With Terrifier 3 now in theaters, we rank Damien Leone’s gore-soaked Art the Clown series from worst to best!

When All Hallow’s Eve was released back in 2013, I doubt many of us thought we’d be getting a whole franchise out of the creepy miming clown. Yet we just saw the release of the third entry in the Terrifier franchise–and it’s set at Christmas! So we here at JoBlo wanted to take a look back on the series and see where exactly they fall in terms of quality. Because it’s the rare series that seems to “level up” with each entry, always improving upon the production in some way. Though, they’ve always had the blood and guts handled pretty well. After all, if there’s one thing the series is known for: it’s the gore. But there are also some great characters and shocking moments that give each film their distinct personalities. So let’s see where they fall!

The Worst: Terrifier 2 (2022)

I’ll probably get heat for this but I’ve never been a fan of the second entry. It’s too long and I never got into the strange backstory with Sienna. And the acting from young Jonathan made my ears bleed. But there are still plenty of great kills in this, as Art really languishes in the torture this time around. Plus, Lauren LaVera‘s Sienna has one of the most iconic final girl outfits of all time, with her winged warrior costume. And Art is really starting to get into his murder groove.

All Hallow’s Eve (2013)

Art the Clown appears in all three stories of this anthology film and it’s not quite the fully formed Art that we’re used to seeing. You may notice the makeup is a bit different and that’s because it’s not David Howard Thornton underneath it. Instead, Mike Giannelli plays Art and it’s decidedly less interesting. Art is still scary due to Leone’s vision for the character, but he does seem to be missing that special something. Even so, the stories unfolding are pretty gnarly, with several unexpected victims.

Terrifier (2016)

One thing that the first film does so well is feeling like an old campfire tale. Art is a force of nature and you feel terrible for anyone that crosses his path here. Catherine Corcoran has one of the best deaths of the series and it establishes Art as being absolutely ruthless. There’s not much in terms of character here as this is definitely the Art the Clown show. And that’s not a bad thing as he definitely leans into the more “mime on the verge of snapping” approach.

The Best: Terrifier 3 (2024)

Rarely does the third (fourth?) entry in a franchise end up being the best, especially when it goes for a gimmick like setting the film at Christmas. Yet somehow Terrifier 3 provides a truly fantastic experience from start to finish. From shocking moments that you can’t believe are actually happening to a more succinct plot, there’s a lot for horror fans to latch onto. Plus, is there anything better than people leaving your movie early because they’re so offended at what’s happening on screen? If anything, it’s a mark of pride. I absolutely loved this film and feel it’s the perfect way to do a holiday film, while not being beholden to the holiday for your plot. This allows the film to be watched whenever versus simply at Christmas time, which makes this a massive win.

How would YOU rank the Terrifier series? What did you think of Terrifier 3? Is Art the Clown a worthy bad guy? Let us know in the comments below!

About the Author

Tyler Nichols is a horror fanatic who resides in Michigan and is always on the hunt for the next great film. When not scouring the internet for movie news, he is usually off watching something dark, writing nonsensical musings, or playing in some fantastical video game world. While horror takes up most of his time, he still makes time for films of all types, with a certain affinity for the strange and unusual. He’s also an expert on all things Comic Book Cinema. In addition to reviews and interviews here on JoBlo.com, Tyler also helps with JoBlo Horror Originals where he’s constantly trying to convince viewers to give lesser-known horror films a chance.

A sequel to 2019’s Ready or Not — directed by Radio Silence and starring Samara Weaving — has officially been announced.

Just a few weeks after Samara Weaving declared her interest in sequel to 2019’s Ready or Not, word comes that the Radio Silence horror flick is officially getting a follow-up…and we’re definitely ready!

While no details over plot or release schedule were announced, the Ready or Not sequel will bring back Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy as writers, in addition to Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett as directors. Weaving, too, will be returning as Grace, the central character of the original. In the 2019 movie, a bride meets her husband’s family, only to be drawn into the world’s most dangerous version of hide and seek.

Last month, Weaving expressed her drive in getting a Ready or Not sequel going and gave a tease of what was to come. “I’m all in. I think we’re all in, I don’t know. I think we’re all in. I don’t know if we’ve had our blood handshake, but pretty much. We’ve done the spit handshake, but we haven’t cut each other’s hands and rubbed our blood together.” Weaving has marked herself as a modern scream queen, with Scream VI, The Babysitter, Azrael, and more to her credit.

