‘Terrifier 3’ Effects Artist Breaks Down the Opening Murder Scene, Liquid Nitrogen Death and More: ‘We Had Blood Coming From Every Direction’

As a seasoned horror enthusiast who has braved countless sleepless nights and jump scares, I must say that “Terrifier 3” is a cinematic rollercoaster ride that will leave you both terrified and exhilarated. The sheer dedication of director Damien Leone and special effects lead Christien Tinsley to deliver practical gore effects that are as visceral as they are unsettling, is nothing short of admirable.

The debut screening of “Terrifier 3” by Damien Leone in the U.K. was as frightening as a real-life horror film.

Eleven people left the theater during or after watching the newest adventures of series character Art the Clown, played by David Howard Thornton. Nine of these departures happened during the initial scene, and one viewer ended up vomiting from the frightening scenes. While such a response might be disastrous for some productions, producer Phil Falcone saw it as proof of the dedicated efforts of Leone and special effects supervisor Christien Tinsley.

Falcone stated that it’s a horror movie featuring real-life effects. So if it manages to make viewers sick or prompt them to leave the theater, especially considering they came for fear, then it’s doing a commendable job.

In Leone’s newest release, the ruthless jester continues to bring a mix of Christmas joy and terror towards Siena Shaw, the Terrifier series’ leading scream queen (Lauren LaVera), along with other inhabitants of Miles County. With a budget of $2 million, which is $1.7 million more than the combined budgets of the first two movies, Terrifier 3 delivers the franchise’s deadliest and most intricate kill scenes.

Prior to any violence, Thornton requires a solid hour and a half in the make-up room to metamorphose into the terrifying clown. First, his skin is prepared, followed by the application of a rubber face mask that serves as the foundation for Art’s disturbing characteristics. Subsequently, two sets of tattooed eyebrows are added before the black eye and lip makeup are applied.

Tinsley highlighted that the trickiest aspect of Art’s composition lay in handling “black, white, and all shades,” further noting that “any error would be evident if it wasn’t executed accurately.

Regarding his false teeth, Thornton had been using the same pair for nearly a decade until Tinsley crafted him a new set specifically for “Terrifier 3”. David, who is wonderful, had been wearing the same set of teeth for eight years. Whenever they chipped or cracked, they simply repaired them. I thought to myself, ‘It’s time to create some fresh teeth for you.’

The initial sequence of “Terrifier 3” depicts Art brutally attacking a family dressed as Santa Claus. In the scene’s dramatic end, he viciously chops off the mother’s arm with an axe and then fatally strikes her head. Unlike many horror films, Leone, who is both the editor and director, chooses not to fade out at the moment of impact, instead offering viewers a gruesomely authentic glimpse into the violence.

Tinsley explained that Leone shot a fake body in profile and had Thornton swing down just before impact. He then cut and shifted the camera to a three-quarters shot and swapped the fake body with the actress wearing an arm prosthetic. Leone then captured Thornton slicing through the fake arm with the axe, and when it’s edited together, “It looks like they just saw an axe come through in one swipe and cut off an arm when actually you’re looking at it from two entirely different angles,” Tinsley said. “Our brains tie this all together and make it feel like one.”

A memorable scene in this production is the bar sequence, during which Art binds a mall Santa (Daniel Roebuck) to a chair and uses liquid nitrogen to make his limbs rigid before shattering them. Tinsley shared that Leone had specific preferences for how he desired this effect to appear. Specifically, the 42-year-old director was not looking for the limbs to splinter like glass, but rather for them to behave as if they were made of ice, with parts transforming into dust while still retaining their solidity.

He advanced the idea even more, saying ‘However, the interior shouldn’t freeze as the coldness doesn’t penetrate fully, and the heart of any living entity remains warm and vital.’ In other words, we were not just designing something that could withstand breaking apart but also retain a liquid core.

With the assistance of special effects artist Mark Killingsworth (“Watchmen”), Tinsley was able to “replicate and adapt the casting and molding method” using layers of bloody inner materials with tough outer casings. By doing so, they produced various head, arm, and leg components that could be assembled on Roebuck’s body, destroyed, and replaced for numerous takes.

One of the final scenes shot, and the most gruesome, was the bathroom sequence, where Art takes a chainsaw to two unsuspecting college students having an intimate moment in a communal shower. Tinsley recalled long discussions with Leone about how the scene should play out. “My whole conversation with Damien was, we have two naked individuals in an open room and a chainsaw, and it’s in a ‘Terrifier’ movie. We have to see contact,” he said. “We have to see a lot of body and flesh and skin. This was going to be really, really difficult.”

To successfully carry out this intricately challenging assassination, a variety of components and substitutes were essential: Heads, arms, and torsos made of different parts, artificial fingers, a detachable leg, a breakable leg, and two complete fake bodies, one of which could be divided completely. To make matters more complex, each component had to perform multiple functions, Tinsley said. “We had numerous tubes and blood containers. Blood was flowing from every angle, connected to the chainsaw, with blood tubes inside the body and pressurized bags that would burst when hit by the chainsaw.

Among all the impressive moments in “Terrifier 3” that I had the pleasure of witnessing, the shower scene stood out as my absolute favorite. Labeling it as pure “fun from Terrifier,” I can’t help but hope that when future horror enthusiasts reflect on their favorite kill scenes, my chainsaw masterpiece will be included in their discussions.

Tinsley remarked, “I believe this will make a significant impression on the viewers, which is exactly what one aims for in a film like this. You hope that instead of discussing the kills in other movies, they’ll be talking about ‘the shower sequence in Terrifier 3’. That’s why we create such a movie – so it will linger in people’s minds.

2024-10-19 01:47

‘Terrifier 3’ Effects Artist Breaks Down the Opening Murder Scene, Liquid Nitrogen Death and More: ‘We Had Blood Coming From Every Direction’

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