Terrifier 3 director Damien Leone and cast say the franchise wouldn’t exist without the fans: “They’re the biggest part of this”

Terrifier 3 will soon hit the big screen with a worldwide theatrical release, something that director Damien Leone and the original cast could have only dreamed of when the first low-budget movie was released in 2016. But no matter how big the franchise has gotten, the cast say the movie’s success is all down to the fans. 

“Oh, they’re the biggest part of this, it’s the fans,” says Art the Clown actor David Howard Thornton in an interview with GamesRadar+. The star goes on to say how the first movie completely relied on word-of-mouth. “Just to see how it has snowballed since then, has been an amazing thing to watch,” adds Howard Thornton. “It shows the true power of a fan base that just a handful of people can just keep it going, and they tell their friends, and then they tell their friends and it just grows and grows.”

The Terrifier franchise had humble beginnings with the first movie having a budget of just $35,000. Before that, the director included Art in other small movies such as All Hallows Eve and even a Terrifier short back in 2011. But fans loved the first movie so much that they completely funded Terrifier 2, and in exchange, the director had the movie’s biggest backers appear in the memorable Clown Cafe scene. 

“The second one would have never happened if it wasn’t for the fans, especially because of the crowdfunding,” echoes co-star Samantha Scaffidi who plays Victoria Heyes in all three Terrifier movies. “And then, you know, just all that hype when the second one came out, and then with the third, it really is fan-supported and led.” Now, Terrifier 3 is set to be the biggest movie of them all, with Leone promising that it will be scarier and gorier than 1 and 2. 

However, the cast admit that they didn’t think the franchise would grow so big into what it is today. “We were just a bunch of horror geeks that got together and thought we had a fun idea and, hopefully, someone’s going to see it and like it, but we had no idea it was going to go where it has,” said Howard Thornton. Scaffidi on the other hand didn’t think anyone would see it, as she confesses “I was ignorant enough to think it would never see the light of day, which is why I did it. But I think Damian always saw where it was going to go, and that’s how brilliant he is.”

Now Leone is inspiring many other filmmakers who want to get into the horror industry. “I get little kids or just younger aspiring filmmakers come on to me and they say, ‘I think what you’re doing and how you did this with no money is so cool.’ And they asked me for advice, and that’s probably the most rewarding thing out of this entire journey,” says Leone. Who knows, maybe in a few years or so we will see one of Leone’s fans being their own gore fest to the big screen. 

Terrifier 3 releases on October 11. For more, check out our list of the best horror movies, or keep up to date with upcoming horror movies heading your way this year.