‘Terrifier’ director Damien Leone reveals inspiration behind horror slasher

Damien Leone, director of the popular film series Terrifier, has unveiled the inspiration behind the storytelling of the upcoming sequel.

Terrifier 4 is already is in works and fans can expect to see the origin story of "Art the Clown."

The globally acclaimed horror slasher features David Howard Thornton in the role of the barbaric clown.

The third installment revealed that Art the Clown is evil and is linked to demonic spirit. The fourth movie will unveil the character’s hideous past.

Damien, while speaking about the new film, addressed that he closely focused on storytelling while he was creating Terrifier 2, which is when he took inspiration from popular filmmaker David Lynch’s movies.

He told Collider, “Once I wrote Part 2, I decided to really start telling the story. I wanted to tell it almost in a Lynchian way. I could never be on the same level as David Lynch.”

Leone says that he really loves the way Lynch keeps suspense in his stories. “He doesn’t give you answers. If he ever tried to articulate, it would trivialize and diminish the beauty of what he’s done as an artist.”

For the fourth installment, the 43-year-old director added, “You’re still going to have that Lynchian vibe with the next one, for sure.”

Damien’s Terrifier 4 is slated to release in 2026.