Terrifier 3 Release Date set for Halloween 2024

The release date for Terrifier 3 has finally been revealed. While it was previously announced that the film would be released towards the latter half of 2024, the specific date has now been revealed to be October 25, 2024. This sets the movie as a strong favorite to take the Halloween box office next year.

However, there is another reason why the later release date will suit Damien Leone’s threequel, as this time around Art the Clown will be raising hell over the festive holidays. A first for writer/director Leone’s horror franchise, the movie will join the ranks of Christmas based horror movies such as Krampus and Silent Night, Deadly Night, and abandon its usual setting of Halloween.

The previous film in the franchise, Terrifier 2, was a tremendous success on both a financial and critical level. According to Bloody Disgusting, it pulled in over $11 Million at the domestic box office and received a fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the likes of Stephen King speaking highly of it. The recent rerelease of Terrifier 2 allowed the first 100 fans to receive a poster of the new installment and delivered a preview for the next installment. Leone commented:

“Terrifier 2‘s remarkable success was driven not only by the insatiable appetite for new and thrilling horror icons like Art the Clown but also by its unparalleled theatrical release and marketing, along with its unyielding spirit. In a cinematic landscape where risk-taking is scarce, I will continue to push boundaries in Terrifier 3, and I can’t wait for you to see what’s in store for Art the Clown.”

RELATED: Terrifier 3 Poster Reveals Sequel Is a Christmas Horror Movie

Terrifier 3 Opening Promises to Push Boundaries

Set to the tune of “Silent Night,” the teaser for Terrifier 3 starts with a little girl waking up in bed. Going downstairs, she sees a figure dressed in a red suit and hat laying presents under the Christmas tree. She thinks it’s Santa, naturally, but it’s actually Art incognito. He picks up an ax and though we don’t see what happens next, Art’s track record suggests that it’s not anything good. After showing the new title card for the third movie, the teaser ends with Art sitting back, enjoying some milk and cookies.

The moment is remarkably similar to another low-budget movie, The Mean One. It, like the upcoming Terrifier 3, had Thornton playing someone who embarks on a Yuletide killing spree while dressed as the man with the bag. The main difference here being that instead of a mute clown, Thornton played a furry green monster remarkably similar to, but legally distinct from, the Grinch. The Mean One wasn’t as heavy on the gore either, which the Terrifier series is infamous for. According to Bloody Disgusting Managing Director Brad Miska, fans can expect the new Terrifier movie to deliver even more of the “anti-Hollywood ethos” that made Terrifier 2 so successful. He said:

“In the world of horror, Damien Leone’s Terrifier franchise stands as a defiant embodiment of anti-Hollywood ethos. With an unwavering commitment to delivering precisely what the fans desire, Leone has crafted an entirely independent sequel. Terrifier 3 is going to have nastier kills, a bigger budget and an even crazier storyline.”

During an interview, Leone shared that he had been in talks about bringing the series to a major studio. Ultimately, Leone opted out of going that route because of the creative restrictions that having to answer to a studio would put on the film. Teasing that the opening scene was going to be gory, controversial, and something that no studio would ever let him do, fans can only image in their worst nightmares how Leone may attempt to outdo the infamous bedroom scene of his last movie.