A projectionist who had a front-row seat as viewers walked out and threw up at a horror movie premier has revealed how the audience was ‘turning away in revulsion’.
The third instalment of director Damien Leone’s Terrifier franchise this week made its UK debut at VUE in Leicester Square, London, and left quite the impression – with some fans left ‘traumatised’.
The gory film’s ‘insane’ opening scene led to 11 people walking out and another throwing up just ten minutes in. A separate scene also reportedly caused a fan to have a panic attack.
The gruesome scene shows a family being murdered in a number of brutal ways by demonic killer Art The Clown – though director Damien Leone said this was ‘not even the big kill scene’ of the film.
Some cinemas have printed warning notices cautioning viewers about the ‘extreme violence and excessive gore’, with ‘staff trained in first aid’ also on hand to help anyone who might be ‘feeling unwell’ during the film.
A projectionist and AV tech, who was at the UK premier of Terrifier 3 which saw fans prepped with sick bags, today told how the opening seen was ‘a lot’ for many watching and revealed how he gave one customer a sick bag for a joke – but they ended up using it.
Joel, 33, who was working on the mixing desk during the Q&A portion of the screening, confessed to hearing ‘a lot of groans and gasps’.
He told : ‘I didn’t see walk outs but I heard they happened, there was nine in total I think.
‘In advance they usually have a tote bag with the poster in it, instead this time they provided a sick bag as a little joke but one person needed to use it apparently.
‘I didn’t see anyone be sick but you could see a lot of people wincing and turning away in revolution.’
He continued: ‘I think a lot of people were there because they wanted to be there.
‘They were already fans so they were very happy with it, but I think for a few people it was more than they were expecting.
‘Its good gory fun, I grew up watching that kind of stuff but it isn’t for everyone.’
When asked if he thought most people would be able to sit through the entire film, he said: ‘Probably not, it’s very over the top and gruesome at points but in a fun way.
‘It’s quite tongue and cheek so its kind of playing with how over the top it is but it’s not scary as much as gruesome and having fun with it.
‘The opening scene was a lot for people and the director said as much, it was almost worse than the gorier stuff.’
However the movie buff wasn’t the only onlooker shocked by the level of gore, as many on the streets of London couldn’t even make it through the trailer.
Rania, 48, from Lebanon, asked to pause mere seconds into the shocking film’s preview.
She told : ‘I hate horror movies and for me that’s impossible, I can’t watch it.
‘I have to say it’s ugly. It doesn’t convey any message, in fact it spreads a very negative feeling – I would feel awful after if I watched it.
‘Movies are meant to expand our imagination and to let us live the moment and what I just saw – do I want to be a part of that? No.’
Dierdre, who is in her 60’s, from Bambury, also couldn’t make it through the gory trailer, branding the clip as ‘not pleasant at all’.
‘I definitely wouldn’t see it. I don’t like masks and clowns which is what it sort of indicated – I don’t like that,’ she said.
25-year-old Thalha, joked: ‘Damn that’s actually pretty crazy I’m not going to lie – that’s actually pretty scary.
Damien Leone is an American film director who mainly works within the horror genre.
He has established a cult following from fans of his Terrifier franchise, which follows demonic killer Art the Clown as he terrorises a town in New York City.
The first Terrifier film was released in 2016 and follows on from Leone’s directorial debut in All Hallows’ Eve.
Leone was nominated for a Chainsaw Award for Best Makeup FX in Terrifier in 2019.
He was nominated for the same award for the second film, Terrifier 2, in 2022, which he later won.
‘It’s very gory, so its not something I am going to watch. I think I have seen enough.
‘I couldn’t make it through the notebook, so I don’t think I would even make it through five minutes of that.
But not everyone was against watching the new horror sequel that took Leicester Square by storm last night, with many adamant they could make it through the film which is two hours and five minutes long.
Joe Nayquonabe, 42, visiting from Minnesota, USA said: ‘It freaked me out a little bit.
‘It’s off putting a little bit because you are settling into a Christmas vibe then all of a sudden its horror.
‘It scared the s***t out of me to be honest with you,’ he continued: ‘With all that blood and all that crazy stuff going on that’s a different level of horror.
‘When I saw it was part three I was like “Oh crap I have to go and see what the other two were about”.’
Fairly confident he could make it through the antics of brutal horror Clown Art, he added: ‘I probably would get sick. I’d still stick around just to see what the hell happens you know.
Nelly, 30, from Georgia, confessed she had a new film to watch on New Year’s Eve after catching a glimpse of the sequel.
‘I love horror movies first of all and I think that I have a new film I will watch on New Year’s Eve. I really liked it, I think it will be great to watch,’ she said
The self professed ‘lover of horror movies’ added: ‘It reminded me of other horror movies like the Conjuring, Annabel, IT, and films like that.
‘I think it’s going to be crazy and interesting to mix these together.’
Lauri Richardson, 27, joked: ‘I wasn’t expecting an evil Santa, it’s like a cannibal Santa. I love the Halloween Christmas cross-over. I think that looks very entertaining.’
When asked if she had the bravery to make it through Terrifier 3, she confidently believed she could ‘stomach’ it, but it wouldn’t be a top choice for a movie date.
‘He [her partner] would freak out, I would probably take someone else,’ she jibbed.
It comes as Terrifier 3 director Damien Leon claimed to have ‘personally’ witnessed ‘some crazy stuff’ at the UK premiere, where brazen moviegoers were provided with sick bags.
Leone told Bloody Disgusting on Thursday, the day after the screening: ‘Although I was in and out of the screening, I did manage to witness some crazy stuff.
‘One woman got up and left in the middle of the shower massacre.
‘Another woman left the screening and said she started having a panic attack during a scene involving kids where Art (the film’s villain) impersonates a mall Santa.’
Leone revealed that when he hit up Hollywood to fund the anticipated sequel, he received pushback from some major studios due to the film’s extreme violence.
‘I got to meet with studios, like legit Hollywood studios, who wanted to make Terrifier 3,’ he told JoBlo last year.
‘But before I even had a script, just based on the success of part 2, and just having meetings and getting the feel that I was going to have eyes over my shoulders, and they were concerned about the levels of gore and this and that,’ he continued.
‘I knew, and not having seen my script or have any idea what I had in mind, I knew they weren’t going to let me make this movie based on the first five pages. Like that’s how insane Terrifier 3 is.’
He continued: ‘So mark my words, I guarantee you the first five minutes of this movie is going to be very controversial. But that’s not even the big kill scene.
‘So like that’s why I was like, I need to just make this movie on my own, because it’s just too… it’s too insane.’
Terrifier 2 became a surprise box office smash in 2022, grossing over $15 million off a paltry $250,000 budget.
The Terrifier franchise tells the story of Art The Clown, a demonic killer who terrorizes the residents of Miles County, New York.
The third film sees Art go on a murderous rampage at Christmas.
It apparently features a scene so horrific that actor David Howard Thornton, who plays Art, almost vomited on set during filming.
The first Terrifier, made on a tiny budget of just $60,000, was released in 2016.
The movie went viral after its release due to one particularly horrifying death scene, which involved somebody being mutilated with a hacksaw.