Terrifier 3 hits screens next week, and writer-director Damien Leone has revealed the Robert Zemeckis TV episode that inspired his horror sequel.
Art the Clown’s latest adventure debuted at Fantastic Fest in September, to much acclaim. Here’s what we wrote about the threequel in our Terrifier 3 review:
“With a bigger budget at his disposal – and therefore a broader canvas – Damien Leone has crafted a slasher for the ages, one that will cement Art’s place alongside the likes of Freddy, Michael, and Jason.”
The new movie is set at Christmas, with Art committing heinous crimes dressed as Santa Claus. During the film’s post-screening Q&A, Leone revealed the specific episode of a horror TV show that inspired his it.
“One of my favorite sub-genres of the horror genre is Christmas horror,” says Leone. “In particular the Tales from the Crypt short films that were set at Christmas.
“The Robert Zemeckis one from the 1990s, which is a remake of the one from the 1970s, and I love both of them equally. I love that tone. It’s the perfect marriage of horror and Christmas. So that was a big inspiration.”
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The Tales From the Crypt episode that Leone is referring to aired on June 10, 1989, and is titled ‘And All Through the House.’ The story concerns a woman who murders her husband, only to find herself terrorised by an escaped mental patient dressed as Santa.
The instalment stars Larry Drake and Mary Ellen Trainor, and is loosely based on a segment in 1972’s Tales From the Crypt movie, during which Joan Collins is attacked by a deranged Klaus.
In the same Q&A, Leone also reveals the festive flick that inspired Terrifier 3, saying: “Obviously there’s a lot of Black Christmas homages in this movie.”
Terrifier 3 is out on October 11. Before then you can check out our ranking of the Terrifier kills, plus star Samantha Scaffidi’s pick for her favorite kill in Terrifier 3.
