Terrifier 4 To Introduce New Year’s Holiday To Horror Franchise

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Art the Clown has circled a new day on the calendar for his rampage in Terrifier 4.

Art the Clown, the terrifying villain from the Terrifier series, has been portrayed by David Howard Thornton since 2016. Originally, Mike Giannelli played the character when he first appeared in the 2013 film All Hallows’ Eve. The first Terrifier movie gained a following as a cult film, but the 2022 sequel became a huge surprise hit in theaters. It made $15.8 million on a budget of just $250,000 – a return of 63 times the investment! The 2024 installment did even better, earning $90.3 million with a $2 million budget, which led to the announcement of Terrifier 4.

The official X account for Terrifier 3 recently shared a post hinting at the next film. The post, marked with a confetti emoji, featured an image stating that Terrifier 4 will likely be set around New Year’s Eve. This means Art the Clown is moving away from his traditional Halloween appearances. While he originally terrorized people on Halloween, Terrifier 3 shifted the setting to Christmas, letting Art incorporate holiday themes and even dress as Santa Claus.

As of right now, details are scarce about what the next Art the Clown movie will be about, or when we’ll actually get to see it. Just because it’s set around New Year’s Eve doesn’t automatically mean it’ll come out in December, though. The last one took place at Christmas, but they held off releasing it until Halloween – it hit theaters on October 11th, 2024. So, a New Year’s setting doesn’t necessarily dictate a December release, and as a fan, I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much!

The announcement of another Terrifier movie confirms the franchise is moving forward, but it’s currently unknown how soon after the last film the new story will take place. Since the new movie is set on New Year’s Eve, so close to the Christmas setting of Terrifier 3, it could continue the story immediately after the last film’s cliffhanger. However, Terrifier 3 was set five years after Terrifier 2, so a time jump is also a possibility.

Even though the movie is now set to take place during the holidays, the script isn’t finished yet. The most recent update from writer-director Damien Leone, posted on Facebook on February 25th, said he’s “very close to finishing the script and hopes to start pre-production this spring.” However, announcing the holiday setting now might mean pre-production has already begun.

Whether the movie takes place in real-time or has a different timeline, the New Year’s setting for Terrifier 4 gives filmmakers a chance to bring the franchise’s unique, over-the-top gore to a fresh backdrop. While a few horror films like New Year’s Evil and Terror Train have used the holiday, New Year’s isn’t a common horror setting. This allows Art the Clown and director Damien Leone to create something truly memorable using classic New Year’s elements like champagne, countdowns, fireworks, and the Times Square ball drop.

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2026-05-09 16:58