Art The origin, powers and victims of the clown in terrifying films explained

Although the Terrifying the films initially revealed little about Art the Clown, Terrifying 3 finally shed light on the murderous villain's mysterious origins, motives, and powers. 2024 horror sequel Terrifying 3 saw David Howard Thornton's Art the Clown hit cinema screens around the world for the first time. 2022 Terrifying 2 was an unlikely phenomenon, with the horror sequel's limited release grossing over $15 million on a budget of just $250,000. The budget for 2016 Terrifying was even smaller, while Art the Clown's previous film appearance appeared All Hallows' Evea 2013 horror anthology.

Although Terrifying 3The reviews are largely positive, they understandably warned potential viewers that the latest installment in the franchise kept two franchise traditions alive. Art the Clown was as terrifyingly violent as ever, devising increasingly contrived, complicated, and horrific ways to dismember his victims, and Terrifying 3 it was also still almost as opaque as its predecessors when it came to the franchise's lore. THE Terrifying the films refused to clarify much about his origins and powers and most details could only be gleaned by researching Art the Clown's on-screen misadventures. Happily, Terrifying 3The ending of changed that a little.

Terrifier 3 Art confirmed The clown is a demon

A reference to the villainous status of the Ninth Circle Enlightened art

After the first two films in the franchise skirted the issue, Terrifying 3 confirmed that Art the Clown is a demon with a meta-reference to Leone's original short film. After Terrifying 3After many brutal deaths, Art the Clown is nearly destroyed when Sienna pins him to the wall with her magic sword. However, he recovers enough to move away from the wall and escape to a nearby bus stop, where he boards a silent bus. The other lone passenger is reading a book titled The Ninth Circlean obvious reference to Leone's short film mentioned above. This awakens a sick art.

Art seems to come back to life, just as it did at the end off Terrifying 2so he can continue his spree of bloodshed and demonic possession. In the original Terrifyinghe seemed shocked by his own resurrection after brutally disfiguring Vicky. In Terrifying 2he was accompanied by a seemingly demonic presence, the Little Pale Girl, who appeared to have been a previous victim of the clown. Terrifying 3Vicky's new villain easily explained how these events were linked when she told Sienna that she would possess her once she gave up all hope, just as Vicky had done.

Explanation of the origin of the clown in Terrifier

Art The Clown's films never fully explained where he comes from

Unlike most slasher villains, Art the Clown has no canonical history. He first appeared in the 2008 short film "The 9th Circle", directed by Terrifyingeventual leader, Damian Leone. In this anomaly within the character's canon, Art the Clown was merely an accomplice of a greater villain, namely the Devil himself. Art kidnaps a woman from a train station and serves her to Satan as a sacrifice, but it is unclear whether he is a human in clown makeup doing the devil's dirty work or some kind of demon.

Terrifying 3 finally confirms that this remains Art's role and that he is, in fact, a demon. A glimpse of his glowing eyes makes Art the Clown look like Pennywise at the end of "The 9th Circle", and his next appearance in the short film reinforces this interpretation. In the 2011 short film “Terrifier,” Art stalks and kills another female victim, utilizing teleportation impossible throughout the film's story, as well as super strength. This supports the idea that Art is a demon and not an ordinary human, and All Hallows' Eve sees him somehow emerge from a television set into reality.

Although the subsequent Terrifying films avoided these explicitly supernatural elements and portrayed more human art, Terrifying 3The ending proves that he is a demon.

Art The clown's powers and abilities in Terrifier

Art, the clown is inhumanly strong and effectively immortal

While Terrifying 3the story of confirmed Art's demonic status, Terrifying and Terrifying 2 already clarified that Art was super strong and effectively immortalthough not necessarily capable of shapeshifting, possession, teleportation, or other supernatural feats. This was open to debate, as Art's presence seems to drive some people to violence, such as his victim Victoria, while his image haunts others until their sanity collapses, as was the case with Sienna's father earlier. Terrifer 2 it happens. However, in terms of what viewers actually see represented on screen, the Terrifying the franchise's version of Art the Clown remains less overtly magical.

Compared to the version of the villain seen in his short films Terrifying and Terrifying 2The Art of the Clown is at least close to the human, although Terrifying 3The villain is more magical. He feels pain when he is shot or stabbed and the injuries temporarily bind him. However, he is inhumanly powerful, crushing human skulls with his feet and tearing people limb from limb with his bare hands.

Notably, he appears surprised when he is resurrected after taking his own life in Terrifyingis ending. This means the ending could be Art the Clown's first resurrection. Its second occurs in Terrifying 2is ending, after his beheading.

