Damien Leon’s grisly smash hitTerrifier 3expanded the lore behind Art the Clown and his arch-nemesis Sienna Shaw, and in doing so confirmed a theory about the silent demonic slasher. FromTerrifier 3’s controversial opening sceneto itswild cliffhanger ending, the third entry in the saga centered around Art the Clown elevates the franchise in terms of both inventive slasher kills and its steadily-building narrative. The threequel even added an acolyte in Art’s murderous mayhem in Victoria Heyes, the only survivor of the originalTerrifier.
BothTerrifierandTerrifier 2ended with Art appearing dead, and yet he was resurrected somehow in both movies, the second time with significant help from both Victoria Heyes andthe unsettling Little Pale Girl. That calls into question the true nature of Art the Clown, who began the franchise seemingly as ademented and depraved yet still mortal serial killer. While he may have started out that way, it became increasingly clear that Art may have something far more sinister driving him, andTerrifier 3further explored the demonic possibilities behind Art and his killer cabal.
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.
Terrifier 3 Confirms Art The Clown Is A Demon
The Threequel Opens Up The Religious Connections Of TheTerrifierUniverse
Art’s resurrection after a self-inflicted gunshot to the head in the ending of the originalTerrifiertook the franchise from a simple slasher flick to something more supernatural.It’s not uncommon for slashers to be effectively immortal, as Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger have all come back time and again. However, Art’s penchant for causing pain, fear, and humiliation in the course of his murders sets him apart from many of his contemporary killers. That led to the theory that Art may have been possessed by a demon at the end ofTerrifier.
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That notion was further supported byTerrifier 2, which introduced audiences to the Clown Café, which appeared to be Art’s own personal corner of Hell.Terrifier 3removed all doubt and confirmed that Art and his allies are in fact demons. All three began as humans, but asTerrifier 3reveals,each was used as a vessel by a demon due to their broken or volatile state; Art was a serial killer, Victoria was a mentally ruined victim of Art, and the Little Pale Girl was an outright demon impersonating one of Art’s former victims, Emily Crane.
It’s actually implied that since the Little Pale Girl was missing fromTerrifier 3and the last time audiences saw her she was fetching Art’s severed head, she is the demon that possessed Victoria for the events ofTerrifier 3. She may even be a representation of Satan himself, or at least a more powerful demon that the demon in Art the Clown serves. No matter how the demonic family tree breaks down,Terrifier 3confirms Art’s status as a demon.
How The 9th Circle Connects To Art Being A Demon
A Key Piece Of Art’s Greater Mythology Yields A Clue To His True Nature
FollowingTerrifier 3’s shocking ending, Art boards a bus that will take him somewhere away from Sienna, who he manages to escape from. A woman on the bus isreading a book titledThe 9th Circle, which actually connects to Art the Clown’s very first appearance.Damien Leone produced a short film in 2008 that was also titledThe 9th Circle, in which Art appears as a toned-down version of the terrifying countenance he possesses in theTerrifierfranchise. In the short, he is literally a servant of Satan, stalking and capturing a girl for a Satanic ritual.
Before being played by David Howard Thornton in theTerrifierfranchise, Art the Clown was portrayed by Mike Giannelli before he retired from acting.
“The Ninth Circle” is a reference to Dante Alighieri’s famous epic poemInferno, which follows Dante himself and the Ancient Roman poet Virgil as they journey into Hell itself. In the poem, there are nine “circles” of Hell, each reserved for a specific type of sinner, all of whom receive a specific type of punishment in accordance with their Earthly misdeeds. The Ninth Circle is the worst of them, and is where Satan is trapped for eternity.Terrifier 3’s conspicuous reference to the Ninth Circle confirms that Art and Vicky are products of Hell itself, and are in fact demons.
Can Art The Clown Die If He’s A Demon?
So Far, All Attempts Have Proven Unsuccessful
Art’s demonic nature casts significant doubt over whether he can actually be killed or not. Through three movies, he should have died at least three times: once from his headshot at the end ofTerrifier, once when he is beheaded by Sienna at the end ofTerrifier 2, and again when he is impaled at the end ofTerrifier 3.None of those “deaths” were enough to finish Art off for good, so it remains to be seen if he can be killed by conventional means. The more likely path to Art’s demise is related to Sienna Shaw’s growing power.
Terrifier 3’s Major Character Death Explained
Damien Leone’s Terrifier franchise continued with Terrifier 3, which saw one of the franchise’s major characters die along with many minor characters.
At the end ofTerrifier 3, Sienna is shown being able to heal herself, compounding upon her own resurrection at the end ofTerrifier 2. Her angel warrior costume fromTerrifier 2may actually be a representation of her true nature, whether she realized it at the time or not. The sword from her father was imbued with magical, and perhaps heavenly power so that it’s effective against the demonic Art and Vicky. While Art has survived multiple attacks,Sienna’s growing power as the divine inverse to his demonic corruption could spell his eventual doom.
What Art The Clown Being A Demon Means For Terrifier
TheTerrifierFranchise Is Much More Than A Slasher Series
Art’s status as a demon and Sienna’s status as a potentially angelic counterpart elevate the Terrifier franchise from a simple slasher series to something far more complex. While the franchise’s bread and butter will always be the inventive and disturbing ways that Art comes up with to dismember a human body,the overarching narrative has grown into an ultimate battle between the forces of good and evil. Magic swords, divine healing, and increasingly heavy religious symbolism all point to the franchise skewing more towards the supernatural.
It now seems well within the realm of possibility that Art could be a manifestation of Satan himself.
While the demon that possessed Victoria may have been defeated at the end ofTerrifier 3, the one that drives Art the Clown is still very much alive, and seems to be able to resist Sienna’s power to a greater degree. That points to Art perhaps having some sort of special status among the nightmarish denizens of the pits of Hell.It’s possible that he is a prominent servant of Satan, as he appeared to be inThe 9th Circle, but it also seems now well within the realm of possibility that Art could be a manifestation of Satan himself.
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.
