Terrifier 3

Director: Damien Leone
Starring: David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Elliott Fullam, Samantha Scaffidi, Margaret Anne Florence, Bryce Johnson, Antonella Rose, Chris Jericho, Daniel Roebuck, Tom Savini, Jason Patric, Krsy Fox, Alexa Blair Robertson, Mason Mecartea, Clint Howard
Running Time: 125 min.
Rating: Unrated

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

For many, the biggest surprise about the Terrifier series is its overnight rise from the humblest of beginnings into this widely popular franchise that has fans eagerly anticipating each new installment. The extremely low budgeted first film came and went but writer/director Damien Leone knew he had a potentially iconic villain in Art the Clown. Then came the 2022 sequel, which featured a more cohesive story, better acting and a noticeable production upgrade. But what really captured everyone's attention was graphic gore on a level rarely seen in mainstream horror.

With reports of moviegoers passing out and vomiting in theaters, being able to make it through one of these from start to finish sort of became a badge of honor. Now we've passed that point, as every entry comes with an advertised promise to go further than the last. And Leone holds up his end of the deal with Terrifier 3, continuing what's proven to be a very effective formula.

It's been five years since Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) decapitated and presumably killed sadistic serial killer Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton), but as Christmas arrives, she's released from a mental health facility to stay with her aunt Jess (Margaret Anne Florence), Jess's husband Greg (Bryce Johnson) and their young daughter Gabbie (Antonella Rose). But as Sienna struggles with PTSD while experiencing nightmares and hallucinations of Art, her younger brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) is now in college, attempting to move on in his own way.

It turns out Sienna's visions are frighteningly real, as Art isn't only alive, but has recruited previous survivor Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi) to join him in his latest killing spree. Possessed by the spirit of the "Little Pale Girl" after giving birth to Art's new head, they set their sights on an emotionally fragile Sienna, who must prepare for another traumatic encounter with the demonic clown. Only this time, the lives of her remaining family members also hang in the balance.

Revealing a five-year time jump right out of the gate, one of the big differences here is that action revolves around a holiday other than Halloween, with Leone really leaning into the yuletide theme. As a result, we get an abundance of Christmas related sequences that take full advantage of Thornton's physical and comedic timing. Or more accurately, it's just a great excuse to get Art in a Santa costume, creating a disturbingly stark contrast between his jovial demeanor and gruesome brutality.

While nothing here tops the incredible "Clown Cafe" musical sequence from the last film, there are some nods to that as a scarred Sienna attempts to control the justifiable anxiety plaguing her. Aunt Jess is patient, Greg is skeptical and young Gabbie idolizes her older cousin, but realizes something's very wrong. We also get a deeper dive into Sienna's past with flashbacks involving her late father (Jason Patric) and the origin of the infamous sword. 

Jonathan fares only slightly better than his sister by burying his pain and trauma at school, until roommate Cole's (Mason Mecartea) Miles County Massacre obsessed girlfriend Mia (Alexa Blair Robertson) starts badgering him about appearing on her true crime podcast. All this buildup is more than sufficient, but as always, the spotlight's on Art, with the multi-year break doing little to suppress his bloodthirsty urges and sadistic sense of humor. 

Even by Terrifier standards, the opening home invasion is disturbingly over-the-top as Art masquerades as jolly St. Nick to slaughter an unsuspecting family. We also get this hilarious bar encounter with a Santa impersonator (Daniel Roebuck) and a particularly gory shower scene that ups the ante, highlighting Thornton's mime work and facial mugging from beneath the makeup. And despite Art seemingly getting annoyed by new accomplice Victoria early on, Samantha Scaffidi skillfully fills the "Little Pale Girl" void, delivering on the prior sequel's closing tease.

LaVera again proves to be the not so secret weapon of the series, portraying a Sienna who now fights to convince her family of Art's reemergence. Instead, her legitimate fears are chalked up to mental issues by everyone except Gabbie. Well played by Antonella Rose, the bond her character shares with Sienna adds a surprising amount of tension to an admittedly gross but thrilling final act that easily competes with the previous entry. And this time there's no attempt to even hide the fact we're getting a follow-up, as Leone leaves a dangling thread just begging to be tied up.

We fear not just for Sienna, but Gabbie, since the threat of Art is made more palpable by the film controversially establishing he won't hesitate in targeting children. And if anything seems destined to leave audiences with a bad taste in their mouths, it's that. Assuming there's still such a thing as going "too far," this definitely pushes the envelope, breaking one of the last unwritten rules in the genre. But by now viewers know exactly what they're getting into.    

Thanks to Thornton's continued brilliance as Art and some jaw dropping practical effect sequences, the series still manages to enthrall in its third outing. Moving forward, the real challenge will be in finding creative ways to keep it going once the shock value wears off. While hardly an improvement over the last, there's still a feeling Leone has places left to go with this concept. And considering how the Saw franchise recently produced its best sequel twenty years in, anything's possible.

The Munsters (2022)

Director: Rob Zombie
Starring: Jeff Daniel Phillips, Sheri Moon Zombie, Daniel Roebuck, Richard Brake, Sylvester McCoy, Jorge Garcia, Catherine Schell, Cassandra Peterson, Dee Wallace, Tomas Boykin, Butch Patrick  
Running Time: 110 min.
Rating: PG

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

One thing you can say for Rob Zombie's remake of The Munsters is that it's unironically sincere, leaving large traces of his affection for the classic 60's sitcom in just about every frame. Supposedly, Zombie wanted to go even further and film this in black and white until the powers that be intervened and nixed that. And it's a relief they did since its greatest attribute is the candy colored, live-action cartoon world brought to vivid life through the production design, costuming and cinematography. Despite a modest budget, it looks great and the tone feels just right, to the point that it's hard not to  admire his attempt, outside of the extent to which you think it works. 

