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Terrifier’s incredible behind-the-scenes video reveals Art the Clown’s transformation

Monicel
Terrifier’s incredible behind-the-scenes video reveals Art the Clown’s transformation

The Terrifier team doesn’t do half-measures, and that can be seen in this behind-the-scenes video that shows actor David Howard Thornton transforming into the horrifying Art the Clown.

Terrifier 3 is another global hit, moving to the top spot at the US box office with an impressive $18.3 million from its opening weekend.

It beat out Joker 2, which is a particularly massive feat given that the DC sequel cost around $200 million, while Damien Leone’s horror film was made on a budget of roughly $2 million .

One of the reasons fans love the Terrifier movies so much is because of their creative kills, and Terrifier 3 has plenty of them, from Vicky’s glass scene to the American Psycho-inspired sequence.

But one of the most significant reasons is, of course, our new favorite horror villain, Art the Clown. Thornton brings the goods with his performance, which involves no dialogue and relies on expert mime.

His character design imagined by Leone is nothing short of perfection, with his creepy white mask and blackened mouth and eyes making Pennywise look like Barney the Dinosaur.

If you’re wondering how he transformed from a regular guy into the terrifying killer clown, X/Twitter user @HorrorXArt shared a time-lapse clip of the process that was filmed at GalaxyCon:

As you’ll see, he starts by attaching the mask, which already has pointed cheekbones, an attached nose, and raised eyebrows.

Next, the make-up artist starts working on the panda’s eyes and mouth, before putting on the costume – little top hat and all. The final touch is of course those hideous teeth.

Terrifier fans are sharing their praise for the team and Thornton himself, with one writing in the comments section: “His facial expressions are so great.”

“That smile is crazy,” said another, while a third added: “David Howard for the new Freddy.” A fourth said: “So iconic.”

The entire process reportedly takes three to four hours. That’s why, when Thornton orderly threw up while filming a particularly gruesome scene for Terrifier 3, his makeup artist was on hand to stop him.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he said: “Unfortunately, I couldn’t tag my stunt double because my face was showing the whole time in the shot, and I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no.’

“It’s about something I don’t like in general, and it’s something that always makes me nauseous when I see it. I think Damien specifically put that element in that kill scene just to see if he could crack me up, and it worked. (Laughs.)

“So I almost went over the limit, but I stopped because I didn’t want to ruin my makeup,” she added. “My makeup artist had spent hours doing it, and she was standing by, saying, ‘Don’t you dare, David! Don’t you dare’”.

For me, the scene in question is the American psychological inspired murder. In case you haven’t seen it yet, we won’t give anything else away here.

Art the Clown in Terrifier 3Signature entertainment

A true horror icon

While we’ve all come to know and love Art the Clown, for Sienna actress Lauren LaVera, seeing Thornton in makeup for the first time was a bit of a shock, but that was mostly because of how he decided to reveal himself .

In a conversation with Dexerto, LaVera told us, “My first day on set (for Terrifier 2), I think I worked with Dave the first day and he scared the crap out of me.”

“I was doing my hair and makeup and we were in this little room, it was barely a room, and there was a door with a little window in the door and he was just looking at her with this really terrifying glow.

“I’m just talking to the girls in the room who were doing my hair and makeup, and I turned around and jumped. It was a big scare. And I was just laughing like shit. (Laughs.) It was a nice welcome to the franchise.”

Terrifier 3 is now in theaters. For more on Art the Clown, check out our ranking of the best kills, how old you have to be to see it, and why Terrifier 4 is the last film in the Art saga is the right decision. If you’ve already seen it, read our finale breakdown.

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