Terrifier (film series)

Terrifier (2016)

On Halloween night, partygoer Tara Heyes (Jenna Kanell), her friend Dawn (Catherine Corcoran) and Tara's 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.^[7][8][9]

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,^[10] 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.^[11]

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, [with] a 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."^[12] 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.^[13]

In September 2024, Leone officially confirmed that Terrifier 4 is in development.^[14][15] Although originally intended to be the conclusion of the franchise,^[16] 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.^[17][18][19] 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.^[20]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."^[21] WWE wrestler Rhea Ripley in a 2025 interview talked about how badly she wanted to appear in the fourth film. After hearing her comments, Damien Leone replied by teasing that she could appear in the next film by saying "The wheels are turning @RheaRipley_WWE."^[22]

In an October 2025 interview with Slasher Radio, David Howard Thornton discussed Terrifier 4, saying, “I'm very excited, but I don't know a whole lot, because this time around Damien has been keeping everything very close to his vest about what's happening in the script. Lauren [Lavera], Samantha [Scaffidi], and I, in the past when he's been writing the other scripts, he's been consulting us the whole entire time, running ideas by us. This time, he's been pretty much silent. He just goes, 'Oh yeah, you're gonna love the origin story, Dave. You're gonna love how we do it.' And he said also, 'The finale is bat-shit insane. You're gonna have a lot of fun with that.' Other than that, I don't know, but that makes me excited." Thornton also gave his input on if this will truly be the finale of the franchise by saying, "I feel like this might be the finale of this story arc that [Leone]'s going with for right now and might give it a rest for a few years and might return later on to it. I have no idea, but I'm excited nonetheless. I have so much faith in him."^[23]

Box office and financial performance

Critical and public response

Literature

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.^[44][45]

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.^[46][47]

Video games

Art the Clown appeared as a playable character in the battle royale game Call of Duty: Warzone, the first-person shooter game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, and the battle royale game Fortnite.^[48]

In October 2024, a beat 'em up game titled Terrifier: The ARTcade Game was announced and released on November 21, 2025 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.^[49]

Music

A song by Ice Nine Kills based on Art the Clown called "A Work of Art" is featured in Terrifier 3.^[50]

Universal's Halloween Horror Nights (2025)

On July 10, 2025, it was announced that a Terrifier-themed haunted house would appear at Halloween Horror Nights 2025 in Universal Studios Hollywood and Halloween Horror Nights 34 in Universal Orlando Resort. It also featured scare actors depicting various versions of Art roaming throughout the park.^[51]