Zombie will always have his detractors, but for better or worse, this completely feels like the movie he wanted to make for himself and diehards fans of the original. As someone who always thought it would be fascinating to see someone attempt a modern reboot of the campy 60's Batman series, this seems like the closest we'll get to discovering how that would play out. He doesn't change much, as all the corny humor, dad jokes and visual gags that went over huge in that decade are updated with a new cast whose looks and performances are directly patterned after their predecessors.

In Transylvania, mad scientist Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang (Richard Brake) and his hunchbacked henchman Floop (Jorge Garcia) are robbing graves for body parts to build his newest Frankenstein-like creation. But when Floop accidentally steals the head of a witless comedian instead of his brilliant astrophysicist brother, Wolfgang's stuck with a goofy monstrosity Floop names "Herman Munster" (Jeff Daniel Phillips). But for 150 year-old, single vampire, Lily (Sheri Moon Zombie), it's love at first sight when she catches Herman performing a stand-up routine on morning TV. 

Lilly's father, The Count (Daniel Roebuck) is far less impressed with this giant, bumbling oaf, but has even bigger problems, as vengeful ex-wife Zoya (Catherine Schell) has been using his werewolf son Lester (Tomas Boykin) in a scheme to get him to sign over the castle to her. Much to The Count's disdain, Herman and Lily begin dating and grow closer, but Herman's gullibility soon puts the family in financial jeopardy, pushing them into a modern suburban world they may not yet be ready for. 

Building the plot around an origin story that ends exactly where the original series begins allows Zombieto incorporate familiar elements of the sitcom, while simultaneously inserting the family into new situations that exploit The Munsters' fish-out-of-water premise. It's an admittedly clever angle to approach this from, but we knew going in just how much of it would ride on the performances and comedic set pieces. Considering Zombie's the last name you'd associate with PG comedy, he's surprisingly adept at it, managing to keep it as light and family friendly, even while the material does fit into his macabre wheelhouse. 

Zombie regular Jeff Daniel Phillips' version of Herman is a little whinier and more petulant than Fred Gwynne's, and while it's impossible for anyone to capture the humanity that legend brought to the role, he has the physical comedy down and delivers his one-liners with all the ham-fisted gusto you'd want from this iconic character. Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily will undoubtedly draw the ire of those again complaining she's been cast in too prominent a part, but she's good in it, effectively channeling, if sometimes intentionally overplaying, many of original actress Yvonne De Carlo's mannerisms and expressions. 

The two scene stealers are Daniel Roebuck's Count and Richard Brake's Wolfgang, with both actors not only gifted the best gags and one-liners, but greatly improving on them with dry deliveries that seem completely in line with the project's quirky intentions. It's not a coincidence that the film's best scenes tend to feature one of the two, with Brake even pulling double-duty as the grotesque Orlock, a disastrous early date for Lily. 

Elvira herself, Cassandra Peterson, has a small role as a realtor that's most notable for its normalcy and how few will recognize her, while Sylvester McCoy is sort of an afterthought as Igor, but still entertains with what he's given. But we'd be kidding ourselves in not acknowledging the biggest impression is made by the trippy, psychedelic visuals and Zoran Popovic's transcendent cinematography. There's also a concerted effort on the part of the makeup team and costume designers to have the actors' appearances not stray far at all from their original counterparts. 

Many of the weird transitions and editing choices were likely a result of Zombie attempting to invoke the style of the 60's sitcom, which he accomplishes almost too well. The family's arrival at 1313 Mockingbird Lane might be the film's strongest stretch, retroactively justifying what came before while invoking the subversiveness of the 90's The Brady Bunch movies with a clever twist. Comparisons will inevitably be made to The Addams Family big screen adaptations, which isn't entirely fair given how long we've been forced to "pick a side" between the two warring, but considerably different properties.

It's no surprise that this is already being declared the worst movie Zombie's ever made, a hyperbolic statement that would carry more weight if it wasn't uttered every time he releases a new project. The original sitcom still exists for viewers unhappy with what he's done, though those most put-off probably haven't seen the show in a while anyway, if at all. Still, there are pacing issues in the middle section that make you wonder if everything would have flowed smoother if this was just trimmed down to an hour and a half.  

Due to the overall aesthetic and relatively inspired choices made with the script, it's not impossible to envision this becoming a Halloween staple in the years ahead. Zombie retains some of his hillbilly trash hallmarks, while patching together a throwback creation that wouldn't seem out of place being introduced by a late night TV horror host like Morgus the Magnificent or Svengoolie. 

That some sections drag or don't work while entirely retaining the original's spirit begs the question: Is there still a place for The Munsters in the current era? The movie's plot actually asks this, providing discussion fodder that isn't so different from the endless debate surrounding reboots in general. But even accounting for the belief some things just shouldn't be touched, this isn't one of them. When it ends, there's a part of you left wondering why this isn't better considering all that Zombie gets right. On the other hand, it still somehow feels as good as it could possibly be.