When it comes to movies that utilize enough fake blood to fill a swimming pool, I can only imagine that few would stand taller than Damien Leone’s Terrifier movies, in which the central and silent Art the Clown’s increasingly gory massacres have caused viewers to leave their theater screenings in some cases. Now that the shocking sequel Terrifier 3 has broken box office records as the highest-earning unrated movie of all time, the filmmaker revealed the A+ compliment he received from special effects legend Tom Savini.
As many horror fans are well aware, Tom Savini is the genius behind a lot of the most disturbing and messiest horror sequences of the ‘80s and ‘90s, from some of most iconic kills from the Friday the 13th franchise to Creepshow to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and beyond. He also happened to show up in Terrifier 3 itself for a fun cameo, and Leone has claimed that the artist gave him and Terrifier the biggest compliment.
During a Q&A at Monster-Mania Con in Philadelphia (via Screenrant), Damien Leone first addressed the huge influence that Savini’s had on his career, saying:
Yeah, we didn't really discuss anything for the movie, because he didn't do the special effects on this. But I mean, if you don't know, obviously, he's my hero, makeup effects hero. I discovered him when I was, like seven, eight years old. I fell in love with practical effects, and then I fell in love with filmmaking, so to have him now being in Terrifier 3 is one of the most amazing full-circle moments for me.
Though they didn’t exactly become fast friends solely during the filming process for Terrifier 3, since Savini wasn’t working on any of the film’s effects, Leone says they later connected on a deeper level on the horror-con scene, and a conversation about genre heroes led to Art the Clown’s creator earning some major kudos from the From Dusk Til Dawn co-star.
Here's how Leone put it:
But eventually, when we started getting close, because we do a lot of these cons together, I did get to hang out with him, and we went out and had dinner one night. We were just talking about all the practical effects in our favorite monster movies and heroes, people who influence stuff. So, that was really cool. But we didn't really collaborate too much, but I got the greatest compliment ever from him after he saw Terrifier 3. He came up to me in the lobby, and he said, ‘Terrifier 3 makes Dawn of the Dead look like Bambi.’
That' no flippant piece of commentary from Tom Savini, seeing as how his first two films in the industry were George A. Romero's 1978 horror films Martin and the aforementioned zombie sequel Dawn of the Dead, not to mention their reteaming on Knightriders, Creepshow, Two Evil Eyes and Land of the Dead. (He also cameoed in Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake, and directed the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead.) So for Savini to compare his own seminal horror work to Bambi when stacked up against the Terrifier films, I can't imagine how gleeful Damien Leone must have felt.
Tom Savini's most recent TV appearances were both tied to Stephen King's song, the best-selling author Joe Hill; he had Locke & Key cameo as well as one in NOS4A2.. But one can only hope that he returns for the fourth Terrifier movie, which Damien Leone hints will be the final chapter for Art the Clown.
Leone has addressed the fact that he was able to pull off a lot of the more advanced gore and effects in Terrifier 3 due to having a far larger budget than on any previous film, though that came with its own set of problems. And he admitted that at least one major studio's execs would have been willing to produce and/or distribute the film if he'd agree to downplay some of the viscearal moments. But this film series didn't get popular by censoring itself, so the director stuck with his indie roots and crafted one of the most successful low-budget horrors yet.
Terrifier 3 is still currently in theaters, with plans for digital releases and streaming to be revealed in the future, possibly just in time for Christmas.
