New Terrifier 3 photos tease Art the Clown in his Santa outfit and Vicky's return

Art the Clown has donned his Christmas apparel in preparation for the holidays as October inches closer. This Wednesday, the first official teaser for Terrifier 3 will drop online, but before then, USA Today released four exclusive new photos to give fans their first real look at the upcoming slasher film.

In addition to the photos, Terrifier filmmaker Damien Leone chatted with the outlet about what to expect from the third movie in the trilogy and how Terrifier 3 expands on the mythology of Art the Clown.

The photos give us our first look at Lauren LaVera, who is returning as Sienna Shaw. Since we last saw her, Sienna has been struggling with her trauma over her previous battle with Art the Clown that ended with her killing him in the second movie (though, as we know, he comes back later). There's also a photo of Art looking like he's having a grand old time while wearing a Santa Claus get-up complete with some silly glasses.

But the most gruesome photo of the bunch belongs to Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi) who returns after becoming possessed by something. Vicky was the franchise's original final girl and she's been through hell since the 2018 movie. It was Vicky who "gave birth" to this new Art in that creepy post-credits scene following Terrifier 2. She looks pretty rough.

During the interview with USA Today, Leone said he wanted to put Art into a bunch of "classic Christmas movie" tropes to see "how he would handle that." But despite the festive atmosphere, Terrifier 3 promises to maintain the visceral gore and gross-out practical effects fans have come to expect from the films.

Leone says that Terrifier 3 is "way more relentless and gory," and he's had to get creative to come up with new ways for Art to terrorize his victims.

"As evil as [Art] is, he's equally charming and there's something sweet about him. You almost want to be his friend."

- Damien Leone, USA Today

Like the Terrifier 2 screenings, apparently Terrifier 3 also caused some viewers to faint and puke in the audience. Even star David Thornton Howard, who plays Art the Clown, came close to vomiting on set one day during the filming of the third film.

Terrifier 3 is set five years after the events of Terrifier 2. Sienna might have decapitated the original Art the Clown, but as we saw in the post-credits scene, he's back with a vengeance. The Art we meet in Terrifier 3 "has been possessed by a mysterious evil entity."

So while Sienna and her younger brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) are trying to enjoy the holidays with their family, Miles County is in for a far more murderous special guest than Santa on Christmas Eve.

Terrifier 3 releases in theaters on October 11. To stay up to date on thrillers, sci-fi, and horror, bookmark 1428 Elm and follow our Facebook page and Twitter account!