You created Art the Clown in 2008. He appeared first in two short films and then in your first feature film, All Hallows’ Eve, before becoming the main protagonist in Terrifier. How has the character changed over the years, both in your mind and in the films?

Originally he was more veiled, more “discreet,” when I later made the second short film I decided to make him look more like a zombie. More hollow features, more pronounced cheekbones, and that’s how he has looked ever since. In Terrifier 3 he wears contact lenses, the full sclera ones. I wanted him to look a little more demonic in this film. And I added a touch of creepiness that I felt he didn’t have in the other films. In terms of his personality, we started to discover his sense of humor as the shorts went on. He was darker in the beginning. I mean, he’s pretty dark even now, I have to be honest. But when David came in, he brought that theatrical physicality and so many nuances and quirks to the character that weren’t there before, which is magical. It really was like a bolt out of the blue. When he came to the audition, I knew right away that physically he would be amazing with that makeup. He was going to be just incredible. And then when I saw what he was able to do with his talent, I knew he would elevate the character and the material. We’re still discovering the character, still discovering how much humanity we can get out of him, how far we can go with levity. I always remind David that, first of all, this character is evil, cold and sadistic, we always have to think about that, we can’t push too far in the opposite direction with jokes and platitudes.

Does David improvise on the set or does he follow your suggestions?

Both. I’m very specific about what I want from that character. The way I write it in the script, the lines, sometimes even the facial expression I want David to make, or even the lack of expression. At that point, I shoot my version, make sure I’m satisfied with what I have, and then allow David to improvise and go wild in certain scenes. It depends on the scene, of course. If it’s a scene that really lends itself to entertaining the audience, for example, like the scene with the glasses on the shelf, we do shot after shot of him trying on different glasses or grimacing. And then when I get to the editing room, I have a whole range of interpretations to choose from. It could be very playful, if I need him to be more goofy and to get more laughs at that moment because everything is getting a little too serious, or if I need to go in the opposite direction and so if I need him to be very stoic and cold and, of course, cruel.

Could you explain the almost total absence of sexual elements and the sexualization of girls in the various chapters of the franchise? Apart from the shower scene, you can see practically nothing.

It simply never interested me. It’s not necessary for the story. As for the shower scene, it all started with the idea of wanting to do my version of the shower in Psycho. I thought, what would Alfred Hitchcock do if he could shoot that scene today? That’s where it all started. And then I thought, if I tackled that subject, everything would have to be on a higher level. So it couldn’t be one person, it had to be two. It couldn’t be a knife, it had to be something crazier, so I thought about the chainsaw. I mean, I didn’t ask myself, “How do I put two naked people in this scene?” Usually, if there is nudity in my films, it is in a murder scene, because I want to show as much flesh as possible, naked flesh, so that as much “damage as possible” is shown. It’s also a greater challenge as a special effects artist, because it’s very easy to cut clothes, right? If a person is wearing a jacket, for example, I don’t have to build this part of the arm, just cut there. I, on the other hand, want to see the blade going through the flesh, I want to see it going through a body, it’s much more difficult to make. It is for this same reason that I often try to mutilate the face as much as possible. It’s much more difficult to recreate a human head than to hit someone in the back, where there’s just a flat piece of flesh, you know? I love that kind of challenge.

As for, however, the religious iconography present in the franchise, especially in the third chapter?

When I decided to include the supernatural element, I knew that we would be immersed in the mythology of good versus evil. Therefore, I knew we were going to introduce all these elements of heaven, hell, God, the devil, etc. I grew up as a Catholic, I have all these biblical images in my head, but you don’t have to be Catholic to appreciate them. It’s rather mythical, the challenge between good and evil. But I love that image. Sienna is clearly my Christological figure, it’s very obvious. There are subtle symbolism and metaphors, but I thought it was fun. It’s just something I’ve always wanted to deal with. I had always had this image in my head and I just wanted to put some things on the screen, like the statue of the Virgin Mary, the crown of thorns. Those are bold and interesting choices. Of course, in all these things there is also a lot of violence. What could be more violent than the Bible? So it’s perfect for Terrifier 3, and it’s also perfect for Christmas.

Compared to the previous chapters, you had a bigger budget for Terrifier 3, which is also why you were able to outsource the special effects to a Hollywood team. What was it like for you to work “just” behind the camera?

I still can’t sit on my hands. I was always there, smearing blood all over the prostheses and pumping it if necessary. But it was actually Christian Tinsley’s team that created everything. Two members of his team came to the set, applied the makeup and made the prosthetics. However, sometimes there was so much to do that they still needed help, so I jumped in and helped them as much as I could. The fact that I didn’t do the make-up and special effects myself allowed me to focus much more on working with my actors, photography, production, design, all the things I was distracted from when I had to take care of that as well. I mean, it takes hours to do David’s makeup. So while we were setting up the shoot, I had to fix his make-up, then run, set up a take and come back. And especially during the shoot, if I’m the one connecting the blood pumps and everything, it’s a disaster. That’s not how you make a movie. It took years to make Terrifier 2, because my partner and I did all the special makeup effects. So this time we took a big weight off our shoulders.

Character-wise, Art the Clown is a kind of silent Freddy Krueger. Both are charming, sadistic and have a dark sense of humor. Were you inspired by Nightmare on Elm Street to create the character?

Oh yes, I do! All those villains, like Freddy Krueger, are the ones I loved from childhood. They were my heroes. They all influenced me. And there are little pieces of each of them in Art the Clown. To me that is the biggest compliment. I never liked to compare him to other iconic characters. I don’t go around saying that, but it makes me very happy to hear that, don’t get me wrong. I think, though, that this term of comparison is used too easily and too frequently, and I think only time will tell. Maybe in another ten years I can begin to accept the term “icon.” But if it is, it is just a testament to how much I admired those characters since I was a child. I mean, I could play those cult movies from beginning to end. The best combination of what I could have done with all these villains was to create a silent Freddy Krueger. A character who could feel emotions, because usually they are limited by a mask and there is a limit to what the actor can do behind the mask. But Freddy is so three-dimensional and so human, and he has that great sense of humor, and that’s why Freddy is really the king of slashers. That’s why people connect with that character, they identify with that character. There’s humanity in there. And even though Art the Clown doesn’t speak, he is very expressive and human. And the more Art the Clown reveals himself, the more the audience loves him. The more they see him doing mundane things, like pouring himself a glass of water while killing someone or going to the bathroom, things you don’t usually see murderers do, the more they love him.

We have seen Art the Clown carry out a long series of murders in the three films of the franchise, but we still know very little about the character and how he became the nightmare he is today.

The next chapter will finally reveal Art’s origins, probably in the first 15 minutes of the film. I love the mystery, even if people don’t realize it because they are too eager to know who he really is. I think a lot of people don’t realize that the reason it works so well is because of the mystery surrounding it. If you reveal too much, you lose that mystery and everything ends, and it’s almost always a disappointment.