Last of the Monster Kids

Last of the Monster Kids
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Wednesday, December 25, 2024

RECENT WATCHES: Terrifier 3 (2024)


After spending far too much time pondering on it, I think I understand the central thesis of the "Terrifier" films. If you grew up in the eighties and early nineties, you probably remember the moral panic around slasher movies. That they were pornographic displays of sadism, nothing but gore, vile and evil. You'd stand in the horror section of the video store, look at the box art, and imagine what grotesque images could possibly be contained on those tapes. This was all bullshit, of course, exaggeration by cultural critics who hadn't seen the films in question. No eighties slasher was truly that bad. With "Terrifer," Damien Leone set out to design a slasher franchise that is actually as disgusting and amoral as those mythical movies long described but never unearthed. Whether the resulting films have been good or not is another question altogether. I was middling on the first, begrudgingly admired some elements of the second. They are popular though, astonishingly so. Movies made entirely for the hardcore gore hound audience have instead become mainstream. "Terrifier 3" opened at number one at the box office this past October and quickly became the highest grossing unrated film of all time. This was simply unprecedented for a low budget horror flick that went into wide release without passing by the MPAA's delicate eyes. Whether you like them or not, you can't be a horror fan and ignore "Terrifier" anymore. This is Art the Clown's moment and he is our modern Jason Voorhees. 

Despite being released two weeks before Halloween, "Terrifier 3" is set at Christmas. After his previous massacre, Art the Clown's body retrieves the new head born from Victoria Hayes, his mutilated victim from the original film. She now follows him, possessed by a demonic spirit. Five years pass. Sienna Shaw, who defeated Art last time, leaves treatment, scarred mentally and physically. She lives with her Aunt Jess and Uncle Greg, as well as her beloved niece, Gabbie. It's the holidays but Sienna is still having visions of Art the Clown. She attempts to reconnect with her little brother, now in college, who simply wants to move on with his life. Art and Victoria awaken and resume their brutal killing spree, the murderous mime donning a Santa suit. It's not long before they are tracking Sienna down at her new home. She is not simply a random victim. She shares a destiny with Art the Clown and his evil envoy. 

As in the first two entries, "Terrifier 3" is as much show reel for its extravagant gore effects as it is anything else. The movie is filled, top to bottom, with graphic displays of dismemberment and torture. As also in the previous films, the violence is not exactly realistic, always looking like the elaborate prosthetics they are. Also true is that the murder scenes show a vicious sadism, focusing on the agony and terror Art's victims feel as their bodies are torn apart in horrific new ways. Liquid nitrogen assisted attacks, an extensive application of a chainsaw to an exposed body, and a complete disregard for the lives of young children are among the most vicious moments here. As always, Art the Clown treats the mayhem he reaps as a big joke while obviously delighting at the misery he causes, an approach the film rarely retreats from sharing. Similar to my reaction to the first two, it should be easy to dismiss "Terrifer 3" as nothing but edge lord nonsense designed to push buttons and bloodily waltz past standards of decency. However, Leone and his team do show a degree of skill. Obviously, the gore effects are elaborate and well done, sinew and bone torn asunder often with the eyes of the ruined victims still moving or their bodies still twitching. Beyond that, "Terrifier 3" builds notable feelings out of the anticipation of this sickening violence. Once Art the Clown shows up at a mall or a college dorm or comes down the chimney of an innocent family's home, you know it's going to be bad. He's going to do something terrible and waiting for the hammer – and axe and chainsaw and box cutter and glass tube full of rats – to come down fills you with a sickly form of tension. It's not suspense, because that is based on the uncertainty of the outcome. It's dread, as you know what's coming is going to be awful but it is, unavoidably, for sure, coming. 

Again, these are films clearly made to make the most jaded horror fan gasp. As some sort of rejoinder to the vaginal trauma of the first film – and the following, totally understandable accusations of misogyny – the male genitalia is giving a similar extended punishment. This follows a woman's breasts being sawed through, somewhat avoiding whatever point of fair game Leone is making. Art doesn't simply tear down symbols of wholesome Americana, like Santa Claus or holiday gatherings or the crucifix, he eviscerates them extensively. And what the fuck does any of it mean? What stance is "Terrifer 3" taking? It's not subversive, not really, as there's no readable motivation behind Art the Clown's murderous rampage. It is cruelty for cruelty's sake, which is acknowledged in universe by now. The only real stand the movie makes is against the grotesquely insensitive true crime industry, as one of Art's victims is a podcast co-host with no sense of boundaries or good taste. 

