“Terrifier 3” director and writer Damien Leone reveals returning cast members with production starting in February and plans for a “satisfying conclusion” in the trilogy….
“Terrifier 2” became a viral sensation after the movie with a budget of just over $250,000 that went onto earn more than $15 million at the box office and now a third movie is on the way.
“Terrifier 3” is set to land in theaters on October 25 with the film set at Christmas this time around as the murderous mute Art the Clown continues his rampage of terror. Damien Leone will once again write and direct the film with David Howard Thornton back to play Art the Clown once again.
Leone has now confirmed more returning cast members including Lauren LaVera, who will reprise her role as Sienna after she decapitated Art the Clown in the closing moments of “Terrifier 2.” Samantha Scaffidi, who portrayed Victoria in both “Terrifier” and “Terrifier 2” will also return as well as Elliot Fulham, who plays Sienna’s younger brother Jonathan, is also coming back.
Another cast member returning for “Terrifier 3” will be professional wrestling star Chris Jericho after he made a brief appearance in the sequel during the final scene that showed Art the Clown being reborn in an insane asylum where Victoria is housed. Leone teased that there are major new characters joining the franchise but he can’t reveal much about them just yet.
“There are a few new major characters introduced in three, one in particular that it’s too soon for me to announce,” Leone told Deadline. “What I think I can say at this stage is that Chris Jericho is going to be returning. He’s super excited. This one is going to pick up where Part 2 left off, in the insane asylum, so, you’re going to see what transpires there, what mayhem unfolds, because seeing how Art and Victoria ended up, is so insane, and seeing how they get out of that situation and what happens next is going to be really wild. So, we have to get Chris back in there and see how he becomes a part of that situation.”
Leone revealed that production on “Terrifier 3″ is set to begin in February and he’s already finished the script, although he’s constantly tweaking and revising it while also getting notes from LaVera as his leading lady in the film. While he didn’t say that ‘Terrifier 3” will be the last film in the series, Leone stated that he’s written an ending that could potentially finish the trilogy but he’s certainly not saying that “Terrifier” will come to an end with the third movie.
“It’s pretty locked in. It’s pretty solid,” Leone said about the script. “I’m speaking to the main actors and Lauren constantly, I’m always asking for her notes, and she’ll go through the script, and she’ll do a whole redline that I ask for, and I want to hear everything she has to offer, even in regards to other characters or other scenes, but especially with her character.
“The overall plot and structure of this franchise was pretty much cemented when I wrote Part 2, which is very comforting because it’s kind of scary to be lost in the woods, and be scrambling, and trying to figure out if there is a satisfying conclusion down the line and I feel like I do have one. [“Terrifier”] doesn’t have to end, and you know, once we open the door of the supernatural, anything’s possible in this franchise. So, I don’t think you could ever officially put the nail in the coffin, but if I ever did want to end it, I now have a satisfying conclusion for myself as an artist, as the creator.”
Leone made sure to add “the door can always be opened” to another film but he’s also got other projects in the works beyond “Terrifier 3.”
He’s currently developing a project with director Sam Raimi’s production company Ghost House Pictures and another possible film he’s interested in developing outside of the horror genre that’s an “action sort of thriller revenge film from the ’80s” that he calls a “dream come true” if he gets to direct it.
For now, Leone, LaVera and company will continue preparing for “Terrifier 3” production to start in February with the film set for release in October.
