Damien Leone's favourite Terrifier character is 'final girl' Sienna Shaw
Damien Leone says he is most fond of Sienna Shaw of all his Terrifier characters, even though demonic killer Art the Clown is the face of the franchise.
Terrifier creator Damien Leone has revealed his favourite character in the horror franchise is “final girl” Sienna Shaw.
The filmmaker is currently working on the fourth Terrifier movie which he has billed as the last battle between demonic killer Art the Clown and his nemesis Sienna, played by Lauren LaVera.
Although Art is the face of the slasher series, Leone insists the heroic Sienna is the character he loves the most.
Speaking to Collider, he said: "My favorite character is Sienna. I love that people also embraced our final girl. You can’t have one without the other. If you’re going to have a great villain, you have to have a great hero. What Lauren LaVera brings to that performance has been so magical to watch. I love that fans really embraced her as well.”
LaVera first appeared as Sienna in Terrifier 2 and then again in Terrifier 3 and was introduced along with another new evil character the Little Pale Girl - played by Amelie McLain.
Leone is delighted that fans have embraced the Little Pale Girl, because the director considers her the first proper villain sidekick in a slasher series.
He said: "I’m really proud of the Little Pale Girl because that was a tricky character to suddenly incorporate,.
“You don’t really have sidekicks in the movies that I grew up watching. Freddy [Krueger] doesn’t have a sidekick. Jason [Voorhees] doesn’t. Michael Myers doesn’t. So, to all of a sudden introduce this new character could be a detriment to the franchise. It was risky. But I’m glad that people took a liking to her.”
Damien also reflected on Victoria Hayes, another character who became a fan favourite after her shocking twist in the second film.
He added: "Same thing with Victoria Hayes, who’s my spin on subverting what you expect of the final girl.
“Who you think is going to be the final girl turns into a victim, and now she’s a villain. That was fun. They embraced her.”
Leone is delighted that Art the Clown - portrayed by David Howard Thornton - has become a horror pop culture icon he has not lost sight of the fact he wants audiences to hate the "despicable" killer and never root for him.
He said: "I never wanted you to root for Art the Clown, which is what happens with these slasher movies. They become the hero. They’re on the poster for the movie. They’re the reason you go to watch the movie. Every time I go to write a new one, I say, 'All right, I want to remind the audience that this is an awful character, at the end of the day. Even though he’s making you laugh and you’re having a good time, you’re not supposed to root for him. He’s really the devil.'
"I try to write the most despicable thing. If I’m being genuine to myself, as an artist, and to this character, and I’m writing a scene and that scene just comes in and it’s like, 'All right, he finds himself in a room with children,' I could be disingenuous to this character and have him be nice to them. But then, literally, Art the Clown comes out and speaks in my ear and is like, “You know I would really kill these people, right?” And I’m like, “All right, fine. I’ve got to write that.”