Like a lot of genre fans, we really dug the first Ready or Not, giving it an 8/10 in our original review, predicting its cult following that eventually led to a sequel. The movie did well with critics overall as well, holding a 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Outside of Ready or Not and the past two Scream movies, Radio Silence has kept their V/H/S anthology series alive, hitting their fourth entry with last year’s V/H/S/85, in which all of the films were set in 1985, playing off of their anthologies set in 1994 and 1999. Their most recent release was this year’s Abigail, while they have a stake in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming Fountain of Youth.

Are you looking forward to the sequel to Ready or Not? Where do you think the story will go? Draw your card and let us know below!

Views describe Terrifier 3 as disgusting, scary, depraved, and traumatizing in an audience reaction trailer

Writer/director Damien 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 in 2022, 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, and we’re going to get the chance to see how that translates to the screen when the film receives a theatrical release on October 11th… but there have already been some screenings, and you can hear the reactions of some audience members in the audience reaction trailer embedded above. Our friends at Bloody Disgusting report that nine people walked out of the UK premiere within the first ten minutes of the movie (two more followed them out later), and that one audience member vomited along the way.

Terrifier 3 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. Here’s some more information: After surviving Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother are struggling 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. But just when they think they’re safe, Art the Clown returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare. The festive season quickly unravels as Art unleashes his twisted brand of terror, proving that no holiday is safe.

Speaking with USA Today, Leone revealed that the new sequel takes place five years after the events of Terrifier 2.

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, who has been cast in the role of Santa Claus. FX legend Tom Savini will also be showing up, in an unspecified role. The same goes for Jon Abrahams, Antonella Rose, Krsy Fox, and legendary character actor Clint Howard. Chris Jericho, who had a cameo in Terrifier 2, is back in Terrifier 3 – but he has let everyone know that his appearance in the film won’t last very long.

Viewers in the audience reaction trailer describe Terrifier 3 as disgusting, scary, depraved, and traumatizing, among other things. Are you looking forward to this movie? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

While Gibson is great, there’s not much else that stands out about this family friendly film that lacks clear direction.

PLOT: When a mysterious force begins to disrupt their big summer fun, Noah and his friends team up with a retired police detective to embark on a monstrous adventure to save their island.

REVIEW: It’s been a longstanding tradition for the horror genre to put kids on a grand adventure to solve a scary problem. Whether it’s The Goonies or The Monster Squad, they’re a fun way to get kids interested in slightly darker fare. Some scary elements to help intrigue and encourage future dalliances into more depraved cinema. Monster Summer does a good job of keeping that spirit alive, but feels so all over the place, that it never settles into a proper goal.

Monster Summer follows Noah (Mason Thames) and his friends as they try to solve the strange happenings in their hometown. Teens are starting to disappear, only to return in an almost catatonic state. Noah quickly finds out that the culprit is a witch, and is determined to stop her. Mel Gibson plays retired police detective, Gene, who everyone thinks is evil. But Noah quickly learns that this isn’t the case, and they team up together to stop the Witch before she finishes off the kids for good.

When it’s Gibson and Thames together, the film becomes a fun two-hander as they play off each other well. Gibson’s little insults are fun and provide a bit of spark to the film. But when it’s trying to go Goonies/Stranger Things, it doesn’t really work. One roadblock I really couldn’t get past was the acting among the teen actors. It ranges from okay to really rough and it really broke my immersion throughout. It doesn’t help that Gibson is so effortless in anything he does, that it just makes the other stick out like a sore thumb.

Everyone is fully aware of Gibson’s issues in the public eye but I’ve always been a fan of the actor, so it’s nice to see him return to such family fare. Hopefully, it just continues from here (but I remember thinking that after the Beaver all those years ago). But I was even more excited to see Patrick Renna in a more featured role. Most will remember him as Ham from The Sandlot, and he’s in a very fun role here. I always love to see child actors do well in adult roles. Kevin James also shows up as a villainous newspaper owner but he’s fairly underutilized. Same with Lorraine Bracco who I was shocked got such placement on the poster, given her small role.

