The independent horror movie Terrifier 3 was the top dog at the box office, beating out films like Joker: Folie a Deux and The Apprentice. No matter what you think, that’s a huge achievement for a film made on a shoestring budget compared to those films. The question remains though, is horror back? And also, is Terrifier 3‘s success as organic as it seems? The answer to the first question is an easy one. I answered it last year for Fright-A-Thon, no, horror is not back.

It’s not back, because it never left. The idea that horror has somehow died and come back resurrected every time it takes the number one spot at the box office is a nice narrative for people writing articles and making videos on YouTube, but it’s not one that actually means a thing. Horror movies are really the most pure form of moviemaking. You don’t have overblown budgets on most of them. They routinely have no-name or up-and-coming actors and crews. That means that you get the most out of everything on set, in production, and in post-production. They rely on marketing, word-of-mouth, and more That means that it’s up to audiences to decide to go see them. You do see horror movies fail all the time. They’re not the money-printer that some would want you to think.

Movies like The Exorcist: Believer and AfrAId both were not successful horror films in recent memory. You know what the difference was? Those films felt like they were capitalizing on the trend of horror, rather than just being a horror movie. Horror films definitely reach into our own pop culture and take elements out, but sometimes, they end up feeling like they’re reaching too hard and forcing the issue. That brings us back to Terrifier 3.

How Organic Is The Success For Terrifer 3 And Art The Clown?

Go into your local Spirit Halloween this year, check Twitter, read all the articles about Art and Terrifier this season. What’s the one common denominator? Art the Clown and the Terrifier series. They’ve taken over. You can turn without a horror account posting about them. So what gives? Is Art the Clown an “industry plant”? Or is the success hard-earned? Let’s look at the data. The Terrifier series goes farther back than just the first film. Art the Clown was showing up in short films as far back as 2008’s The 9th Circle. The All Hallows Eve anthology series is really where Art got his start. That’s a point against the “industry plant” idea. This isn’t just some inorganic social media blitz by a marketing agency. This is something that dedicated horror fans have been around for more than a decade.

Adding to that, we’re in a period without the majority of our classic slasher villains in the public eye. Freddy Krueger? Hasn’t been seen since 2010. Jason Voorhees? Not since 2009. Michael Myers? His story just wrapped up in Halloween Ends. Leatherface? The Netflix 2022 film, but nothing on the horizon. Chucky? Their show just got canceled by USA Network. So there’s a huge gap in horror fan’s minds where a new slasher can take up the mantle. People are YEARNING for something new in horror, and we’ve finally got it, right in front of us. Instead of celebrating it, people want to question why it’s so popular so suddenly.

Well, the answer is that it’s not. Terrifier has slowly earned the popularity it’s gotten.

Just looking at the box office numbers, which shouldn’t be the be-all, end-all, but then again, we’re talking to people here who think a murderous clown who is vivisecting people on screen is an “industry plant”, the third film has already out-grossed the second film at the box office. Call it a day after one weekend and you have a massively successful independent horror movie that has taken the top spot at the box office. That’s just weekend one though. There’s plenty more, and then there’s home video sales. Yes, Terrifier has taken up the other mantle of relying on home video sales to buoy the box office. Netflix, other studios, take notes. If you release kickass home video versions of your movies, physical media nerds (like myself) will buy it.

So, to suggest that Terrifier‘s popularity and success is anything other than the hard work of independent filmmakers because the corporate juggerlords have finally taken notice, is a joke. Art the Clown showing up in Spirit Halloween stores across the nation isn’t the sign of something that is inorganic. If you don’t like the blood and gore of the franchise, that’s one thing. But let’s not ruin other people’s good time. Art the Clown is here to stay and he’s here to take up the mantle of the slasher icons of the past.

For more on Halloween, make sure to check out Fright-A-Thon, the Halloween content marathon.

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