Extreme horror film that caused viewers to ‘vomit’ to feature major moment in sequel

The Terrifier films have become lucrative box-office hits

The director of the notorious Terrifier series has confirmed that a fourth film is in the works and will feature a significant revelation about its maniacal serial killer.

The Terrifier films follow the exploits of the mute and sadistic Art the Clown, played by David Howard Thornton. They have become infamous among horror fans for featuring extreme levels of violence and gore.

The second film, released in 2002, reportedly made people “pass out” in theatres, something that director Damien Leone denied was a “marketing ploy” created to promote the independent movie.

In 2024, Terrifier 3 came with a warning, telling viewers that they might feel “unwell”, with some audience members reportedly vomiting in cinemas. It was also met with a rare ban in France.

Leone, 43, has now announced on Instagram that Terrifier 4 is in production. In his post, which featured an image of a blood-splattered script, the director wrote: “Thank you all so much for the amazing birthday wishes. I’m truly blessed to know so many wonderful human beings.

“I might as well take advantage of this day and give all of the Terrifier fans a little present in return – The script for Terrifier 4 is underway and it is shaping up to be the most epic, horrifying, thrilling, emotional and satisfying conclusion to the Terrifier saga.

David Howard Thornton in ‘Terrifier 3’ (AP)

“I’ve personally never been so excited to see one of my own scripts translate to the screen like this one.”

Leone added: “PS I will finally reveal Art’s origin in this entry. Thank you all again.”

Throughout all three Terrifier films to date, Art the Clown has not spoken a single word and audiences have learnt almost nothing about the character’s origins or motives.

All of the Terrifier films have generated remarkable box office revenues, with the third film earning more than $89m (£71m), despite costing just $2m (£1.6m) to make.

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The popularity of the films has seen Leone claim that an unnamed major studio approached him intending to reboot Terrifier for a more mainstream horror audience but on one demand.

David Howard Thornton in ‘Terrifier 2’ (Signature)

Talking to Total Film, he said: “They wanted to reboot it for a wider audience. That’s not what I was interested in. They would say, ‘It’s gotta be rated R, it can’t be as gory as you made it.’”

The director added: “I knew they’d never let me shoot the first 10 minutes of what I wanted to do [in Terrifier 3]. So I thought, ‘Let’s just stay true to what this franchise is.’”