Terrifier 3 is now playing in theaters in most regions, and, as you may have already heard, the slasher threequel's opening sequence is pretty extreme. In fact, it comes very close to crossing a line that even seasoned gore hounds consider taboo in the horror genre.
Spoilers ahead.
In a flashback to before the events of Terrifier 2, we see Art the Clown dressed as Santa Claus visiting a family on Christmas Eve to spread his own twisted brand of Holiday cheer. Art brutally dispatches the mother and father with an axe, and while we don't actually see him kill their son - a young kid of about 8 or 9–years old - we do witness the sickening aftermath: little severed arms and legs lying on the floor among a pile of bloody viscera.
Though other movies have shown children being killed, it is a rarity. We don't see Art murder this particular kid, but the scene has still caused some uproar among those who simply don't think this sort of thing should ever be depicted on screen.
"Mark my words," Leone said of the opening sequence in a previous interview. "I guarantee you the first five minutes of this movie is going to be very controversial. But that's not even the big kill scene. So that's why I was like, I need to just make this movie on my own, because it's too insane If you thought Art the Clown's reign of terror in part two was extreme, you haven't seen anything yet."
"I got to meet with studios, like legit Hollywood studios, who wanted to make Terrifier 3. But before I even had a script, just having meetings and getting the feel that I was going to have eyes over my shoulders, and they were concerned about the levels of gore and this and that," he added.
"After surviving Art the Clown's Halloween massacre, Sienna and her brother struggle to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. However, just when they think they're safe, Art returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare."
What do you make of this scene and the reaction? Do you plan on seeing Terrifier 3? Drop us a comment down below.