Terrifier 4 will find the ‘sweet spot’ between story and gore, director Damien Leone insists

Damien Leone says ‘Terrifier 4’ will find the “sweet spot” between story and gore.

The slasher franchise - which has been helmed by the 42-year-old filmmaker since the first movie released in 2016 - is renowned for its graphic and violent content, though Leone has now stressed the next film will find a good balance between its plot and bloody scenes.

Responding to a fan on X who stated “The ‘Terrifier’ franchise would be better if it was less plot based and more kill based”, Leone said: “Man, these guys aren’t making it easy for me are they?

“It’s either, 'Terrifier’ has absolutely no plot and is just mindless gore’, or, ‘’Terrifier’ has too much plot and not enough gore’ … Gosh darn it people I’ll find that sweet spot in ‘T4’ if it kills me!”

'Terrifier 3' hit cinemas in October 2024 and saw the gore ramped up as Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) once again is on the hunt for Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) and her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fulam).

Looking to ‘Terrifier 4’, Leone teased the upcoming movie would be “an epic closure” to the story of Art the Clown - who first appeared on screen in Leone's 2013 debut 'All Hallows’ Eve’.

Speaking about the sequel with Variety, the director said: “It will certainly be an epic showdown, an epic closure to this Art the Clown saga.

“The idea I’m toying with in my head would probably be in some regards the most experimental, so I can’t dive into it too much. Some really, really crazy things will happen in the next one.”

While Leone is busy working on ‘Terrifier 4’, the filmmaker admitted he had “no definitive answer” on whether the series would continue after the fourth instalment.

He explained: “There is no definitive answer at this time regarding how many more films I will make before concluding the ‘Terrifier’ saga.

“Personally, I can’t see it going further than one or two more films, but only time will tell.

“For now, all I can say with certainty is that I know how it ends, and it will be epic.”

While some have been critical of the series due to its visceral violence - with there being some controversy over Art’s off-screen murder of a child in the third flick - Leone stressed he was always looking to “push the boundary” of what has come to be expected of a horror movie, but emphasised he was also trying to avoid “a level of extreme distaste” with the levels of gore.

He said: “I’m always looking for lines to get up to, to push the boundary. Maybe just step right over it.

“But you can absolutely fall into a level of extreme distaste that I’m trying not to do. There’s a scene in the beginning where Art murders a child offscreen and you just hear it.

“I could have shown that and the glorious way that we executed the scene. I would never do that, because to me, that’s just completely off-putting and you’re going to alienate a large majority of your audience.”

On a budget of $2 million, ‘Terrifier 3’ earned $18.3 million in its opening weekend to top the box office charts in North America, and finished its theatrical run with a worldwide taking of $88.6 million.