HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Anyone who is a horror film fanatic is surely aware that "Terrifier 3" is the hottest ticket at the box office this Halloween season. But what movie buffs may not know is that the man making an Art of splattering blood, guts and viscera across the Silver Screen is a Huntsville, Alabama native.
David Howard Thornton has played murderous Art the Clown in all three films in the 'Terrifier' franchise to date. But before Art, he was an enthusiastic student of the arts, performing with the Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater. A graduate of Grissom High School, Thornton went to the University of Montevallo. Over the last 15 years, he's been a voice actor including the voice of Joker in a fan-made Batman web series. He also happened to land a role on the short-lived FOX series "Gotham."
But since 2016, his coup de grace has been playing the unhinged, maniacal clown in 'Terrifier.' The franchise's recent explosion in success at the box office is something he is still coming to terms with.
"It's been six years since the first one came out and I'm still trying to process everything that's been happening ever since," Thornton tells FOX Entertainment correspondent Ashley Dvorkin. "Especially this past year, the amount that has happened on merchandise and video games."
'Terrifier 3' sees another round of horrors thrust upon the residents of Miles County - this time on Christmas Eve, as Sienna and her brother - the lone survivors from the second installment, are subjected to more gore and horror.
"When they bring back the final girl, they usually seem so well-adjusted to their life after going through so much trauma,' Thornton noted, "and that's not something that's happening with Sienna in this film. And that's a major, major plot point that we we really, truly delve into."