Art the Clown Is Crashing New Year’s Eve and ‘Terrifier 4’ Could Be the Most Unhinged Entry Yet
The ‘Terrifier‘ franchise has made a quiet tradition out of one gloriously grim premise: no holiday is sacred when Art the Clown is around. What started as a micro-budget slasher curiosity has grown into one of the most talked-about independent horror sagas in recent memory, with each new chapter expanding both its ambitions and its body count.
The franchise traces its origins back to Art’s appearance in Leone’s 2008 short ‘The 9th Circle,’ before the killer clown led the main ‘Terrifier’ trilogy from 2016 through 2024. Leone worked with a budget of around $55,000 on the original film, and just over $250,000 on ‘Terrifier 2,’ which earned $15.1 million at the box office when it released in 2022. The series has come a long way since those scrappy origins.
The setting reveal for ‘Terrifier 4’ arrived courtesy of Leone on Instagram, and it confirms what the pattern always seemed to be building toward. The first two ‘Terrifier’ films were set at Halloween before Art the Clown took on Christmas in ‘Terrifier 3,’ leading fans to speculate about the setting of the fourth installment. Leone put that speculation to rest with a pointed tease: “No space. No Easter bunny. Art’s bringing in the New Year!” Leone also confirmed in the comments section of his post that ‘Terrifier 4’ picks up right after the events of ‘Terrifier 3.’
The announcement lands on the back of one of the franchise’s most impressive commercial milestones. ‘Terrifier 3’ opened at number one at the box office in 2024, becoming the highest-grossing unrated film of all time. A couple million dollars went into that production, which paid off handsomely as the film raked in over $76 million worldwide. Whatever budget Leone secures for the fourth chapter, the ceiling has clearly risen.
Leone previously described the script as shaping up to be “the most epic, horrifying, thrilling, emotional and satisfying conclusion to the Terrifier saga,” and confirmed that Art’s backstory will be revealed in the opening 15 minutes. Back in February, Leone wrote that the script was “very close to completion,” adding that it is “the most precious script I’ve written for many reasons, but it’s also the most challenging,” noting there is a lot of material to tackle and a lot riding on it creatively and emotionally.
Franchise stars David Howard Thornton as Art the Clown, Lauren LaVera as Sienna Shaw, and Samantha Scaffidi as Victoria Heyes are all expected to reprise their roles. Thornton has teased a “bat-shit insane” finale, while LaVera has said she wants “some sort of retribution for Sienna.” Thornton has also left the door open on whether this is truly the end, suggesting it might mark the close of the current story arc before Leone potentially returns to the franchise down the line.
Terrifier 4 does not yet have an official release date, but Leone hopes to enter pre-production soon. The New Year’s Eve setting adds ‘Terrifier 4’ to a considerably smaller horror subgenre than Christmas horror, giving it an immediate edge in a space that slasher fans have never had fully claimed by an icon of Art’s stature. If this is truly the end of Art’s holiday rampage, the countdown to midnight is going to look very different once he gets there.
Whether you think ‘Terrifier 4’ should stick close to the ‘Terrifier 3’ cliffhanger or take a longer time jump before unleashing Art on New Year’s Eve, drop your take below.
