Terrifier 3’s Art The Clown Was Inspired By Two Comedy Legends & One Cartoon Character

There are few characters in the modern horror landscape who can rival Art the Clown, the deranged maniac who’s been at the forefront of the “Terrifier” franchise for more than a decade (if we go back to his feature debut in the “All Hallows’ Eve” anthology). Since then, he’s become a true icon of the genre, appearing on tons of merchandise and leading unlikely box office success stories, such as 2022’s “Terrifier 2.” Now, Art is back for a Christmastime massacre in the new “Terrifier 3,” which figures to only increase his status as horror’s new it boy. But interestingly, for as unrelentingly brutal as Art is on screen, it turns out that the character is influenced by some icons from the comedy world.

/Film’s Jacob Hall recently sat down with “Terrifier 3” writer/director Damien Leone, star David Howard Thornton (Art the Clown), and wrestler-turned-actor Chris Jericho. During the conversation, Hall asked about any influences on Art outside of the horror realm, specifically citing “Looney Tunes” as a possibility. “That’s not an inspiration for me when I’m writing these movies,” Leone said. Thornton, however, revealed that he sees Art the Clown as a Bugs Bunny of sorts. Here’s what he had to say about it:

“To answer your question about Looney Tunes, yeah, definitely in my head I kind of see Art as being the Bugs Bunny of the horror world in that way. He’s that mischievous, chaotic character that — he even does drag.”

Thornton is now synonymous with the role of Art the Clown, having first appeared as the killer in 2016’s “Terrifier.” However, it was Mike Giannelli who originated the role in Leone’s short film “The 9th Circle” before going on to star in “All Hallows’ Eve.” But when Gianelli declined to return as Art for “Terrifier,” Thornton seized the opportunity, and the rest is horror history.

It’s important to bring up Giannelli because, for as much as Thornton has now made Art the Clown his own, he wasn’t starting from scratch. Even so, Thornton undeniably brought something to the role, which was a different level of physicality. It’s actually not hard to see the Bugs Bunny in it after he says that, even if Bugs never did anything as repugnant as this killer clown. (Art’s on-screen shenanigans have already led to walk-outs during screenings of “Terrifier 3.”)

Beyond the famed “Looney Tunes” icon, Hall also asked if there were any other silent stars who served as an influence for Art. When asked if there was a bit of Charlie Chaplin, the star of classics such as “The Kid” and “The Gold Rush,” in him, Thornton was quick to confirm that is indeed the case:

“Oh, definitely Chaplin. But really how I approached him, I looked at him as being the bastard child of Freddy Krueger and Harpo Marx.”

That’s not all, though. Leone then chimed in to say, “And Mr. Bean.” To which Thornton replied positively, “And Mr. Bean.” Yes, in addition to Bugs Bunny and Chaplin, apparently, Rowan Atkinson’s British comedy icon is also part of Art the Clown’s DNA. To put the final cherry on this whole, bizarre sundae, Thornton circled back around to draw an unexpected connection between Art and Harpo Marx:

“There’s a funny thing also, and this is something I realized just about a month or so ago because I decided to sit back when I had one night to myself, and I found a bunch of the old Marx brother movies on Amazon. And I was like, I’m just going to watch these again. And I’m sitting there, what was Harpo Marx’s real name? And I looked it up. Arthur. He is Art. This is something that was always there in the back of my brain. I looked at Harpo, he was known for his hat. He was known for his horn, just like Art.”

See if you can spot the influences for yourself when “Terrifier 3” hits theaters on October 11, 2024.