Terrifier 3introduces several new human characters into the mix as Sienna Shaw’s story continues, but most of them are so annoying they almost ruin the movie. The main plot of the sequel takes place five years afterTerrifier 2’s endingas Lauren LaVera’s final girl character is released from a mental health facility and goes to spend Christmas with her extended family. By expanding the story in this direction,Terrifier 3’s cast grows to include new Shaw relatives, while Jonathan’s time at college also brings some new characters with him.
TheTerrifiermovieshave never been primarily focused on human characters, as these films have and always will be showcases for Art the Clown. However,Terrifier 2made an effort to deliver more developed human characters, and the reception to Sienna Shaw shows how effective it was in accomplishing that. There’s little debate that Sienna is once again a strong part ofTerrifier 3, as her arc and role in the finale is a satisfying continuation. Unfortunately, the new characters introduced throughout the story do more harm than good, making them irritating presences in the film.
Sienna’s New Relatives In Terrifier 3 Aren’t Sympathetic To Her Experiences
This Is Especially True Of Her Uncle Greg
The key new characters introduced for Sienna’s story inTerrifier 3are her aunt Jess and uncle Greg, as well as their daughter and Sienna’s cousin, Gabbie. Sienna goes to live with them after checking out of the mental health facility. And while she is in a better spot than she was before, she is still dealing with the trauma that came from fighting Art the Clown before. It should be a no-brainer for Jess, Greg, and Gabbie to be sympathetic to what she went through and patient with any troubles she has readjusting to the real world.
Uncle Greg dies off-screen after going to get Jonathan from college
That is not how they largely act towards Sienna. Aunt Jess is arguably the best at being a supportive presence for Sienna, but Greg and Gabbie are not as understanding. Greg begins to question how they should act around Sienna after only one breakdown. Meanwhile,Gabbie is completely insensitive to Sienna’s experienceand feelings. She directly asks her about the scars and crosses a line of looking through Sienna’s journal. The lack of support provided to Sienna by her relatives makes them frustrating parts of the film when looking at it through the main character’s experience.
Sienna’s Cousin Gabbie Is Too Invasive
She Snoops Through Everything & Goes Too Far
Gabbie’s insensitivity to Sienna’s past is only the beginning of her annoying tendencies. The movie does not waste much time establishing that Gabbie has a tendency to snoop around and look for things that she’s not supposed to. She’s portrayed of being almostoverly interested in Sienna and becomes too invasiveabout her cousin’s history as a result. This includes the aforementioned incident where she reads Sienna’s entire diary, even after Sienna explicitly told her not to. This makes Gabbie a character who is more focused on what she wants than respecting the wishes of others.
There is a point to Gabbie’s invasivenesswhen it comes toTerrifier 3’s ending, as she also looked through the present containing the flame sword that Sienna hid behind the tree. This allows Gabbie to help trick Art and Vicky into letting Sienna open the gift and gain access to the sword. This still does not excuse the lengths Gabbie went to, in her opinion, better understand her cousin. The movie already established Gabbie’s propensity for secretly opening presents before she’s supposed to, so there was no real reason why she needed to read the diary too.
Mia Is Too Obsessed With Art & The Shaws
Cole’s Girlfriend Takes Her True Crime Podcast Too Far
The most annoying addition toTerrifier 3is Mia, the girlfriend of Cole, Jonathan’s roommate. Mia has a true crime podcast and is chasing more fame and listens around the five-year anniversary of the Shaw siblings' encounter with the Miles County Clown, as she knows Art the Clown to be. She wants nothing more than to interview Jonathan on the show, and when she then happens to meet Sienna, her full obsession comes out.Mia can’t stop questioning them about what happened and acting as a fan girl, treating them as celebrities who were part of something worth celebrating.
Mia proves to be such an annoying presence to Sienna that she begins yelling at the podcast host after she was asked how she’s coping with everything. As if that wasn’t bad enough,Mia does not think she did anything wrong, as revealed in a later conversation. Seeing Sienna’s reaction doesn’t deter her interest in the crime and expressing her wish to be in the presence of Art the Clown. That brings about her demise, as she and Cole havebrutal deaths inTerrifier 3during the shower scene.
Terrifier 3’s New Human Characters Almost Ruined The Movie
The problem withTerrifier 3’s new human characters being so annoying is that they come close to ruining the movie. Whether it is Uncle Greg complaining about Sienna’s mental state, Gabbie’s tendency to invade her cousin’s privacy, or Mia’s unrelenting obsession with Sienna and Jonathan fighting Art,the characters becoming presences in the film that are more irritating than they are enjoyable. Perhaps that is by design andTerrifier 3’s way of exploring the full extent of Sienna’s mental state, but that’s an odd way to do it if so.
Gabbie’s snooping tendencies could have been toned down so the movie could lean more into the strength of her relationship with Sienna
It would not have worked forTerrifier 3not to add new characters at all, butthe movie could’ve done a better job of making these new additions work better. There’s no sense that Greg cares about Sienna, so his off-screen death is not impactful for audiences, and it’s glossed over when it comes to the other characters. Gabbie’s snooping tendencies could have been toned down so the movie could lean more into the strength of her relationship with Sienna ahead of the search for her inTerrifier 4. Meanwhile, Mia should have had a bit more maturity.
Terrifier 3still works despite these character flaws, but their portrayals are still frustrating. Perhaps this should have been expected to some degree though. The movies are known for pushing the limits of blood and gore, not excellent characters - beyond Sienna. It’s more so disappointing becauseTerrifier 2did a good job bringing Sienna to life and showing that the franchise can support more fleshed out characters.Terrifier 3indicates that might only pertain to Lauren LaVera’s character.