The reason for the clown in terrifying films explained

Art the Clown has apparently never stopped recruiting lost souls for Satan

Despite how indirect their deaths are as a method of achieving this goal, Art the Clown appears to be collecting souls for Satan in Terrifying films. In “The Ninth Circle”, he offered the Devil a direct sacrifice, while, throughout the Terrifying films, he uses murder to claim souls in a less direct way. Art deprives victims like Vicky, the Little Pale Girl, and Sienna of all hope so he can turn them into vectors for demons. This is reaffirmed when Vicky's corpse melts. Terrifying 3is ending, opening a pit in Hell that swallows Gabbie.

It's still unclear how exactly Art the Clown's plans work, as he seems to kill far more victims than he leads to despondency. He may only be able to use one victim as a vessel at a time, as is implied by Little Pale Girl possessing Vicky and Vicky later trying to possess Sienna.

However, this leads to the question of why Art also commits so many extra murders that aren't necessarily part of this plan. The answer may be that, by spreading misery and rampant cruelty throughout the world, the Craft deprives survivors of hope and leaves them vulnerable to demonic possession.

Art The main victims of the clown in cinema

Art The Clown notably killed Tara, Dawn, Allie and Barbara

Art is revived by his former victim, Victoria, who is in the asylum, who gives birth to his disembodied head in Terrifying 2The wild twist ending. Victoria is one of Art's many victims throughout his film appearances. In All Hallows' EveArt escapes the cursed videotape the main characters watch, enters the framing device story, and brutally kills two young children. In 2016 Terrifyinghe kills the film's apparent Final Girl, Tara, her friend Dawn, a lonely drifter whom the film dubs “Cat Lady”, two exterminators and owner of a pizzeria. Art's kill count is even worse again in Terrifying 2.

This sequence ups the ante, giving viewers Art's most shocking ride yet. Art the Clown kills nine people on screen in Terrifying 2not counting the Clown Café customers he slaughters indiscriminately in Sienna's disturbing dream sequence. Almost inevitably, Terrifying 3the story features even nastier deaths, but Terrifying 2The most notably extreme shocks include Allie's death, which goes on for much longer than expected and includes Art literally pouring salt into her wounds. The coroner's brutal death is equally violent, while the death of Sienna's friend Brooke is another notably intense sequence in the sequel.

The most memorable deaths in the upcoming sequel include Cole and Mia's double murder in the shower and Terrifying 3The opening scene of Art, in which Art kills an entire family in their home on Christmas Eve. Notably, the death of the family's daughter is off-screen and it is possible that Art spared her. It's almost inconceivable that the character would have done this out of the goodness of his heart, but it would fit with his demonic modus operandi. Just like the pale little girl and Vicky, this lonely, traumatized child could become a perfect vector for demons.

Who Plays Art The Clown In Terrifier

David Howard Thornton plays the villain in The Terrifier franchise

In "The 9th Circle" and All Hallows' EveArt the Clown is played by Leone's friend Mike Giannelli. Node Terrifying films, the role went to former mime David Howard Thornton. Ironically, Thornton was primarily a voice actor before landing the role, and his training as a mime shaped the villain's unique on-screen personality. Thornton also played a murderous version of the Grinch in 2022 The Evil Onea Christmas slasher that parodied the Dr. Seuss classic. Although Thornton has appeared in other films, TerrifyingArt the Clown from the film remains the actor's most recognized role to date.

Thorton also appeared as Art the Clown on comedian Pete Davidson's Peacock series Bupkisand he will play a murderous version of Steamboat Willie in the upcoming 2025 horror film Scream boat. Thornton's work as Art the Clown made him famous among horror viewers, and the actor reprized the role in the 2024 music video “A Work of Art” by the band Ice Nine Kills. Before finding fame in the horror franchise, Thornton did voice work in video games such as Ride to Hell: Retribution and Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom. Now, Terrifying's Art the Clown is his starring role.

Art's powers aren't what makes him so scary

Art's perspective on violence made him a horror icon

While Terrifying 3 helped add more context to Art the Clown's powers, the fact that the character has already established himself as an icon of modern horror proves that it wasn't these powers that made him so scary. Giving Art this immortal aspect certainly makes him formidable and in the same vein as longtime horror villains like Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. However, the The truly terrifying aspect of Art the Clown is its view of violence.

Art the Clown is one of the most brutal horror movie villains of all time. The horrific and prolonged ways in which he tortures and kills his victims have become legendary. However, It's not just the brutality of their murders, but the joy that Art takes in them is so disturbing. The images of him silently laughing as his victims scream in pain show that there is little malice in his actions and he is simply evil because he enjoys it. Even without his immortality, such behavior makes clear the Terrifying 3 the villain cannot be substantiated.