Art the Clown Actor Teases TERRIRIER 4’s “Batsh*t Insane” Finale and Mysterious Origin Story

David Howard Thornton, the man behind Art the Clown, just shared a promising update on Terrifier 4, and it sounds like Damien Leone is cooking up something horrifically wild.

While the next entry in the Terrifier franchise is still in early development, with Leone currently writing the script, Thornton revealed that even he’s mostly in the dark this time around. Thornton told Slasher Radio:

“I’m very excited, but I don’t know a whole lot, because this time around Damien has been keeping everything very close to his vest about what’s happening in the script.”

Thornton, who has played the murderous mime across all three Terrifier films, confirmed he’ll once again don the clown paint for the upcoming sequel, but Leone is keeping the story tightly under wraps.

“He just goes, ‘Oh yeah, you're gonna love the origin story, Dave. You’re gonna love how we do it. And he said also, ‘The finale is bat-shit insane. You’re gonna have a lot of fun with that.’ Other than that, I don’t know, but that makes me excited.”

That’s a big tease coming from a director who’s usually collaborative with his cast. According to Thornton, this secretive approach is a big shift from how Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3 were developed.

“In the past, when he’s been writing the other scripts, he's been consulting us the whole entire time, running ideas by us. This time, he’s been pretty much silent.”

Still, Thornton says he has “so much faith” in Leone’s vision. From previous hints, Terrifier 4 will finally dig into Art’s disturbing origins, a storyline fans have been waiting for since the first film.

But this could also be the end of the road for the killer clown. Leone has suggested that Terrifier 4 might wrap up the saga, though he has also said that it might take more than one movie to finish Art’s story.

Thornton seems to agree that this could be the grand finale, at least for now.

“I feel like this might be the finale of this story arc that [Leone]’s going with for right now and might give it a rest for a few years and might return later on to it. I have no idea, but I’m excited nonetheless.”

Leone previously explained how the late David Lynch has influenced his storytelling style for Terrifier 4:

“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. He’s one of my heroes.

“But I love the way he tells stories, and they’re very abstract. 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. His voice is his work. He’s not supposed to just tell you what he did.”

This “Lynchian way” means don’t expect Terrifier 4 to give up all its secrets. Art the Clown’s origins may be coming into focus, but Leone is more interested in preserving the eerie unknown. He added:

“That’s the most important part, even if people don’t realize it because they’re just so hungry to know what his deal is. I think a lot of people don’t realize the reason he works so well is because of the mystique. If you pull the curtain back too far, and you lose that mystique, it’s over... It’s almost always a disappointment.”

So, horror fans, brace yourselves. Art the Clown is coming back, and it sounds like Terrifier 4 is about to crank the bloody chaos up to eleven.