The 5 unforgettable kills in Terrifier 3, ranked from gnarly to straight-up gruesome

This October brought us a long list of spooky content that we absolutely loved here at 1428 Elm. And while we got to enjoy a bunch of new movies, TV shows, and other media this fall, choosing which one was the bloodiest is easy. That’s because the Terrifier film series returned this year, bringing us more gore and guts at the hands of Art the Clown. The low-budget, unrated horror movies that began in 2016 are notorious for holding nothing back when it comes to violence and gore, something we diehard horror fans appreciate. And while there’s certainly room to criticize the films, the third entry was an improvement from the first two—becoming one of the best movies of the genre in 2024.

If you didn’t get the chance to see Terrifier 3 in theaters—or were just too scared to watch it on the big screen—you have your chance now to watch it at home. The slasher, which was a box office success, becoming the highest-grossing unrated film ever, is now available to rent on VOD. Though we love this movie, we wouldn't recommend watching it around your family for Thanksgiving, so tread carefully.

In honor of the movie coming to VOD, we're looking back at the five grossest kills and ranking them. Major spoilers for Terrifier 3 are ahead.

5. Mia

Terrifier 3 takes place five years after the events of Terrifier 2, and the Shaw siblings are dealing with their trauma in different ways. While Sienna lives at a mental health center, Jonathan goes to college and tries to lead a normal life. At school, he rooms with a classmate named Cole, whose girlfriend Mia is obsessed with true crime. Desperate to talk to Jonathan and Sienna about what happened to them, Mia constantly talks about how cool they are to her. Well, she doesn’t get her wish as her life is cut short by Art. Shocking!

Mia dies in the Terrifier 3 shower scene, in which Art walks in on her and Cole showering together in the dorms. He opens up the curtain and begins attacking them with a chainsaw, killing Mia by sawing off her arms and the lower half of her body. In a darkly comedic moment, Art puts his glasses onto Mia, a nod to an earlier moment, as she slouches down in the shower and dies.

4. Dennis, the construction worker

During the years between Terrifier 2 and 3, Art and his accomplice Victoria are in a deep hibernation—only to be awoken by two construction workers who come by the abandoned house ahead of it being demolished. While looking around the creepy (and smelly!) place, they both are killed by the film's murderous villains. The most twisted kill between the two is the one committed by Art, who uses a boxcutter to harm his victim, a man named Dennis. The clown nails him to the floor before going for his scalp, peeling his face off in the process.

The most twisted part about this scene isn’t even the actual kill, however. It’s the fact that Victoria watches and masturbates with a shard of glass, feeling aroused by Art’s act of violence. Yikes.

3. The opening scene’s mom

Taking place during the winter holidays, Terrifier 3 is a new Christmas horror classic. The opening scene establishes this with an unforgettable sequence, seeing Art invade a family’s home dressed up as Santa Claus. Breaking into the house in the middle of the night, he proceeds to kill nearly all of the family members—though the mom’s is certainly the most graphic. After a thrilling chase scene, Art stabs the mom before chopping her arm off and then splitting her head in two with an ax. What a way to begin a movie!

2. Jess

Multiple deaths in Terrifier 3 really hit us, even some that were off-screen. But the saddest death that we get to see played out is also the second grossest because of the torture involved. That would be Sienna and Jonathan’s aunt Jess, who is such a great source of support. After losing their parents, the siblings don’t have many people to turn to beyond each other—but their aunt Jess, uncle Greg, and cousin Gabbie are there for them. Unfortunately, this means they are major targets for Art and Victoria, who come to their home in the final act and begin attacking the family.

Art and Victoria tie Jess and Sienna to chairs, which is when Jess is killed. But not before she’s tortured with rats as Art places a plastic tube in her mouth and forces the rodents down her throat. Gross. Her throat is then slit.

1. Cole

The most graphic death in Terrifier 3 might not be the most devastating, but it’s gross nonetheless. After Art kills Mia in the shower scene, he then goes after Cole. The clown manages to injure him by taking his chainsaw to a leg, which results in Cole struggling to get away while crawling on the floor. Art takes his chainsaw and then cuts up his backside, literally slicing him—and his male anatomy—in half.

The kill isn’t as emotional as the violence we see in the final act considering we just met Cole and have little-to-no attachment to him, but there’s no way in denying that it’s totally gruesome, winning the No. 1 spot on our list.

While the Terrifier movies have been criticized for lack of plot or emotion, the third movie makes major improvements in this department and is an all-around great installment. We’ll be sure to enjoy another viewing (or two) now that it’s available to rent at home.

For physical media lovers, Terrifier 3 will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4k Ultra HD Steelbook on Dec. 17.