WARNING: Major spoilers for Terrifier 3 ahead!
Damien Leone’s grisly slasherTerrifier 3took the battle between Art the Clown and his nemesis Sienna Shaw to new depths, but afterTerrifier 3’s cliffhanger endingit will be on the franchise’s next chapter to resolve their ongoing narrative. After a predictably gut-churning amount of carnage left in the wake of Art and his acolyte, Victoria Heyes, the murderous clown confronts Sienna Shaw once again in the movie’s climax. Their face-off involves amajor character deathand a nightmarish literal and metaphorical cliffhanger, and leaves very clear paths forward for both Art and Sienna.
While there were plenty ofkills inTerrifier 3that could induce vomit, it felt like a forgone conclusion that Art and Sienna would make it through the threequel. The ending ofTerrifier 3was clearly not meant to provide any finality for their ongoing conflict, and almost plays like the first part of a two-part story. With another chapter all but guaranteed to be on the way afterTerrifier 3’s near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes audience scoreand domination of the domestic box office,Terrifier 4will need to resolve the cliffhanger that already has fan-theory engines running wild.
All 6 Art The Clown & Terrifier Movies Ranked, Worst To Best
Art the Clown has a history that extends before the Terrifier franchise, and each appearance varies in both length and overall quality.
How Terrifier 3’s Cliffhanger Ending Sets Up Terrifier 4
It Provides Sienna Shaw With A Clear Mission
FollowingTerrifier 3’s emotional final kill, Sienna Shaw and her young cousin Gabbie are able to outwit their captors, Art and Vicky, and get Sienna’s magic sword into her hands.Sienna is able to behead Vicky and skewer Art, but in the fray,the demon that was possessing Vicky opens up a portal in the floor. Gabbie falls into the hellish pit, managing to hang on to the side for long enough to give Sienna time to try and reach her with the sword. Unfortunately, Gabbie falls off the precipice, taking the sword with her and slicing Sienna’s hands in the process.
2016
$35,000-$55,000
$416,000
60%
53%
2022
$250,000
$15.7 million
86%
80%
2024
$2 million
$18 million (and counting)
77%
94%
Therein lies the new path for Sienna. Sienna vows that she will find her cousin, and her hands magically heal in front of her eyes. Sienna proved in bothTerrifier 2and nowTerrifier 3that she has a supernatural side just as Art does; her “angel warrior” character and costume fromTerrifier 2may actually be an indication of her true powers and abilities. Her continued resolve, despite the incredible loss she’s suffered at Art’s hands, means thatTerrifier 4will see her setting out to find Gabbie, and kill Art once and for all in the process.
Sienna’s Mission To Save Gabbie Could Take Terrifier 4 To Hell
Sienna Now Needs To Free Her Cousin From The Pits Of Hell
While it’s not explicitly stated, it’s pretty clearly implied that the pit that Gabbie fell into was actually a portal to Hell itself. The hole opened up after Vicky’s blood poured across the ground and something that appeared like smoke or mist flowed out of her corpse. Vicky was pretty clearly possessed during the events ofTerrifer 3, with the dark echo in her voice and apparent immortality (prior to her beheading, anyway).The demon likely opened up the portal to escape back to Hell, and Gabbie unfortunately fell in as it fled.
Art the Clown’s true first appearance came in Damien Leone’s short filmThe 9th Circle, and featured Art as an agent of Satan who helps kidnap a young woman to be used in ritual sacrifice.
That means, in order to rescue Gabbie,Sienna will have to find a way into Hell. Sienna has experienced something similar before, as she found herself trapped in the nightmarish Clown Café after being killed by Art. Damien Leone clarified that the Clown Café was a subconscious divine test and not an actual location in theTerrifier 2director’s commentary (perBloody Disgusting), but the real Hell will certainly feature similar horrors. Sienna will need the divine power she seemingly now has if she expects to not only find her way to Hell, but return with her cousin in tow.
Art Could Come Back Stronger Than Before
Another Resurrection Could Power Him Up
Art was a depraved but “normal” serial killer in the firstTerrifier, but his resurrection at the end of that movie made him something else entirely.The reference toThe 9th Circleat the end ofTerrifier 3makes it clear that the powers behind Art and Sienna are actually the most significant forms of good and evil;theirs is a battle between the forces of Heaven and Hell. That means that it’s possible that Art will come back even more powerful than before.
Sienna healing her hands at the end ofTerrifier 3indicates that she’s beginning to realize just how much divine power she has. If she is in fact a representation of the divine on Earth, thenit’s only a matter of time before Art gets a power-up as well. He received support from the demon that possessed Vicky (the same one that took the form of the Little Pale Girl) inTerrifier 3, butArt’s powers and abilitiesremained relatively unchanged fromTerrifier 2toTerrifier 3. He is due to become an even greater threat himself inTerrifier 4.
Sienna Needs To Permanently Defeat Art To End Terrifier
Their Battle Between Good And Evil Needs Closure
With Sienna and Art being set up as avatars for the forces of good and evil, their conflict needs to come to a satisfying conclusion. Sienna now has her own lore and history, complete with an origin story related to her father, his illness, and his connection to Art the Clown. The only truly satisfying way for theTerrifierfranchise to end isfor Sienna to find a way to defeat Art once and for all, with the powers of good triumphing over evil.
Sienna has to be the one to free the citizens of Miles County and the world at large from Art’s evil reign, and in doing so provide closure for herself after Art took so much from her.
Art’s immortality is his greatest weapon as the franchise currently stands, so there needs to be some stakes and risk for him, otherwise the series will risk becoming boring and repetitive. There would beno point in building Sienna’s character and giving her divine powers only for her to die at Art’s hands, just as so many others have. She has to be the one to free the citizens of Miles County and the world at large from Art’s evil reign, and in doing so provide closure for herself after Art took so much from her.
Will Terrifier 4 Be The Final Entry In The Franchise?
The Franchise’s Fanbase Is Still Growing
It seems highly unlikely, given the absurd profit margins and glowing reputation that the franchise has established, thatTerrifier 4marks the end of theTerrifierseries. The supernatural side of theTerrifierfranchise has come to the forefront in the last two chapters, with Art’s conflict against Sienna slowly developing into a microcosm of the grand cosmic battle between good and evil in the universe. There is still so much to explore in that regard, asArt’s origins haven’t truly even been explained.
On top of that, theTerrifierfranchise has never really even left the fictional Miles County.Terrifier 3changed the angle a bit by setting the events at Christmas instead of Halloween, but for the most part the franchise has hit many of the same notes. It would be entertaining to see Art up to his usual malevolent mischief in different locations, perhaps even independent of his battle with Sienna. With how popular theTerrifierfranchise has quickly become, it feels like it has the potential to be a long-running slasher franchise with many sequels beyondTerrifier 4.
Terrifier 3
Cast
Terrifier 3 follows Sienna and her brother as they attempt to move past the traumatic events of Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre. As they embrace the Christmas season, Art reemerges, intent on turning their holiday into a nightmare, continuing his reign of terror.