At the same time, it's difficult to dismiss the movie as nothing but a pornographic deluge of nauseating violence. Because – and this is the part that fucks with me the most – these movies actually do care about their characters. While not quite matching "Terrifier 2's" 138 minute runtime, the sequel still dedicates extensive time to Sienna's lingering trauma. Lauren LaVera gives a thoughtful, serious performance. Her relationship with Gabbie is sweet, multiple scenes devoted to showing their bond. Her parents, the college roommate, the random building excavators, and the drunken Santa Claus are all people, fleshed out to various degrees. In its predictably gruesome final act, Art's misshapen and far chattier sidekick holds Sienna down. She tells her that there's no hope, no love, no God, that nothing matters. However, Sienna keeps resisting. Which means there's a sense of good and evil to everything that happens here. As much as "Terrifier 3" revels in unending and meaningless cruelty and sadism, it's not a nihilistic film. If anything, it's about holding out hope in the intrinsic goodness of certain principles – namely, a humanistic belief in the power of love and community – against an utterly heartless and black-souled world designed to destroy and corrupt whatever sincerity you have left. Does that mean Art the Clown isn't merely an immortal sadist in a Halloween costume, the modern fascination with evil clowns taken to its most extreme level, but a symbol for depression, hopelessness, and everything else about the world that makes us want to give up? After his act of mass violence at a shopping mall – which resembles any number of acts of real world terrorism – Uncle Greg watches a news story about it on the TV and gasps. Life is full of horrors but the love of those we care about keeps us moving forward. 

Once again, these ideas coexist alongside what is basically 125 minutes of what a 14 year old boy you shouldn't leave alone with pets would imagine if you asked him to write down the sickest shit he could think of. What pisses me off about these movies is that Art the Clown is, by any definition, a despicable villain. He exists to do nothing but inflict horrendous violence on innocent people, entirely for his own sick amusement. That doesn't mean he's comparable to Jigsaw or Mick Taylor or Rob Zombie's Firefly brood or the faceless thrill seekers of the "Hostel" movies. The so-called "torture porn" of the 2000s pretended to have a sense of realism, of grittiness, with villains who were, if not grave symbols of their own missions, meant to realistically emulate real life killers. Art the Clown is a joke. He's an attempt to create a modern day Freddy Krueger or Chucky, a sarcastic smart-ass that we can root for in a sick way or at least find somewhat likable. That truly bugged me about "Terrifiers" 1 and 2 but... God forbid, I think the guy is winning me over. That's entirely because David Howard Thornton is so talented at expressing the silent Art's – dare I say – almost child-like glee at what he does. When faced with a massive puddle of blood after dismembering two victims, he does what comes naturally. After massacring a family on Christmas Eve, he eats the milk and cookies left out for Santa and washes the plate. He smirks with wicked satisfaction after gruesomely transforming a human being into a shattered Christmas decoration. While playing Santa or eavesdropping on soon-to-be victims' conversation, he vamps and mimes gloriously. The dude commits to the fucking bit. It is, I am ashamed to admit... Entertaining. What the fuck does that say about me? And everybody else that has turned this asshole into a Halloween decoration, an internet meme, an image on a T-shirt, and an action figure? And is it in any way different from doing the same to Freddy or Jason? 

I suppose what leaves me so conflicted about "Terrifier 3" is that it is, simultaneously, very dumb and trashy while obviously understanding the rules for creating compelling characters and effective suspense. Damien Leone's budgets have gotten bigger but I think his visual technique has backslid. Much of "Terrifier 3" is shot in medium close-ups with the characters talking exactly in the center of the frame. The more artistic moments – a close-up on a pill bottle, a homage to a famous shot from "Friday the 13th Part 3" – are short lived, nothing here to match the synthwave day-glo visuals of part two's funhouse finale. The mythology being built up around these characters, which takes precedence in the last third, isn't unlike something from an edgy nineties comic book. Exactly the kind of stuff Sienna's Dad – one of several Monster-Mania worthy guest stars – is shown to draw in a flashback. It's a story of angels and demons needing physical vessels here on Earth, battling for some fuckin' reason, right out of a "Spawn" or "Lady Death" issue. Fanfiction level stuff that I am, despite myself, slowly growing interested in. I've seen comparisons to what Don Coscarelli did with the later "Phantasm" films and it's not that cool or organic. However, a vision involving an infernal blacksmith hammering away at some holy armor while a living Madonna statue keeps it on a leash is worthy of a metal album cover. The film ends by blatantly setting up "Terrifer 4" and I guess I'm on the hook for that. 

Hopefully this review didn't come off as too pissy. Few films in recent memory has pushed me to such levels of "I hate this but I also kind of like this" as these. Is this what Roger Ebert felt when he gave "The Devil's Rejects" a thumbs up? Should I swallow my pride and admit that Art has charmed me? That I'm impressed by Damien Leone's gumption and belief in the horror fandom turning his micro-budget shock show into a proper blockbuster? Would I have made something very much like this as a teenager if someone gave me access to far more resources than I needed? Probably, and I guess that's what annoys me the most. I'm such an insufferable, self-hating nerd sometimes. Anyway, what the fuck is my point? I'm not sure. I think I talked myself into admitting I'm a fan of these movies now but I feel dirty about it. Merry Christmas, sickos. [7/10]

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