Hold onto your barf bags, horror fans. The reign of Art the Clown is officially drawing to a close. However, the mind behind the madness is just getting started.
After filmmaker Damien Leone wraps up his symphony of splatter with Terrifier 4, he’s trading indie grit for studio backing. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Leone has signed on with Lionsgate to write, direct, and produce Tortures of the Damned, his very first non-Terrifier feature since 2016.
If graduating to a major studio wasn’t enough of a flex, Leone is bringing horror royalty along for the ride. The legendary Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man) is set to produce the project alongside his Ghost House Pictures partner, Rob Tapert.
From Micro-Budgets to Mega-Studios
Lionsgate has already rolled out the blood-red carpet. Erin Westerman, President of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, couldn’t contain her excitement:
“Damien is a true genre auteur with a singular vision, and we’re thrilled to help bring this bold new project to the screen while continuing to build on the incredible connection he has with fans around the world.”
While concrete plot details are locked tight in a secure vault, we do know a few things about Tortures of the Damned. It promises to be a departure from the grindhouse slasher vibe of Terrifier. Leone will finally have the kind of financial backing that doesn’t require him to mix the fake blood in his bathtub himself. The question is: can it possibly be gorier than Art the Clown’s greatest hits? That is a phenomenally high bar to clear, but with Raimi in his corner, expect something beautifully demented.
The House That Art Built
It’s hard to overstate just how meteoric Leone’s rise has been. He didn’t just direct the Terrifier films; he practically built them with his bare hands—serving as writer, producer, editor, sound designer, and special effects makeup artist.
The franchise’s box-office evolution reads like a Hollywood fairy tale (if fairy tales involved a lot more hacksaws), with Terrifier 2 made on a $250,000 budget and grossing $15 million. Terrifier 3 had a budget of $2 million and brought in an impressive $90 millon.
Saying goodbye to Art the Clown in Terrifier 4 will undoubtedly be bittersweet. But knowing that Damien Leone is moving on to big-studio resources with Sam Raimi watching his back? That’s a trade-off horror fans should be dying to see. You can find Terrifier 1-3 now streaming on Peacock.
