WARNING: Major spoilers for Terrifier 3 ahead!

Damien Leone's grisly slasher major character death and a nightmarish literal and metaphorical cliffhanger, and leaves very clear paths forward for both Art and Sienna.

While there were plenty of Terrifier 3's near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes audience score and domination of the domestic box office, Terrifier 4 will need to resolve the cliffhanger that already has fan-theory engines running wild.

Related
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.

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How Terrifier 3's Cliffhanger Ending Sets Up Terrifier 4

It Provides Sienna Shaw With A Clear Mission

Following Terrifier 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.

Terrifier Franchise Key Details

Movie

Release Date

Budget

Box Office Gross

RT Tomatometer Score

RT Popcornmeter Score

Terrifier

2016

$35,000-$55,000

$416,000

60%

53%

Terrifier 2

2022

$250,000

$15.7 million

86%

80%

Terrifier 3

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 both Terrifier 2 and now Terrifier 3 that she has a supernatural side just as Art does; her "angel warrior" character and costume from Terrifier 2 may 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 that Terrifier 4 will 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

Lauren LaVera as Sienna smiling standing next to Gabbie in Terrifier 3

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 of Terrifer 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 film The 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 the Terrifier 2 director's commentary (per Bloody 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 first Terrifier, but his resurrection at the end of that movie made him something else entirely. The reference to The 9th Circle at the end of Terrifier 3 makes 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 of Terrifier 3 indicates 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, then it's only a matter of time before Art gets a power-up as well. He received from the demon that possessed Vicky (the same one that took the form of the Little Pale Girl) in Terrifier 3, but Art's powers and abilities remained relatively unchanged from Terrifier 2 to Terrifier 3. He is due to become an even greater threat himself in Terrifier 4.

Sienna Needs To Permanently Defeat Art To End Terrifier

Their Battle Between Good And Evil Needs Closure

Lauren LeVara as Sienna Shaw looking frightened in Terrifier 2

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 the Terrifier franchise to end is for 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 be no 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

Sienna and Jonathan Shaw with her sword in Terrifier 2

It seems highly unlikely, given the absurd profit margins and glowing reputation that the franchise has established, that Terrifier 4 marks the end of the Terrifier series. The supernatural side of the Terrifier franchise 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, as Art's origins haven't truly even been explained.

On top of that, the Terrifier franchise has never really even left the fictional Miles County. Terrifier 3 changed 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 the Terrifier franchise has quickly become, it feels like it has the potential to be a long-running slasher franchise with many sequels beyond Terrifier 4.

Source: Bloody Disgusting

Terrifier 3 Poster

Your Rating

Terrifier 3
Not Rated
Horror
Release Date
October 11, 2024
Runtime
125 Minutes
Director
Damien Leone
  • Headshot Of Lauren LaVera
    Lauren LaVera
    Sienna
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    David Howard Thornton
    Art the Clown

WHERE TO WATCH

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.

Writers
Damien Leone
Franchise(s)
Terrifier
Studio(s)
Dark Age Cinema, Fuzz on the Lens Productions
Distributor(s)
Cineverse
Main Genre
Horror