I can always appreciate horror that’s aimed at younger audiences, and there’s an almost Goosebumps feel to Monster Summer. It just feels like there are so many elements missing. There’s not a lot of logic involved as it’s mostly just a feel-good story about a boy trying to defeat a monster. Noah isn’t a very interesting character and the stakes just aren’t there. Very little is changed from the beginning to the end of the film outside of new friendships, so it lacks much impact.

The third act is where Monster Summer stumbles a lot. Obviously I won’t get into too much detail but it really devolves into a cheap TV movie. From really poor Witch effects to a very generic resolution, it’s very frustrating. Which sums up most of this experience. Had they just made it Mel Gibson and Mason Thames solving this mystery, it would have been much more interesting. As is, the “Goonies” part of the story is the worst part, while the buddy cop portion is miles better. This makes for a very uneven experience that I just can’t recommend outside of Gibson.

MONSTER SUMMER IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON OCTOBER 4TH, 2024.

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Viewer Ratings (0 reviews)

We Live in Time director John Crowley will direct the psychological thriller Five for the producers and co-writer of The Menu

Director John Crowley’s romantic drama We Live in Time, which has a poster that has inspired many memes and stars Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, is said to be “breaking hearts on the fall film festival circuit” and will be receiving a limited theatrical release in the US on October 11th, with a UK release to follow on January 1st and a Spanish release set for January 3rd. While we wait for these We Live in Time release dates to come around, Crowley has already signed on to direct his next film. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Crowley will be directing a psychological thriller called Five, which is being produced by the team behind The Menu (you can read our 9/10 review of that thriller at THIS LINK).

That team is Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, and Betsy Koch, who are producing Five through Hyperobject Industries. The screenplay was written by Seth Reiss, who co-wrote The Menu with Will Tracy. Reiss, who is a writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers, will be executive producing this film, which is set up at TriStar Pictures. TriStar president Nicole Brown and Shary Shirazi are shepherding the project for the studio.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but The Hollywood Reporter was able to dig up the information that the script is a two-hander and is said to center on a recent widow who becomes obsessed with the actress of a one-woman show.

In addition to We Live in Time, Crowley has previously directed the dark comedy Intermission, the drama Boy A, the drama Is Anybody There?, the legal thriller Closed Circuit, the romantic drama Brooklyn, and the mystery The Goldfinch, as well as episodes of True Detective, Modern Love, Life After Life, and Black Mirror. I can’t say I’m up-to-date on the works of John Crowley, but I really enjoyed The Menu, so I’m looking forward to seeing another thriller from the same team (but with a different director).

Does Five sound interesting to you? Are you a fan of John Crowley and/or The Menu? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

With new developments in the case, Murphy is willing to do an epilogue of sorts for his show, but isn’t interested in another season.

The famous double homicide case involving the Menendez brothers is weaving a tangled web with Ryan Murphy’s show Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story bringing dialogue and debate into the circumstances surrounding the case. Murphy was quoted as saying, “I know for a fact that many people have offered to help them because of the interest of my show and what we did.” And it was recently announced that the brothers, who were first tried in the 90s, will be given another court hearing in light of new evidence. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón made the announcement, “We are not at this point ready to say that we either believe or do not believe that information, but we’re here to tell you is that we have a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us and make a determination based on a resentencing side, whether they deserve to be resentenced.“

Variety now reports that Murphy, while isn’t interested in making a second season of Monsters, is willing to extend the series by an episode or two. He explains, “I think what I would be interested in doing, if Nicholas [Alexander Chavez] and Cooper [Koch] would agree to do it, is maybe one or two episodes that continue the story.” Now that a re-trial is being set, Murphy thinks the Menendez brothers may see the outside world again in 2025. He stated, “We gave them their moment in the court of public opinion. Basically, we did give them a platform. I think they can be out of prison by Christmas. I really believe that.”

Ironically, even with the kind of support that Murphy has generated with his show, Erik Menendez was critical of him and his brother’s portrayal and came out against the series. Murphy’s response to that was a somber one, “The thing that’s kind of painful is that the family was so outrageously against the show and spoke out so vociferously against it. But then the thing that they thought would hurt them is actually helping them. That doesn’t feel so great.” Erik Menendez responded to the show by saying,  “I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant likes rampant in the show. I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”

About the Author

E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.

