Damien Leone's third modern slasher Terrifying 3 saw the deliciously demented Art the Clown continue his reign of terror in Miles County, but a major fantasy franchise could be the key to stopping his murderous rampage once and for all. Terrifying 3Leone's unprecedented box office success was one of the film industry's most surprising stories of 2024, but despite expectations, Leone's demonic clown Art became an international phenomenon. Art's disturbing personal mix of sadism and silent comedy is made all the more terrifying by his apparent immortality, as he has “died” multiple times, only to return even more deadly.
However, another major franchise may hold clues to not only the true nature of Art and his acolyte Vicky, but also how to kill the clown permanently. Many iconic slashers have been effectively immortal, but none have had a nemesis like the one and only Sienna Shaw, as Art does. Terrifying 3 set the two on a collision course for a third and potentially final showdown. If the tips Terrifying If the franchise is to be believed about the setting of their confrontation, this strengthens the argument that Damien Leone may have even taken inspiration from another franchise when creating Art.
Art and Vicky sound a lot like Dungeons And Dragons Demons
Art and Vicky's tendencies align with the demonic race from the RPG Dungeons And Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons is a tabletop fantasy role-playing game that has inspired countless other iterations and references in film and television since its creation in 1971. Open-ended play involves players taking control of a character from traditional fantasy lore and making decisions to progress an adventure through of a fictional scenario. The incredibly extensive set of rules, characters, and settings includes many types of monsters and other nefarious creatures, and some of the most evil are the race of demons known as fiends.
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Terrifying Key Franchise Details |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Film |
Release date |
Budget |
Gross box office |
RT Tomatometer Score |
RT Popcorn Meter Score |
|
Terrifying |
2016 |
$35,000 to $55,000 |
$416,000 |
60% |
53% |
|
Terrifying 2 |
2022 |
$250,000 |
US$15.7 million |
86% |
80% |
|
Terrifying 3 |
2024 |
US$2 million |
US$89.3 million |
77% |
85% |
The personality traits and behavior of Art the Clown and his demon-possessed follower, Vicky, align with those of Dungeons and Dragons demons to an incredible degree. Demons are beings of undeniable evil that exist to spread chaos and pain. THE D&D game supplement manual known as Demonomicon by Mike Mearls notes that demons actually think killing is boring and instead want to cause as much pain as possible in the process. Art is famous for prolonging his deaths to prolong the suffering and has even literally rubbed salt and bleach into open wounds to cause more pain.
Demons also seek out mortal souls to corrupt to create more demons, another aspect that aligns with Art and Vicky. Art finally creates mentally unstable Victoria Heyes by eating her face in the first Terrifyingfinally opening her up to being possessed by the demon The Little Pale Girl. The possessed Vicky then attempts to invade the body and mind of the captured Sienna Shaw during the climactic confrontation of Terrifying 3although she is unable to do so thanks to Sienna's benevolent power. Art's chaotic and sadistic nature makes him seem like a D&D demon, which means similar rules can govern his existence.
Vicky's blood is an important clue about the Terrifier's Dungeons and Dragons connections
The mess resulting from Vicky's death further indicates their similarities
During the final confrontation of Terrifying 3Sienna manages to once again triumph over the demonic entities that torment her, impaling Art and decapitating Vicky with her father's blessed sword. While Art manages to escape once again, Vicky does not survive the decapitation, and what appears to be black blood pours from her gaping neck. The blood begins to bubble and vaporize slightly, and before long a portal is opened in the floor where her blood has pooled. This portal appears to lead directly to Hell itself, and both Sienna's cousin Gabbie and her magic sword fall into the hole.
This black blood strangely resembles a substance in Dungeons and Dragons tradition known as “demonic ichor”. According to DnD Adventure Baldur's Gate: Descent into AvernDemonic ichor is a combination of blood and other viscera from a dead demon. The substance is found in abundance in the first level of the Dungeons and Dragons Nine Hells, Avernus, can be used to enhance weapons, as well as being a key component of some rituals. If Vicky's blood was indeed parallel to demonic ichor, it could explain why he was able to open the portal to Hell.
The 9th Circle of the Terrifier connects to the Dungeons And Dragons universe
A key iteration of the RPG underworld is known as “The Nine Hells.”
The aforementioned Nine Hells of Baator, often shortened to Nine Hells, are home to a race of demons known as demons. Demons are not to be confused with the demon race, their archenemies in the long-running Blood War of D&D tradition. Demons can be killed in other realms, but in that case they will reappear in the Nine Hells. The Nine Hells is clearly inspired Hellthe first section of Italian poet Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem that describes the nine different levels of Hell and what kind of sinners are punished in each layer.
In the short film The 9th CircleArt's first appearance, Art serves as a literal servant of Satan and lures a young girl into the clutches of a satanic cult who summon him to torment her.
Art the Clown has his own connections to the Nine Circles of Hell; Art's first appearance came in Damien Leone's short film titled The 9th Circle. In short, Art literally serves as a servant of Satan and lures a young girl into the clutches of a satanic cult who enlists him to torment her. With this connection to the Ninth Circle of Hell already established, it stands to reason that there could be a connection to DnD'The Nine Hells given the other similarities between the demons of the RPG fantasy world and Art the Clown.
Dungeons And Dragons Lore Could Reveal How To Kill Art Once And For All
Specific conditions are needed to actually kill a Dungeons and Dragons demon
Art the Clown shares characteristics of demons and devils. Dungeons and Dragons lore, which further supports the notion that the RPG franchise may have served as a slight inspiration for Art creator Damien Leone, as opposed to a literal translation. Art's connection to the 9th Circle of Hell and the book's tease at the end of Terrifying 3 almost screams that he and Sienna are going to Hell in Terrifying 4. If Sienna manages to kill him there, then he may be gone for good, which would be in line with what happens to demons in Dungeons and Dragons.
Sienna will certainly need to get her magic sword back, but since she decapitated him and impaled him to the Earth with virtually no effect, something will need to change to get rid of the demon clown once and for all. The scenario in which he was killed could make a difference and, if that happens, it would be another point in favor of the connections between Dungeons and Dragons and the Terrifying franchise. Terrifying 3 laid more groundwork to support this theory, and even more evidence seems likely Terrifying 4.
Source: Forgotten Realms