This post containsspoilers forTerrifier 3.
Terrifier 3is often a joyful movie, and not just because of its Christmas trappings!
That might strike some as a surprising statement.
Another sequence climaxes with Art using explosive gifts to blow up a bunch of kids.
And yet,Terrifier 3is joyful, precisely because of the way the store Santa torture sequence begins.
Theres something sweet and childlike about Arts actions.
Surrounded by police officers, Buster tries to take the edge off with a cigarette.
Without missing a beat, the stone faced Buster lights up his cigarette and tosses the bomb behind him.
But to the original audience more than a century ago, the bomb sequence struck a nerve.
Thus Busters gags were just as much horror as they were comedy, at least to the first viewers.
And he was hardly the only comedian of the era to combine physical humor with hot-button issues.
A decade earlier, Keystone Studios pumped out split-reel comedies with violent, bumbling officers dubbed the Keystone Cops.
Bangville Police (1913) sees parents nearly shoot their daughter, confusing her for burglars.
Like Buster, Chaplins Tramp becomes entangled with protesting workers and a police backlash inModern Times(1936).
Mean-spirited and boundary-pushing, these gags took terror and made it joyful.
And thats exactly what Thornton does with his performance as Art the Clown.
But its also really, really funny in an old-timey way.
Cole tries to crawl away, but Art grabs his ankle to pull him back.
But when the tattered tendons give way and the calf rips off.
Never one to miss a bit, Art pulls the calf up to his face and sniffs the foot.
Instead of making the onscreen mayhem so much worse, Arts shenanigans cut the tension and the terror.
Comedy in the Cruelty
Are Arts antics cruel?
Yes, of course.
It might annoy some people, but most of these scenes are obvious in their desire to upset.
Terrifer 3 is now in theaters.