10 actors, including Jessica Alexander, have joined Troy Kotsur and Johnny Sequoyah in the Johannes Roberts horror film Primate

Back in July, it was announced that Oscar-winner Troy Kotsur (CODA) had signed on to star in the horror film Primate. Since then, Johnny Sequoyah (pictured above) of Dexter: New Blood has signed on to star in the film with Kostur – and now, as the project draws closer to production, Deadline has revealed that ten more actors have joined the cast. Here’s the line-up: Jessica Alexander (Amadeus), Victoria Wyant (My Fault: London), Benjamin Cheng (d’ILLUSION: The Houdini Musical), Gia Hunter (Sherlock and Daughter), Miguel Torres Umba (National Theatre co-production Kin), Kae Alexander (Ready Player One), Tienne Simon (Grime Kids), Charlie Mann (Lazarus), newcomer Amina Abdi, and Albert Magashi (National Theatre Live: Dear England).

Unfortunately, we’re not able to tell you anything about the roles these actors will be playing, because all plot and character details are currently being kept under wraps.

At the helm of Primate is genre regular Johannes Roberts, who has previously directed Hellbreeder, Darkhunters, Forest of the Damned, F, Roadkill, Storage 24, The Other Side of the Door, 47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. He also contributed a segment to the horror anthology V/H/S/99. Roberts has written the Primate screenplay with his frequent collaborator Ernest Riera.

It was recently announced that a third movie in the 47 Meters Down franchise, 47 Meters Down: The Wreck, is coming our way. Roberts and Riera wrote the screenplay, but Roberts has passed directing duties on that one over to My Bloody Valentine 3D director Patrick Lussier.

At the start of last year, former DC Films boss Walter Hamada signed a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures, the idea being that he would become, as Deadline put it, “the architect of Paramount’s mainstream horror genre pod, with the mission to release several low- to mid-budget films per year across theatrical and streaming.” Primate is part of Hamada’s horror-minded efforts at Paramount, and he is producing the film through his 18hz production company alongside John Hodges and Bradley Pilz.

Does Primate sound interesting to you? What do you think of the cast that has been assembled for this Johannes Roberts horror film? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The fan-favorite director talks about his latest film and the inspiration he drew from his own teenage years.

In the four decades he has released films, director Kevin Smith has done everything from romantic comedies to epic fantasy comedies to animated comedies and even horror comedies. While Smith certainly has a niche audience that has stuck with him since the 1990s, the director has never shied away from making movies he would have loved to have watched and movies he feels personally connected with. Smith has continued producing and fostering other projects while making his own films, and his latest project may be one of his best.

The 4:30 Movie is a coming-of-age tale set in the 1980s when hanging out with your friends at the local multiplex was the height of entertainment. Inspired by the director’s own youth in suburban New Jersey, The 4:30 Movie is distinct from Smith’s other movies in many ways. While it does not feature Jay or Silent Bob, the movie does connect nicely back to elements from the ViewAskewniverse without being beholden to the films that came before it. With solid supporting turns from Jason Lee, Ken Jeong, Genesis Rodriguez, Jason Mewes, Sam Richardson, and many more stalwarts from Smith’s repertory players, the real stars are the young lead actors played by Austin Zajur, Nicholas Cirillo, Reed Northrup, and Siena Agudong.

I chatted with writer/director Kevin Smith about the movie, which was, surprisingly, one he was not fully confident in. Smith shared how my review and others helped him regain faith in The 4:30 Movie after the Sundance Film Festival rejected it. We also talked about whether Smith would ever make a Grindhouse-style film full of nothing but fake trailers and the mid-credit scene that connects The 4:30 Movie back to the start of Smith’s career. Check out the full interview in the embed above.

The 4:30 Movie is available on digital.

About the Author

Alex Maidy has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of Chicago Indie Critics, Alex has been JoBlo.com’s primary TV critic and ran columns including Top Ten and The UnPopular Opinion. When not riling up fans with his hot takes, Alex is an avid reader and aspiring novelist.

