Art the Clown actor is based on Will Ferrell in “Terrifier 3”

1 of 5 | Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) is scary except for a moment. Photo courtesy of Dark Age Cinema

“I was reminded a little of Will Ferrell Eleven there,” Thornton told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

Art steals the Santa Claus costume, which also serves a practical purpose. Previous More terribles set around Halloween, where art could fit in.

“During the Halloween season, it's easy to walk around dressed as a clown and people not really notice you,” Thornton said. “So how is it that art gets around during the holiday season and people don’t really notice?”

Thornton noted that astute observers could see remains of the unfortunate Santa Claus, whose costume Art had stolen.

“There’s a little bit of Santa’s lip still visible on the beard, so it’s just dangling there,” Thornton said.

As a clown, Art disarms his victims by acting in front of them. Many of them are so upset that they try to physically remove Art, not realizing how violent he is.

“When they're in that vulnerable state, it's a lot easier to kill them,” Thornton said. “They are no longer on defense. They just say, 'Okay, this guy is just a little crazy here.'”

Thornton said most of his facial expressions were improvised. Author and director Damien Leone's scripts show where he can act.

“It'll just be, 'Okay, Art is really excited to see Santa Claus at a bar and go,'” Thornton said. “These are situations where Damien says, ‘Okay, here’s your sandbox. Now go play.'”

Sometimes Thornton can't resist breaking character. In horror 3Art hacks through a door like Jack Nicholson The shining onebut since he is silent, he cannot utter Nicholson's trademark.

“There's definitely a shot where I did the 'Here's Johnny' thing,” Thornton said. “I had to.”

Art carries around a trash bag full of his murder weapons. In horror 3he puts the bag in Santa's sack.

Thornton said the bag is usually filled with paper to make it lighter. However, for scenes in which Art draws his weapons, the filmmakers filled the bag with the real thing.

As Santa Claus, horror 3 brings art closer to children than previous entries. Thornton reminds viewers that Art killed children in the short film All Saints Daywhich introduced the character before Thornton was even cast.

Still, Thornton didn't want the way of terrorizing children to be unfounded. Thornton, a former teacher before becoming an actor, agreed with Leone that children would not be involved in the extended torture scenes that Art's adult victims endure.

“I think we handled it tastefully, I guess you could say,” Thornton said. “You don’t necessarily see death. You might see the consequences.”

Art also has his sights set on the survivors Horror 2. Sienna (Lauren LaVera) is released from a mental institution while her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) goes to college.

LaVera said that when she's filming scenes with Thornton in the role and witnessing the graphic dismemberments created by the makeup department, it's easy to feel frightened.

“I’m a little methodical in that I try to believe where I am at the moment,” LaVera said. “The prosthetics are also frightening, so I think it's a nice mix of seeing the beautiful artwork on Dave's face, his wonderful performance and a bit of imagination.”

However, as soon as Leone dropped the calls, LaVera said so More terrible The sets are full of joy and laughter.

“Dave also makes me laugh between takes,” LaVera said. “David is not a scary guy. He’s a joy to be with.”

LaVera said she wanted to do justice to the portrayal of the trauma that survivors deal with. She relied on her preparation Horror 2 to slip into the role of Sienna again.

“For Terrifier 2, I already had a lot of journaling and notes,” LaVera said. “I turned to mental health facilities. I was trying to do research on PTSD and survivor’s guilt, so there were definitely new aspects that we brought to her.”

Leone told UPI he expected this horror 3 was intended to be his final film in the franchise. However, he added that he expected other filmmakers to continue and that both actors were interested in returning.

“I love this character so much that I can play him for as long as I can,” Thornton said. “If one day I don’t make it, then sure, sure, sure. I hope whoever can take on him will give him the justice he deserves.”

Horror franchises tend to introduce new survivors more often than new murderers. LaVera is willing to share the space, but doesn't want to see Sienna recast.

“I’m a big fan of actors in general, so I’d like to see other people compete against art,” LaVera said. “As for Sienna, I believe she’s mine.”

UPI's review by horror 3 runs on Wednesday.