Terrifier 3 director says "1 or 2 movies tops" before he's done with saga

"I have the ending, and it's how many puzzle pieces can I fit before I get there?" he explained during an exclusive interview.

"How long do I want to drag this out – and not in a negative way. Because there's so many... I have so many ideas, like, I'm just constantly… I'll have, like, folders of ideas or kill scenes or situations I could put Art the Clown in that would be either hysterical or horrifying."

But he added: "Then it just becomes, well, how many of those can I fit into this movie, while also telling the overall story and following Sienna's journey? So I don't know.

"Personally, I think one or two movies tops before I'm done with my Terrifier saga, and I feel like we have a complete, satisfying franchise on our hands."

Leone explained that his fear was of "diminishing returns", and said he didn't want to get to the stage where he was "making these movies just for the sake of making them", which would "tarnish everything we're doing".

"If these movies just keep dropping in quality, you gotta... you know, I'd rather get out while we're on a high, if possible," he explained.

With each Terrifier film that has been released so far, the budgets have increased exponentially – from $35,000 to $250,000 to $2 million – and as those number have risen, so has the hype and infamy around the franchise, with Terrifier 3 now set for by far the biggest release of the three films to this point.

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Meanwhile, the films have also slowly revealed more about the ever-expanding Terrifier lore, including the backstory of final girl Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) and further details about Art the Clown and exactly how he operates.

This is something that Leone has enjoyed teasing out – to the point that he says he's now more interested in the lore than he is in the gore (we'll just have to take his word for it...).

"I like giving [fans] information every film and then raising more questions to keep them coming back," he explained.

"But also, I know that I'm not finished telling my story, so I don't want to give you every bit of information now, or else there's nothing left to grab onto.

"And something I never wanted to do was just keep bringing Art the Clown back just to murder another group of people – to just keep remaking Terrifier the original over and over and over. That gets... that's very dull to me.

"Like I said, I'm more interested in the story and the characters now, more than the kill scenes.

"I'm interested in a larger story, and I'm especially interested in this hero's journey that Sienna is on right now. I'm more interested in her character, almost more than I am... I don't want to say more than Art the Clown, but she's as important. This is just as important."

Terrifier 3 is showing in UK cinemas from Friday 11th October, and the first two films are available on Prime Video and Paramount Plus.

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