Actor David Howard Thornton said he took inspiration from a Will Ferrell character for his third portrayal of killer Art the Clown in Terrifier 3, in theaters Friday. Art the Clown silently mimes before he graphically murders people.

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In the third film, when Art meets a man in a Santa Claus costume in a bar, he goes wide-eyed and jubilant, though it does not end well for the Santa or the bar patrons.

"I was channeling a little bit of Will Ferrell from Elf there," Thornton told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.

Art steals the Santa costume, which serves a practical purpose, too. Previous Terrifiers were set around Halloween, where Art could blend in.

"In the Halloween season, it's easy to walk around in costume as a clown and people don't really notice you," Thornton said. "So, how can Art get around during the holiday season and people won't really take notice?"

Thornton noted that astute viewers could notice remnants from the unlucky Santa from whom Art stole his costume.

"There's a bit of the lip of Santa still on the beard so it's just dangling there," Thornton said.

As a clown, Art disarms his victims by miming in front of them. Many of them get so annoyed that they try to physically remove Art, not suspecting how violent he is.

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"When they're in that vulnerable state, it's a lot easier to go in for the kill," Thornton said. "They're not on the defense anymore. They're just like, 'OK, this guy's just a little bit crazy here.'"

Thornton said most of his miming is improvised. The scripts by writer-director Damien Leone indicate where he is free to mime.

"It'll just say, 'OK, Art is very excited about seeing Santa in a bar and go,'" Thornton said. "Those are the situations where Damien is like, 'OK, here's your sandbox. Now, go play.'"

Sometimes Thornton cannot resist breaking character. In Terrifier 3, Art chops through a door like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, but since he is silent, he cannot say Nicholson's trademark line.

"There's definitely a take in there where I did the 'Here's Johnny' thing," Thornton said. "I had to."

Art carries around a garbage bag full of his murder weapons. In Terrifier 3, he transfers that bag to Santa's sack.

Thornton said the bag usually is filled with paper to make it lighter. However, for scenes in which Art pulls out his weapons, the filmmakers filled the bag with the real things.

As Santa, Terrifier 3 brings Art in closer proximity to children than the previous entries. Thornton reminds viewers that Art had killed children in the short featured in All Hallows' Eve, which introduced the character before Thornton was even cast.

Still, Thornton did not want Art terrorizing children to be gratuitous. A former teacher before he was an actor, Thornton agreed with Leone that children would not be involved in the extended torture scenes Art's adult victims endure.

"I think we handled it in a tasteful way, I guess you could say," Thornton said. "You necessarily don't see the death happen. You see maybe the aftermath."

Art also sets his sights on the survivors of Terrifier 2. Sienna (Lauren LaVera) is released from a psychiatric institution, while her brother, Jonathan (Elliott Fullam), is in college.

LaVera said when she's filming scenes with Thornton in character and witnessing the graphic dismemberments the makeup department created, it is easy to act scared.

"I'm a bit method in that I do try to believe where I am in the moment," LaVera said. "The prosthetics are horrifying, as well, so I think it's a nice mesh of seeing the beautiful artwork on Dave's face, seeing his wonderful performance and a bit of imagination."

Once Leone calls cut, however, LaVera said the Terrifier sets are full of joy and laughter.

"Dave makes me laugh in between takes, too," LaVera said. "David is not a scary guy. He's a delight to be around."

LaVera said she wanted to do justice to portraying the trauma with which survivors cope. She relied on her preparation from Terrifier 2 to slip back into the role of Sienna.

"I did have a lot of journaling and note-taking already in place for Terrifier 2," LaVera said. "I reached out to mental health facilities. I tried to do research on PTSD and survivor's guilt, so there were definitely new aspects that we infused into her."

Leone told UPI he expected Terrifier 3 to be his last film in the franchise. However, he added he expects other filmmakers to continue, and both actors are interested in returning.

"I love this character so much, I am totally fine playing him as long as I can," Thornton said. "If I'm not able to one day, then sure, sure, sure. I hope whoever's able to take him on does him the proper justice."

Horror franchises tend to introduce new survivors more often than new killers. LaVera is open to sharing the space, though would not want to see Sienna recast.

"I'm a huge fan of actors in general, so I would love to see other people go up against Art," LaVera said. "As far as Sienna, I think she's mine."

UPI's review of Terrifier 3 runs Wednesday.