I’m a sucker for Christmas-themed horror movies. The first horror film I ever saw, the 1972 British anthology Tales From The Crypt (directed by Freddie Francis), threw me right into the deep end of the pool. In one of the film’s five segments—eerily titled ‘And All Through the House’—an escaped lunatic dressed as Old Saint Nick dispenses his own brand of Karma on a woman named Joanne Clayton (Joan Collins) who’s just made it onto the ‘very naughty’ list by dispensing of her wealthy husband with a wrought iron fireplace poker (it’s always with a blunt object in the den!). Classic. And traumatizing for a 9 year-old, even one from the South Bronx. Then there’s Black Christmas, Christmas Bloody Christmas, A Christmas Horror Story, and Krampus, just to name a select few.

So my heart struck twelve to see that Bloody Disgusting and tech-savvy distributor/streamer Cineverse have dropped the boldly suggestive teaser for Damien Leone‘s TERRIFIER 3, that confirms that  Art The Clown (David Howard Thornton) has moved his weapon of choice (now an ax) from Halloween to Christmastime! The teaser is, we’re told, essentially the film’s “very controversial” opening scene. If you wonder how a horror film can get away with the morbid insinuation, it’s because Damien finances his movies independently and is not accountable to the studios during production. And we’re here for it.

Now if only Art would dispense with a certain Diva who keeps intruding on the All Hallows vibe with her shrill yuletide merriment. But I digress…

Damien Leone noted to Variety that he looks to return the franchise to the “gritty slasher” tone of  numero uno, and move away from the supernatural and fantasy realm of the second film. He also expanded on the new scope and scale of the third installment: “We’re going to have a bigger budget. We’re shooting in anamorphic widescreen, so I want it to feel more like an old-school John Carpenter movie. It’s going to still have that epic feel of part two, but now have the tone of part one with Christmas. It’s going to be a completely different beast. It’s going to look different. It’s going to feel different, but it’s still going to have everything you love in it. But it’s going to be very fresh. It’s not going to be like you’re sitting through part one or two all over again.”

Add the thought-provoking teaser below to that, and I think we’re all in for some blood-tinged milk and cookies! T3 will go into wide release on October 25, 2024, with a yet TBD streaming date via Cineverse’s niche-horror service Screambox.

Happy Horrordays.

TRIVIA: Art The Clown first appeared in the short film The 9th Circle (2008) as a background character, and subsequently took center stage in All Hallows’ Eve (2013). You can watch the full version of The 9th Circle HERE.