Damien Leone said no to remaking Terrifier with less gore for a mainstream studio

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As a die-hard fan of the gritty, gut-wrenching Terrifier franchise, I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards Damien Leone for his unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of horror filmmaking. It’s truly remarkable that he managed to keep Art the Clown’s bloodbaths intact despite a major studio’s attempts to water down the gore.

Here’s an interesting tidbit. Did you know that Damien Leone’s now infamous slasher franchise Terrifier could potentially have been picked up by a major studio at one point in time? It’s hard to imagine that, considering Leone made the first movie on a budget of just $250,000, and both movies so far have taken great pride in their grimy charm akin to the height of the 1980s “video nasties” era.

In an upcoming issue of Total Film magazine, Leone revealed that a studio considered remaking the mainstream-popular 2016 movie (the character Art the Clown was originally introduced in a 2008 short film found in Leone’s 2013 anthology film All Hallow’s Eve). However, there was one major condition: the remake would need to be less graphic or violent.

That’s not what I was interested in. They would say, ‘It’s gotta be rated R, it can’t be as gory as you made it.’

For enthusiasts of the Terrifier series, it’s clear that these movies don’t shy away from graphic violence and gore. They push the boundaries beyond what you’d typically find in mainstream horror films. In terms of comparison, the Lionsgate Saw franchise might come close, but even those films tend to avoid showing the most gruesome scenes more frequently than Terrifier does.

2016 saw the release of a movie featuring a particularly grisly sequence, where the antagonist, Art the Clown (portrayed by David Howard Thornton), performs a gruesome act of sawing a woman in half while she is suspended between two posts using her wrists and ankles. The entire scene is depicted without any edits or omissions. This may be too disturbing for some viewers, yet it’s undeniably impressive due to the skillful application of special effects, considering the limited budget involved.

Afterwards, the 2022 follow-up amplified the notorious saw sequence with an excessively gruesome death scene that seemed unending. Indeed, fans should brace themselves for what might lie ahead in Terrifier 3. There have been whispers that Thornton was almost sick on set for the first time, and Leone has mentioned they’ve devoted effort to surpassing the mischief of their earlier films.

In a conversation with Total Film, he hinted at future plans by jokingly revealing that one reason he chose to avoid studio intervention was due to their refusal to allow him to film the initial 10 minutes as he intended for Terrifier 3.

This upcoming movie, the third in the series, carries a chilling Christmas theme and is set to hit theaters on October 11. Unlike its previous releases, it’s planned for a global premiere this time around.

The Total Film issue featuring Leone’s interview will be available on Thursday, September 12.

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2024-09-11 22:25