John’s Horror Corner: Terrifier 3 (2024), perhaps the meanest and goriest of all “Christmas Horror”.

MY CALL: I mean, if you liked either of the first two movies, you’re gonna’ like this—extremely mean, cruel, and limit-pushing with its gore. And if you haven’t seen them, you should really start with part 1. MOVIES LIKE Terrifier 3: Well, obviously Terrifier (2016) and Terrifier 2 (2022). Then The Sadness (2021)… maybe Adam Chaplin (2011) and No Reason (2010). For more mainstream brutally mean-spirited movies, try The Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, Wolf Creek (2005), The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Hatchet (2006), or even The Strangers (2008, 2018) or The Purge (2013) movies. For more evil clown movies, try Stephen King’s It (1990, 2017), Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), Stitches (2012), Scary or Die (2012), Clown (2014), or Clown in a Cornfield (2025).

Sienna (Lauren LaVera; Terrifier 2) is home for the holidays with her uncle and cousin, still mentally healing from the events of Terrifier 2 (2022). This sequel builds heavily upon its mythology a la Halloween 4-5 (1988-1989) or A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (1987) as Sienna learns that as demons like Art come into our world, people like her are empowered to restore the balance. Yup, and like so many horror icons of past long-running franchises, Art (David Howard Thornton; Terrifier 1-2) somehow was not permanently killed in the previous movie. So, with the help of his old disfigured, faceless victim Victoria (Samantha Scaffidi; Terrifier 1-2), he’s eating faces and tearing off others’ flesh to rebuild his dark strength.

And amidst Art’s resurrection and background revelations, we enjoy wintery holiday throwback nods to The Shining (1980) and Black Christmas (1974). Presumably a sign of the franchise’s ongoing success, we enjoy cameos from Clint Howard (Silent Night Deadly Night 4-5, Ticks, Ice Cream Man, Evilspeak, Leprechaun 2, Lords of Salem), Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, From Dusk Till Dawn), Chris Jericho (Terrifier 2, Dark Match) and Jason Patric (The Lost Boys).

Somehow, film after film, our writer/director Damien Leone (All Hallow’s Eve, Terrifier 1-2) finds ways to keep the sick, brutal and macabre themes fresh for fans of the franchise with so, so, so much incredibly graphic gore. You hear every swinging ax penetration, the squishy splash of trying to yank the ax out, and the vacuum-like juicy sucking sound of each dislodgment.

We also gruesomely delight in a boxcutter scalping followed by a skull peeled off its still screaming flesh, a most vile self-pleasuring with a mirror shard, and a brutal liquid nitrogen gag. Seeing Art as a mall Santa was sadly not nearly as over-the-top as I’d hoped. But the movie provides for gorehounds in many other ways… like the chainsaw shower scene. Yeah, if that sounds feisty and exciting. It’s because it was. Art saws a young man right up the middle! Not to mention a gut-smothering and gut-choking finale. Who doesn’t love a little of that?

Frankly, I thought part 2 was the best. But part 3 surely satisfies. No surprise, our ending strongly indicates every intention of a sequel. And I’m totally in for that!