Todd Phillips’s highly-anticipated musical Joker: Folie à Deux tap dances its way into theaters with $7M in Thursday previews.

Who’s ready to cut a rug with Arthur Fleck and Lee Quinzel? Joker: Folie à Deux, Todd Phillips’s highly anticipated sequel to his 2019 billion-dollar barnburner, Joker, is finally tap-dancing for fans in theaters with a $7M take in Thursday preview screenings. On Thursday, showings began at 3 p.m., with analysts saying the film could earn $50M over the weekend. Phillips’s divisive sequel cost a reported $190M+, so WB hopes the experimental DC film has legs.

While looking at the numbers, we see that Joker: Folie à Deux previews are down 47% from the original, which garnered $13.3M in early screenings and earned $96.2M during its weekend debut.

Todd Phillips recently said he’s no longer making DC movies, which could be in the filmmaker’s best interest. Joker fanboys have been nervous about the sequel’s musical elements for months, and initial reactions to the film from many people who loved the first one are grim. PostTrak published a 1/2 star score with a 40% positive rating, similar to Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded disasterpiece Megalopolis (45%). Meanwhile, 24% of viewers say they’ll recommend Joker: Folie à Deux to their friends. The movie performs poorly on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 37% Critic Score, nose-diving from an initial 62% Fresh posting.

While poking around on social media, I’ve seen some scathing fan reviews for Joker: Folie à Deux, with many saying the sequel is a disappointing “courtroom drama” that doesn’t offer any of the messaging or cerebral thrills of the original. However, outliers say some people are being too harsh on the film and “don’t get it.” WB should hope audiences decide to show up this weekend to decide for themselves about the film’s quality instead of taking online outrage as gospel.

JoBlo’s Editor-in-Chief, Chris Bumbray, reviewed Joker: Folie à Deux, saying it “feels like an anticlimax,” but suspects something more masterful awaits after multiple viewings. You can read Chris’s full review here.

Will you see Joker: Folie à Deux this weekend? Is the negative word-of-mouth killing tarnishing your excitement? Let us know if you plan to see the movie regardless of the online noise in the comments below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Brittany Snow, Natalie Morales, and more have joined Claire Danes in the cast of the Netflix mystery thriller The Beast in Me

Claire Danes (Homeland) may have turned down the role of Pamela Voorhees in Peacock’s upcoming Friday the 13th streaming series Crystal Lake, but back in March she did sign on to star in the mystery thriller limited series The Beast in Me for Netflix. Matthew Rhys (Perry Mason) joined Danes in the cast back in August, and now Deadline has revealed the names of four more cast members. They are: Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect), Natalie Morales (No Hard Feelings), David Lyons (Truth Be Told), and Tim Guinee (Horizon: An American Saga).

Created, written, and executive produced by Gabe Rotter, who previously worked on The X-Files, The Beast in Me has the following synopsis: Since the tragic death of her young son, acclaimed author Aggie Wiggs (Danes) has receded from public life, unable to write, a ghost of her former self. But she finds an unlikely subject for a new book when the house next door is bought by Nile Jarvis (Rhys), a famed and formidable real estate mogul who was once the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. At once horrified and fascinated by this man, Aggie finds herself compulsively hunting for the truth – chasing his demons while fleeing her own – in a game of cat and mouse that might turn deadly.

Snow will be playing Nina, Nile’s spouse; Morales is Shelley, Aggie’s ex-wife; Lyons’ character is FBI agent Brian Abbot; and Guinee will play Wrecking Ball, an intimidating presence in Nile’s life. It’s not surprising to hear that the guy is intimidating, given that he’s called Wrecking Ball.

Rotter and Danes serve as executive producers on the show alongside Conaco’s Conan O’Brien, Jeff Ross, and David Kissinger, director Antonio Campos, writer Daniel Pearle (American Crime Story), Jodie Foster and Caroline Baron, and showrunner Howard Gordon, whose previous credits include Homeland, 24, and The X-Files. Gordon is executive producing through his company Teakwood Lane Productions. 20th Television is the studio behind the project.

The set-up sounds interesting and a solid cast has been assembled for the show, so I’m looking forward to seeing how The Beast in Me is going to turn out.

Does The Beast in Me sound interesting to you? What do you think of the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.