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Louise Thomas
Editor
The new horror movie Terrifier 3 comes with a warning, telling viewers that they might feel “unwell” during the slasher from director Damien Leone, with the opening scene already prompting walkouts and vomiting.
The Terrifier films, which follow the exploits of serial killer Art the Clown, have earned a reputation with viewers for the film’s extreme levels of violence and gore.
The previous film reportedly made people “pass out” in theatres which Leone denied was a “marketing ploy” created to promote the independent movie.
Now the third instalment looks to be aiming for a similar impact with audiences as they watch Art go on a deadly rampage on Christmas Eve.
An image shared on the film’s X/Twitter account shows a note on a cinema door telling people: “Warning! This film contains extreme violence and excessive gore. If you are feeling unwell, please find a member of staff. Staff trained in first aid are on site.”
The image is captioned with, “Don’t say we didn’t warn you…”
Of course, while most people would be horrified by the sound of film that might cause you to need first aid, horror fans are seemingly gleeful at the thought.
One person said: “This makes me want to see it even more!”
Another wrote: “Maybe this is an unpopular opinion but I absolutely love this type of marketing it’s very 2000s.”
A third said: “I can’t wait to see this.”
Terrifier 3 is being released in the UK by Signature Entertainment, who replied to the post saying that their gala screening of the film prompted 11 walkouts, nine during the opening scene and one person to vomit.
Speaking to Lad Bible, Leone said: “Mark my words. I guarantee you the first five minutes of this movie is going to be very controversial.
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“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.”
The Terrifier series has been one of the biggest independent horror hits of recent years with its 2022 sequel earning more than $15m (£11m) at the worldwide box office, from its very modest budget of $250,000 (£191,000).
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.
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 42-year-old 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.”
Terrifier 3 is released in cinemas on 11 October.
