Terrifier 4: A Possible Farewell to Art the Clown

You might think Damien Leone would run out of ways to depict bodies being absolutely eviscerated. But the director has proven with “Terrifier 3,” one of the nastiest horror movies ever made, that his mind is an endless font of murderous ingenuity. The threequel treats audiences to a cornucopia of bloody viscera, depicting Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton)’s latest homicidal rampage in such stark detail that “Terrifier 3” reportedly had people fleeing the theater and even throwing up during its opening scene.

Whatever you think of such unmitigated violence, the fact that Leone managed to accomplish his goal of topping the barbarity of “Terrifier 2” is, in its own way, impressive. The director has spoken about setting out to make slasher movies that Hollywood studios would never produce, and the fact he’s managed to top each film in the “Terrifier” saga with subsequent entries and make a surprising amount at the box office in the process is surely deserving of praise.

What’s more, Leone and Thornton have together managed to establish a slasher killer for this generation, with Art the Clown fast becoming a horror movie icon as the “Terrifier” films draw more and more attention with each release. Thornton himself contributed to Art’s pop culture appeal by infusing his murderous antics with a dark sense of humor, depicting a sort of depraved mime who delights in every piece of flesh he pulls from his helpless victims and silently cracking up at the grim tableaux he creates. But it seems his next outing might be his last, which makes exactly no sense considering the character’s growing appeal.

When the “Terrifier” universe began, it was as part of Damien Leone’s short films, with the director going on to give Art the Clown the feature treatment with 2016’s “Terrifier.” That was also the first film where David Howard Thornton portrayed the murderous clown, accompanying the character’s horrific acts with exaggerated movements and twisted showmanship, all while Art remained silent throughout.

Thornton’s performance is surely one of the reasons Art has gained the notoriety