'' installments would include combined independent horror short films, following their respective runs at film festivals; saying: "...the ''All Hallows’ Eve'' franchise will be a place for these movies to thrive and for these filmmakers to get the notice that they have so richly earned.” Jesse Baget, CEO of Ruthless Pictures, further explained that though the franchise was anthological in nature, each of the shorts takes place in the same shared continuity where the horrific characters "coexist".

Additional crew and production details

Reception

Box office and financial performance

Critical and public response

Other media

Literature

Comic books

Between 2021 and 2022, a self-published two-issue limited comic book series adaptation of ''Terrifier'' was released by Damien Leone with illustrations by Steve McGinnis.

Novels

A novelization of ''Terrifier 2'' by Tim Waggoner was released by Titans Books on October 29, 2024.

Television

David Howard Thornton reprised his role as Art the Clown in the 2023 Peacock series '' Bupkis''. Starring Pete Davidson as a fictionalized version of himself, the segment featured the character in a comedic scenario. Leone was involved with filming the segment for the series. In December 2024, it was announced that David Howard Thornton would appear as Art the Clown in '' A Very Special Terrifier Christmas'', which was released on December 24, 2024.

Video games

on September 28 2024, Art the Clown appeared as a playable character in the battle royale game '' Call of Duty: Warzone'' and the first-person shooter game '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III'' in an event called "The Haunting". In October 2024, a beat 'em up game titled '' Terrifier: The ARTcade Game'' was announced and will be released in 2025 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.

Music

A song by Ice Nine Kills based on Art the Clown called "A Work of Art" is featured in ''Terrifier 3''.

Notes

References

{{Terrifier

American film series
Film series introduced in 2008
Horror films about clowns
Horror film series
Slasher film series

Horror film franchises