Terrifying 3The sequel is poised to take one of the greatest faces of the slasher horror genre in a surprising new direction. The series has managed to successfully grow in scope with each installment, starting first with the micro-budget Terrifying film and then the much bigger Terrifying 2before Terrifying 3 It broke the box office with the biggest budget in the series. A big recurring theme of the franchise, which has helped it stand out from the competition, is that each of the films is centered around a specific holiday.
Terrible 1 and 2 were both set on Halloween, a staple of horror films, but Terrifying 3 was set at Christmas, and while the Halloween setting is a huge benefit to many horror films, setting the third film around Christmas made it feel distinct and even more enjoyable. With each of the three films related to a holiday, the obvious question for Terrifying 4 is what holiday the focus will be on, but the answer, from the director himself, suggests that the final film could buck that trend entirely.
Director Damien Leone hinted that Terrifier 4 will not follow the holiday theme
The film could break the franchise’s established trends
The Monster-Mania Con horror convention was held in Philadelphia in November 2024, and Screen Rant was able to attend the Terrifying 3 panel. There, director Damien Leone was asked about Terrifying 4potential new holiday. Leone responded with “I don’t know, I never intended this to become a trick.” After his response, fans in the crowd began shouting out holidays that the upcoming film could be based on, with Art the Clown actor David Howard Thornton shouting for Flag Day.
Leone’s response is certainly unexpected, as the vacation scenario has been a staple of the series thus far, and it seemed like it would continue with the rest of the series. However, although Leone’s answer implies that Terrifying 4the story won’t be motivated by a specific holiday, it’s also possible that the gimmick he mentioned referred to the holiday being something as big and bombastic as Christmas, and the holiday that surrounds it Terrifying 4 it simply won’t be as prominent as it was in the previous series.
Why Ending the Holiday Trend Could Make Sense for Terrifier 4
Change is often a good thing for franchises
Terrifying 4 was defined as the end of the Terrifying saga, and if that’s indeed the case, getting rid of the Christmas theme could work well for this particular film. Peeling back the layers and allowing the ending to stand on its own without needing the same gimmicks as the first films is sometimes necessary for a franchise. Terrifying 3 blew the series into the stratosphere, so bringing the final film back to the essentials would be a great way to bring the closure an ending needs.