There’s Only One Terrifier 3 Ending I Think Will Work For Art The Clown

Summary

• Sienna’s victory over Art the Clown in
  Terrifier 2
  could lead to a predictable outcome in
  Terrifier 3
  .
• Sienna’s psychic link to Art suggests a more complex ending for
  Terrifier 3
  that avoids a cop-out.
• Terrifier 3
  may shock fans by ending with Art enlisting Sienna, maintaining the franchise’s mean-spirited tone.

Although Terrifier 3 is one of 2024’s most highly anticipated horror movies, I can see only one fitting way for Art the Clown’s story to end. I could never have predicted the Terrifier franchise’s rise to infamy. While 2016’s Terrifier certainly unsettled me the first time I saw the viral indie horror, I didn’t think that it would spawn a sequel that earned $11 million. Although Terrifier 2 was a little more accessible despite its extremely violent content, the fact that 2024’s upcoming Terrifier 3 will receive a mainstream wide release globally still blows my mind.

The Terrifier movies pride themselves on their grungy, gross aesthetic, and even Terrifier 2’s budget increase didn’t make the sequel’s nastiness any less abrasive. Terrifier 2’s ending did leave the door open for a sequel, but the movie’s unheralded success means that 2024’s Terrifier 3 will now be an unlikely event movie among horror fans. Despite the franchise’s popularity, however, I still struggle to see how the series will wrap up the story of Art the Clown without betraying the spirit of the franchise. The Terrifier movies are inherently edgy and dark, unlike most slasher endings.

Terrifier 3’s Art The Clown Can’t Kill Sienna

Terrifier 2’s Heroine Is The Franchise’s Main Character

Although the slasher has a ferocious reputation, it is worth noting that the subgenre has almost always allowed its Final Girls to emerge triumphant in the end. For every villain like Scream’s Ghostface or Halloween’s Michael Myers, there is a heroine like Sydney Prescott or Laurie Strode who can defeat them. Terrifier complicated this with a nihilistic ending where Art unceremoniously killed one apparent Final Girl without much fanfare and horrifically disfigured another. This proved that Art the Clown is no ordinary slasher villain and the series is no normal franchise, but Terrifier 2 walked this back.

If Sienna beats Art, this will be predictable and surprisingly conventional.

Lauren LaVera’s Terrifier 2 heroine Sienna defeated Art, albeit temporarily, in the sequel’s ending. In the process, Sienna arguably overtook Art the Clown as the Terrifier franchise’s protagonist, even though the creepy killer remains the mascot of the series. Sienna is the only one who has defeated Art and successfully stopped him from killing someone, so it would now be a letdown if he beat her in Terrifier 3. That said, if Sienna beats Art, this will be predictable and surprisingly conventional for such a boundary-pushing series. I can’t see how the franchise’s creators will work around this.

Terrifier 3 Can’t Let Sienna Defeat Art The Clown For Good

Art The Clown’s Unstoppable Nature Is Part Of His Appeal

Art the Clown is explicitly supernatural and even more indestructible than Freddy, Jason, or Michael Myers, with each movie making him more unstoppable. As such, Sienna can’t have a clean win against him. I’d be disappointed if Sienna simply killed Art even if he did return from the dead, since this would prove that his power level wasn’t as impressive as it seemed in the earlier movies. However, I’d also be disheartened if Sienna was killed off after Terrifier2’s story focused on her. Sienna’s late father seemed to be connected to the franchise villain, as implied by her dreams.

I can’t imagine a version of Sienna’s death that doesn’t feel like a cop-out.

While Terrifier 3 doesn’t need Art’s origins explained, I’d still like the sequel to at least justify the link between Art and Sienna. Where Terrifier’s final girls were both simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, Sienna clearly has some psychic link to Art, much like the Pale Little Girl. This means that she is pivotal to the trilogy’s overarching story, so Art simply shooting her in the head would be less subversive and more annoying. I can’t imagine a version of Sienna’s death that doesn’t feel like a cop-out, but there is another option.

Terrifier 3 Must End With Art The Clown Enlisting Sienna

The Mean-Spirited Horror Franchise Hinted At This Downbeat Ending

The original Terrifier’s surviving Final Girl, Victoria, lost her mind after the events of the first film and was eventually possessed by Art. If the same fate befell Sienna, this would explain her connection to Art and allow both her and the villain to survive the sequel simultaneously. This would also be the cruelest ending possible, which is always what the Terrifier series aims for. Terrifier 3’s bigger budget may lead its creators to make a more palatable sequel that plays to a large audience, but this would betray the spirit of the series.

At their core, the Terrifier movies are aggressive, almost comically nasty, and brutal. I’m not sure if Terrifier 3 can keep the edginess of the franchise alive or if the sequel will struggle to outdo its gore-soaked predecessors. However, I am certain that Sienna’s relationship with Art the Clown will be central to Terrifier 3’s success or failure. If Terrifier 3 can keep Sienna alive without settling for a happy ending that betrays the tone of the franchise, the series can end its trilogy perfectly.