What a gore joy ‘Terrifier 3’ beat ‘Joker’ at the box office

Why do we go to horror movies expecting art? I’ve sometimes wondered as much while watching Dario Argento’s “Suspiria,” drenched in shades of color that have never been matched, or when immersed in John Carpenter’s crisp icy water compositions. As a survival strategy, I’ve trained myself to look for the artist in the slaughterhouse: the half-buried tension of racial anxiety, the social commentary of the zombie mall, the chill of reading a Tobin line beautiful Finding the artist helps the blood flow more easily. Horror, to borrow a phrase from Hans Rookmaaker, needs no justification. Still, it helps when those who practice it aspire to something greater.

“Terrifier 3” isn’t an artist-made movie, not in the way that much of this year’s crop is, from “Longlegs” to “Strange Darling” to “The Substance.” In fact, it turns the idea of ​​art into a sick joke: The hook-nosed killer clown in all three “Terridor” movies is named Art. He has no voice, just the toothy grin of a mime long gone from his days of mild mischief. (Transformed by face paint and prosthetics, David Howard Thornton does what he can in the role.) Art the Clown has a private agenda of slaughtering suburban families and stalking young women. Carry a bulky power tool sack; something falls into place when the series is installed, for the first time, in a Christmas movie.

However, it is this naivety that has made “Terridor” a phenomenon. I saw “Terrifier 3” at its best, meaning a robust opening weekend audience (during which the low-budget film would beat “Joker: Folie à Deux”). Electricity isn’t what runs through the crowd, more like a pre-nauseated nervousness. Fear, suspense, terror – these aren’t really on the menu for one of these installments. Fans know what to expect: crunching axes on limbs and scalps peeled like oranges. Why stop at mere decapitation when an entire body can be cut in half from bottom to top? “Terrifier 3” is being released unrated and that’s a (deserved) badge of honor.

This unspoken contract between blood-hungry viewers and the film is forged primarily by Christien Tinsley, the make-up effects artist whose copious prosthetics are on display at every turn. Tinsley’s most notable credit to date has been Mel Gibson’s skin-shredding “The Passion of the Christ,” and you can also count on a crown of thorns to appear in this new one (plus some choice nailing) . Many times you’ll wish that “Terrifier 3” was scrapped for a new scene, its point excruciatingly explained. Not so lucky. Wounds are dedicated. Chainsaws find new attack points. Sometimes it plays like Tinsley’s exhibition reel. He will have a lot of work soon.

Do you know the name Sean S. Cunningham? It’s okay if you don’t. He never enjoyed the bold fame of his peers. But on the heels of Carpenter’s hit “Halloween,” Cunningham assembled a team of mostly unknowns and directed 1980’s “Friday the 13th,” as sky-high as any slasher.

Damien Leone, the 42-year-old Staten Islander who directed the “Terrifier” movies, will likely become another Cunningham. It’s an assembler of pieces of meat and potatoes. Boringly, “Terrifier 3” has a generic haunted final girl (Lauren LaVera), a psychologically broken assistant (Samantha Scaffidi) and an innocent in need of protection (Antonella Rose). Everything works to provide Art the Clown with memorable moments, the slick floors of viscera.

However, give Leone credit in one respect. He seems to understand that the public is tired of tasteful moderation. They want a break from artists. And sometimes a clown is enough.