It’s been quite a year for Terrifier 2 and its director, Damien Leone. After the original showed the promise of Art the Clown, a sadistic supernatural killer, beyond the shorts he’d previously appeared in, Terrifer 2 hit the right notes and refined what made its predecessor work. Now, the low-budget horror is on a second theatrical run, and Art the Clown and Final Girl Sienna are modern horror icons in the mold of the classic slasher pairings.
Neil Bolt: A year on from Terrifier 2’s release, how are you feeling about it? Obviously, with it going back into theaters as well?Very exciting! And I feel it’s still growing, especially in the past three months there’s been a little surge and momentum going. I’ve been hearing from a lot of people at Hollywood Horror Nights in LA that they’ve been seeing more Terrifier shirts being worn, with more than any franchise, even those being featured as houses there.
In your previous interview with ComingSoon, you talked about expectations in creating Terrifier 2 and said, “This has to be our Dawn of the Dead. Our Evil Dead 2. Our Nightmare on Elm Street 3.” Fair to say you succeeded with that, but what’s the focus for Terrifier 3? You’re in that fortunate position where you’re there for the third part of your franchise, having been there the whole way,for instance. Then you have a level of quality and consistency that can be kept because you know what it should be and what it needs to be. Other franchises have suffered dips in consistency due to studios, changes in script, directors and the like, so at least you have that strength when creating Terrifer 3.
With Terrifier 3, you’ll have a bigger budget to take things to another level. Obviously, effects are a great place to invest in, but what else are you looking forward to improving with more finances?