Movie theaters around the world put up posters on all their doors warning viewers of the disturbing violence they were about to witness watching the new movie Terrifier 3. Some even had to hand out barf bags to all the viewers for the potential sickness they might endure from it. 

“I had nightmares for the first time in a while, and I felt quite nauseous, as did my friend,” Ash Cortez (‘28) said. “If you try pulling the ‘it wasn’t that bad’ or ‘I’m desensitized to gore,’ you are 100% lying.” 

Art the Clown, a sadistic and silent killer, was first introduced in 2016 from the release of the first movie, Terrifier. This low-budget film was not widely popular and did not achieve significant box office success. Although people appreciated the brutal gore, dark humor, and unique approach to horror, others were turned off by its lack of plot and character development because the directors were so focused on the violence. 

“I hated this movie,” Jayden Aleman (‘26) said. “This was the first time I’ve seen a movie from the Terrifier trilogy, and I felt like it had no plot. I honestly like horror movies, but I found myself getting bored due to the repetitive, unnecessary gore.” 

While some people disliked the franchise because they thought it was mostly gruesome murders with no plot, others enjoyed them and find watching a movie as gory as Terrfier thrilling. 

“I’m a sucker for gore, and I really want to see the movie soon!” Tychelle Moore-Culpeper (‘27) said. “We get to see Art the Clown get defeated and some more awesome kills.”  

I regret my decision to go to see it with Sydney Mildon (‘25) at the movie theater. I found myself both shocked and disturbed by the never-ending violence, especially the killing scenes with the children. Even though a couple next to us left after the first five minutes of the movie, Sydney and I were determined to watch the entire movie. However, the gore was too much for us to handle, and we left 40 minutes into the movie.  

For some, they see the children’s killings as another example of the director’s, Damien Leone, commitment to pushing boundaries and doing something that has never been done before in horror movies. The fans see it as significant to continuing to shock viewers as the franchise is known for its gruesome killings. Others see it as deeply unsettling and immoral, with the brutality being unjustifiable. These critics raise questions about the limitations of violence in entertainment and if such grotesquerie is necessary to create fear or simply implement shock. 

“The fact that this movie is crossing that boundary and breaking that taboo again — I think it says something about the filmmaker’s intentions, whether it’s good or not,” said Elizabeth Cantwell, chair of the humanities department and Advanced Studies Gothic and Horror Literature teacher. 

When I went to the movies with Sydney, there were many young teenagers brought by their parents to see this gruesome, rated R film. Believing kids should not see such a traumatizing movie, I was stunned, and I began to think about how much this movie will impact not only future horror movies but also children and people in my community.  

“I think anytime you have a movie that people are talking about, teenagers are going to want to see anything that feels like it’s edgy,” Dr. Cantwell said. “A lot of teenagers are drawn to like ‘Ooh, what am I not supposed to watch?’” 

Dr. Cantwell’s observation about teenagers being drawn to films that pushes boundaries raises a larger concern about how the media, particularly violent content, affects our perceptions. While younger viewers might be seeking the thrill of watching a terrifying film, Terrifier 3 might be using that desire to make a deeper point. Instead of merely shocking viewers, the film may be challenging people to confront their desensitization to violence.  

“The filmmakers are specifically using the extremity of the gore, not just to horrify viewers but also to implicate viewers in what we’ve become accustomed to seeing, what we laugh at, [and] what we find ourselves desensitized to, asking us to question our own approach to gore in not just horror films but everyday news clips,” Dr. Cantwell said.  

Terrifier 3 pushes the limits of what we expect from horror films, offering a disturbing mix of violence and comedy that leaves many viewers unsettled and questioning such violence in entertainment. While some embrace its shock value, others, like myself, are deeply disturbed by its gore, especially the violence toward children.  

“We live in a world where you can see a video of a man shot on camera,” Dr. Cantwell said. “You can see war atrocities anytime you want to pull them up on TikTok. I think the Terrifier films are asking us to think about that.”  

The movie seems to be making a larger commentary on our desensitization to violence, not just in films but in real-world content we encounter daily. Whether Terrifier 3 is a bold creative statement or a troubling utilization of gore, it undeniably sparks a conversation about fear, entertainment, and our moral compass when it comes to extreme violence. I believe brutally murdering children crosses a moral line, making the movie too gruesome and unnecessary to inflict fear amongst the viewers.