While the franchise's villain Art the Clown made the original movie a cult hit. 2022’s Terrifier 2 took this success to unprecedented heights with an extraordinary box office run.

Terrifier 2 made over $15 million upon release on a budget of only $250,000. In a surprising turn of events, the brutal slasher sequel also improved the franchise’s critical standing. Where the divisive Terrifier earned an average rating of 57% from critics on 2024’s sequel Terrifier 3 arrives burdened with serious expectations. Leone’s horror movie has been hyped as the scariest movie of 2024 and a gory extravaganza that outdoes both earlier slashers in the series.

Terrifier 3’s Early Reviews Are Even Better Than Terrifier 2’s Reception

Director Damian Leone’s Long-Awaited Sequel Lives Up To The Hype

All of this hype seems destined to lead to an inevitable critical disappointment for Terrifier 3. After all, the stomach-churning violence of the series is not for everyone and many mainstream critics have historically displayed a knee-jerk aversion to unabashedly gruesome, pointedly provocative gorefests. However, Terrifier 3’s early reaction proves the slasher sequel might be able to beat the odds and become a critical hit, reversing a traditional genre trend in the process. Typically, slasher franchises tend to lose, rather than gain, critical acclaim as they continue. Surprisingly, Terrifier 3’s Fantastic Fest premiere paints a very different picture.

The Terrifier movies may become a rare slasher series that gets better as it progresses, judging by the sequel’s first reviews. The AVClub called Terrifier 3 Art the Clown’s “Best outing yet,” while SlashFilm commended the slasher sequel for accomplishing its “Dark mission” while displaying “Skill that is undeniable.” DreadCentral called Terrifier 3 the “Ultimate thrill ride,” while Gizmodo noted that it was “Hard not to respect” the ambition of the ghastly, gruesome horror. As a sampling of Terrifier 3’s first reactions, this is about as unambiguously positive a reception as the infamously controversial series could hope for.

Terrifier May Become The Rare Slasher Franchise To Get Better With Each Movie

Most Of The Horror Sub-Genre's Famous Franchises Decline With Age

Although Terrifier 2’s RottenTomatoes success was already impressive, Terrifier 3’s reception means the series could become a rare slasher franchise that improves with each new outing. The sub-genre’s four most famous franchises, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween, Scream, and Friday the 13th, all faced a more predictable pattern when it came to their critical reception. All of these series included at least one sequel that was unexpectedly well received, whether it was New Nightmare, Halloween 2018, Scream 2022, or Friday the 13th VI: Jason Lives!. However, as a rule, each franchise’s reviews declined as they continued.

Terrifier 3 takes the improvements that Terrifier 2 added to the franchise formula and uses these to make the Christmas horror movie Art the Clown’s most engaging killing spree yet.

Few slasher franchises reach the heights of their first installments, let alone outdo them. However, it seems as if Terrifier 3 is poised to do exactly that. According to its earliest reviews, 2024’s scariest movie, Terrifier 3, takes the improvements that Terrifier 2 added to the franchise formula and uses these to make the Christmas horror movie Art the Clown’s most engaging killing spree yet. Critics noted that Lauren LaVera’s returning Final Girl Sienna feels more rounded and relatable this time around, while the pacing has improved since Terrifier 2’s unnecessarily lengthy runtime.

Terrifier 3’s Biggest Critical Test Is Yet To Come

Terrifier 3 Might Struggle With More Mainstream Critics Upon Release

Although early reviews from outlets like The AVClub are unexpectedly stellar, Terrifier 3’s biggest test will be reviews from mainstream critics. While Terrifier 2 was an unlikely box office smash, the sequel was mostly reviewed by horror-centric outlets like BloodyDisgusting and DreadCentral. The New York Times, The AVClub, RogerEbert.com, RollingStone, and The LA Times all ignored the sequel outright, covering only its unlikely box office success and never officially reviewing Terrifier 2. Terrifier 3’s wide release will change that, and Terrifier 2’s only major mainstream reviews prove its reception could go one of two ways.

Terrifier 3 will be released on October 11, 2024.

In a thoughtful but ultimately negative write-up for Variety, critic Owen Gleiberman questioned why Terrifier 2 existed and stopped well short of recommending the movie. In a less ponderous Guardian review, Sammy Gecsoyler dubbed the sequel “Absurd fun rather than completely cruel.” Mainstream outlets may follow The Guardian’s approach and write off Terrifier 3’s gore as a bracing acquired taste, albeit one with artistic merit, or the sequel’s major reviews may refuse to recommend the sequel based on its shameless disregard for good taste. This will ultimately decide Terrifier 3’s critical standing and, by extension, the Terrifier franchise’s overall reception.

Sources: RottenTomatoes

AVClub

SlashFilm

DreadCentral

Gizmodo

Variety

Guardian