'Terrifier 3' Ending Explained: Art the Clown Carves His Way Through the Holidays (2025)

Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for 'Terrifier 3'.

Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 is one of the biggest horror releases of 2024. After seemingly being defeated at the climax of Terrifier 2, the start of the third installment proves that Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) has unfinished business. Terrifier 3 takes place over the holiday season and sees Art dressed as Santa Claus, carrying his big sack of presents, with much more sinister contents that will be used to dispose of the supporting cast. The Christmas setting feels very vintage and classical, and if the imagery isn’t clear enough, the movie constantly reminds you it’s the festive period by playing choral Christmas carols. Art is up to his usual slasher antics in Terrifier 3, but just how brutal are the kills this time around?

How is Art the Clown Resurrected in 'Terrifier 3'?

The end of Terrifier 2 saw Art the Clown decapitated by Sienna (Lauren LaVera), but it was fairly obvious Art wouldn’t stay dead for long. The question wasn’t if Art would come back to life, that was actually resolved in a mid-credit scene where Victoria birthed Art’s head, the question was how would he come back? The opening sees Art’s decapitated body being discovered before attacking the man who found him. Art gets onto a subway train and is seen attaching the head of the man he attacked onto his own. It adds a new layer of Art’s supernatural abilities. He eventually makes his way to Victoria’s psychiatric ward and reunites his head with his body, killing the nurses (Leah Vaysey and Chris Jericho) from the second movie in the process.

The movie then jumps five years to the present day to catch up with Sienna, who is visiting her Aunt Jessica (Margaret Anne Florence), Uncle Greg (Bryce Owen Johnson), and their daughter Gabbie (Antonella Rose), who really looks up to Sienna. It is clear Sienna is still suffering from the events of the previous movie, as visions of her mangled friends appear before her. Her brother Jonathan (Elliot Fullam) is now in college, and consequently a much smaller part of Terrifier 3. As for Art the Clown and Victoria, they have been dormant in an abandoned building for the past five years only to be woken by the demolition men coming to survey the property. It is whilst out shopping with Gabbie that Sienna sees Art and realizes history is repeating itself.

How Does 'Terrifier 3' Expand on Art the Clown’s Backstory?

Art is still his exaggerated self, as an early scene showing him meeting Santa with a child-like wonder is one of Thornton’s funniest moments of the whole series. The kills are also just as brutal, with an ax, liquid nitrogen and a chainsaw all used as ways to inflict pain by Art. However, Terrifier 3 also takes time to expand on the lore already set out in the second movie. Whilst unpacking her things at her Aunt’s house, Sienna finds her journal which features letters Elliot wrote to her about how to defeat Art. They explain that Art is a demon who needs a vessel, that host being recently deceased for Art to be able to cross over and revive himself. Jonathan believed the pale girl was that vessel, and if they destroyed her then they would be able to kill Art. However, in Terrifier 3, Art is now using Victoria as a vessel, hence why she was the one to rebirth his head.

The letter also outlined that every demon needed a good counterpart, and Sienna is that to Art. Although the second movie started to unpack this element of the franchise,Terrifier 3 fleshes it out a lot more. Flashbacks from Sienna’s dream show her speaking to her father as a child and first being given the image he drew of his first female heroine, the drawing that became Sienna’s iconic Halloween costume. When her dad hands over the painting, a force seems to be preventing him from letting go, as there is seemingly a spiritual connection being passed to Sienna. Her dad also expands on the lore of Sienna’s sword in the context of his angel warrior drawing, explaining her weapon has special powers and can never hurt her. It is clear to Sienna that she must go back to the Terrifier where the sword was left at the end of the second movie and use it to defeat Art for good.

Does Sienna defeat Art the Clown in Terrifier 3?

After a random killing spree that includes Jonathan’s roommate, Art the Clown and Victoria attack Sienna at her aunt and uncle's home and knock her out. She wakes up tied to a chair with her mouth taped shut, with her Aunt Jessica opposite her in the same position. Greg has already been killed, and his headless body is nailed to a wall in a crucifixion position, his head placed upon the Christmas tree with Art wrapping his intestines around it like tinsel. Victoria lifts a cloth from a table in the middle of the room to reveal a severed skull infested with rats. Victoria tells Sienna and Jessica that this is Gabbie’s head, but then later says it's actually Jonathan after placing his glasses on the skull. Jonathan’s supposed death takes place off-screen, so there is still an opportunity for him to be brought back. Jessica is then given one of the most harrowing deaths of the series when she is force-fed live rats.

The demon inside Victoria attempts to possess Sienna, but she is too strong to give in, due to her having something to still live for, feeling protective over the still-alive Gabbie. Art takes hold of Gabbie and goes to kill her, but she insists that she wants Sienna to open her present first. Earlier in the movie, Gabbie had been reprimanded for opening presents and re-wrapping them herself, so it was clear she knew what was in the mysterious gift box - a sword. As soon as she opens the sword, Sienna stabs Victoria, and she quickly disintegrates on the floor, opening a huge demonic hole. Meanwhile, a big fight between Art and Sienna ensues, with Art fighting Sienna’s sword with a chainsaw. After a relentless battle, Art’s chainsaw gets stuck in the table and Sienna manages to stab him against the wall. However, Gabbie gets pulled into the hole in the ground, and Sienna tries to save her. Using the sword, she attempts to pull Gabbie up, cutting her hands on the blades. Gabbie isn’t strong enough and slips into the void along with the sword. Sienna vows to get her back, and the wounds on her hands begin to heal almost instantly.

When she looks at the spot where Art the Clown stood, all that is left is a bloody patch on the wall and a broken window. Terrifier 3 then pans to a disheveled-looking Art waiting at the bus stop while "Silent Night" plays in the background. He gets on the bus where a woman is reading The 9th Circle, a subtle nod to the first movie Art appeared in. As the bus drives away, everything is set up for another showdown in the recently announced Terrifier 4. Although some questions remain unsolved, Terrifier 3 brings more lore into the story and expands on the connection between Art and Sienna, choosing a less ambiguous ending than the previous installment but still leaving Gabbie and Sienna’s fates at large.

Terrifier 3

Not Rated

Horror

Terrifier 3 follows survivors Sienna and her brother as they attempt to recover from their traumatic encounter with the sinister Art the Clown. As the holiday season arrives, their efforts to find peace are shattered when Art returns, intent on turning their Christmas into a new nightmare.

Release Date

October 11, 2024

Director

Damien Leone

Cast

Lauren LaVera , David Howard Thornton , Antonella Rose , Elliott Fullam , Samantha Scaffidi , Margaret Anne Florence , Bryce Johnson , Alexa Blair Robertson , Mason Mecartea , Krsy Fox , Luciana VanDette , Clint Howard , Bradley Stryker , Daniel Roebuck , Chris Jericho , Tom Savini , Jason Patric , Alex Ross , Kailey Hyman , Kellen Raffaelo , Lisa Marie Falcone , Stephen Cofield Jr. , Corrine Kelly , Joe Falcone , Peter Mitchell , Marie Maser , Jon Abrahams

Runtime

125 Minutes

Terrifier 3 is now in theaters. Click below for showtimes.

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