Do the Terrifier movies go too far?

Terrifier 3 went viral last Christmas season, reporting walkouts, vomiting and fainting at their preview screenings. The franchise is written and directed by Damien Leone, with the latter two films of the trilogy (planned to be a quadrology) crowdfunded by fans. They have gave infamy in being gory grind house flicks that spark the debate - do they go too far, even for a horror movie?

One thing that should be noted beforehand, is the truth behind the virulent reactions from preview audiences. Upon minimal research, the audiences were only told they were going to be watching "a seasonal film," as Terrifier 3 takes place at Christmas. It's safe to say, then, that most theatre goers were not expecting a horror movie, much less one that opens with (at least it was offscreen) child murder. Holding back this critical information does feel like a staged method of creating hype around the film, as does the many, many interviews hyping up just how extreme and sickening the kills are.

(Though, it's possible that many of the unwell audience members may be genuine, as seen in Spooky Astronaut's review.)

Let's go back, and see how we got to this position:

The first Terrifier was released in 2016, and made few ripples. It eventually became something of a cult classic, elevating it's popularity. The movie paid homage to mindless 80s slashers, with over the top gore, shallow storytelling and vacant characters. The standout, apart from That One Kill scene, is David Howard Thornton's performance as Art the Clown.

Art the Clown (who is technically more of a mime, since he does not speak and wears black and white) has quickly joined the pantheon of iconic slashers for his quirky performance and everpresent smile.

So Terrifier picks up a cult following, and the second movie is crowdfunded, with the movie released in 2022, with a selected cinema run, available for streaming on Screambox and a swift DVD release. Terrifier 2 is double the runtime of the first, and at least triple the gore. With something more resembling plot and characters (though still leaving a lot of unanswered questions), the film drew controversy for its brutality, particularly its treatment of female characters. Despite Leone asserting that Art is an equal opportunities killer, watchers noticed that the majority of kills were still against, often teenage, women - especially the longest and most painful. What's known as 'The Bedroom Scene' in Terrifier 2 is the pinnacle of this, with a long, drawn out torture of a teenage girl. On the opposite side, Leone argued that final girl Sienna (Lauren LaVera) is the one who triumphs in the end.

Terrifier 2 received positive reviews from those who crowdfunded the movie, whilst garnering negative ones from the general public. The consesus seeming to be that the writing issues were still present, and the gore too much and too mindless.

Despite this, a third movie was corwdfunded, and Terrifier 3 received a worldwide release in time for Thanksgiving 2024. This larger release is no doubt what sparked the debate of if the movie goes too far, with some going as far as calling it a "legal snuff film."

That's not what that phrase means. In fact, behind the scenes footage and interviews shed light on how Art's victims have a great time shooting their death scenes, and are not, in fact, actually dead. Notably, in the third movie, Leone went out of his way to show how "no one is safe," probably in response to the misogyny allogations. (This line was used so much, it feels like another marketing tactic.)

A more apt phrase is "Torture Porn" (or splatter film). The Terrifier movies are this; their main purpose is to push the envelope of death scenes in horror. Since Leone's background is in practical effects, and special effects make-up, this seemes to be more about practicality - just how much gore can they physically create?

"Torture Porn" is a label attributed to other horror movies such as Final Destination, Hostel and the Saw franchise. Movies with increasingly convuluted plots to ensure their characters get into the goriest death situations possible.

At the time of release, audiences asked if the Saw movies went too far too.

Audiences asked the same of "Video nasties" in the 1980s.

They also asked the same of "The Exorcist."

And Todd Browning's "Freaks."

And the craze of "Penny Dreadful" stories in the Victorian era.

Needless to say, audiences have been asking this question about horror media since horror media started.

From this point of view, one could argue that Terrifier is the next step of this. That horror audiences are always looking for more, more, more. And Leone is certainly looking to gross out movie goers in every way imaginable, including his own actors.

And many of Terrifier's fans take it with a heavy pinch of salt. (Bad choice of words!) Point being is they recognise these movies aren't the highest forms of entertainment, and are here for the showcase of effects and Thornton's performance, instead of anything oscar worthy. Probably very similar to how Saw fans would show up every Halloween for their next fix.

On the other hand, even with these other examples of horror which 'went too far,' one can see an escalation in the violence.

Is the question actually how far can the horror genre go? How intense can media get?

But the Terrifier franchise is an outlier in the field of modern horror. It's probably apt to compare it to The Human Centipede franchise, which also garnered a similar controversy and were known as extreme horror with lackluster writing.

They're still known as extreme horror, and have their place on lists of movies that made people sick. But what legacy do they really have? Does anyone really speak about them any more?

In this light, it could be argued that Terrifier is just a phase of horror movies, similar to Saw etc. The difference with Terrifier, is that it has an easily recognisable and replicatable villain. (Especially compared to The Human Centipede - yikes!) Art if likely to stick around with Krueger & co, but it's unlikely to be heralding in an age of super gory, super intense movies.

It's also likely, like with the Human Centipede movies, that the team are leaning into the reputation and controversy in order to promote the franchise. With Terrifier 3 topping box offices, said controversy is, if anything, aiding it. After all, Terrifier 4 is confirmed to be on its way.

Overall, Terrifier 3 is the latest in a slew of franchises making a name for being the next extreme horror. Whilst it is extreme, and gory, the question "is this too far for horror" is always going to be asked.

I do believe there is a separate debate that ties into this, and that's 'are the Terrifier movies good?' And that this is muddying the waters of whether the movies go too far.

But I spoke about that last week.