Lauren LaVera Returns in ‘Terrifier 3’ [October Cover Story]

The handmade mayhem of madman-visionary Damien Leone’s Terrifier franchise has captured the mainstream’s fascination with hardcore horror like we haven’t seen since The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. These films address some of our most primal curiosities without apology, and fans have carried the phenomenon right through the front doors of popular culture. Just face it. Love him or hate him, Art the Clown is here to stay. But so is Lauren LaVera.

While Leone’s franchise gets a lot of attention for a certain mischievous clown, I’ve always been more interested in the fascinating women of the series. That’s why I’m excited to be talking with Terrifier 3 star Lauren LaVera for Dread Central’s October digital cover story. We discuss her hatred of Christmas, Sienna’s killer playlist, the horror franchise she wants to join, and her reckoning with her own Final Girl legacy.

“Poltergeist,” she says without hesitation when asked to name the one movie that freaked her out the most growing up.

“It’s funny because I really didn’t find it all that scary generally … but it was that one clown doll … that really messed with my brain.”

We pause briefly.

“And ever since, I’ve been terrified of clowns,” she continues, and the irony isn’t lost on either of us. So, I press her about what makes them so off-putting.

“It’s their uncanny nature,” she says. “They always have this plastered smile on their face, and it’s like that white makeup on their face, how jovial they’re meant to be, but you just feel like they can switch and turn at any moment because they have this fake plastered smile. I think it would be easy to see them just snap. So I think that’s why I don’t like them personally, but I think most people can probably relate.”

But when our conversation turns to her character, Sienna, she says, “I think she’s imperative in being the foil to Art’s evil. I’m not entirely sure why she is the chosen one, but I know she’s willing to take up the reins and save the world. Or, at least her family.”

Terrifier might be the ultimate experiment in Halloween gorecore, but when horror can successfully weaponize the holidays, it creates a special and especially mean sort of seasonal brutality. Sure, lots of people take the magic of the season real seriously. But then there are people who really just don’t.

“I don’t like Christmas at all,” LaVera tells me frankly. “I told Damien, too, when he said he planned to set this one at Christmas. I hate Christmas. I told him that, and he just said, ‘Yeah, this is going to be great.’” She laughs at the memory but quickly catches herself before continuing with a slightly more serious tone.

“It added to the unease of everything Sienna was feeling. I don’t think she appreciates Christmas much, either. And I think you can see that in her.”

On the other hand, LaVera can get behind Christmas horror. When I asked her why she thinks the two elements work so well together, she gave the question some thought.

“It’s the juxtaposition of something joyful and playful right next to the gruesome horrors of Art the Clown. And the vintage colors of Christmas really lend themselves to darkness on film. I would think that the settings of our production just looked so beautiful against all that blood,” she tells me, laughing.

While discussing Terrifier 3, the subject of violence naturally comes up. When I ask LaVera if she’s a fan of true crime podcasts, she gives the coolest response.

“I’m usually more of a music person,” she tells me. Naturally, I have to ask what she’s been listening to lately. She pulls out her phone and starts scrolling through her playlists.

“I’m a huge Ashnikko fan,” LaVera says. “She’s all about female rage, and I love her so much. I even added some of her music to Sienna’s playlist—I have a playlist for Sienna that helps me get into character. I’m also a huge fan of Jack White and The White Stripes; I’ve been listening to a lot of The White Stripes lately. They’re very much autumnal music.”

At this point, I’m dead curious about what else is on her Sienna playlist and whether or not she’d be comfortable sharing it with me. She brings it up on her phone and gives me a generous play-by-play of her ‘Sienna’s Music’ playlist. Find the full Spotify version below.

“Damien [Leone] helped put this together for me,” she says, perusing it again. I can only imagine it being the first time in a little while.

“We’ve got a couple of covers by Chromatics and a lot of Fleetwood Mac—Damien’s favorite band. There’s also Gin Blossoms, Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’, Pat Benatar, and Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing In the Name’, which feels pretty fitting.”

While I needed to take a couple of creative liberties, I’ve done my best to assemble Sienna’s Music playlist. Hit play here:

‘Sienna’s Music’ – Terrifier 3 playlist by Lauren LaVera and Damien Leone

One of the most infamous aspects of the Terrifier franchise is the extreme reactions it provokes from audiences. Harkening back to when William Castle’s gimmicks had fans fainting in the aisles, Art the Clown has been rattling and riling up viewers for over three movies now.

“Something I love about this film is that it emboldens people to react vocally,” LaVera tells me when discussing fan responses. “I love it when people laugh or when you can hear that they’re disgusted or even feeling invigorated. I think my favorite experience was at the premiere of Terrifier 2. During the finale, people were literally cheering. I got chills. I was so psyched about that experience, and I hope the same thing happens for the third.”

She seems to know where I’m headed next, adding, “I’ve never seen anybody get sick. That would be… I don’t want people to get sick. But I have seen people walk out of screenings. I’ve heard people being absolutely disgusted, saying things like, ‘What the hell is this?’” She laughs, thinking about it. “I really love seeing reactions like that.”

Terrifier fans aren’t just vocal in person. Plenty of industry heavyweights have shared their support for the hardcore horror franchise online. Two of our personal favorite champions of the series are horror legends Stephen King and filmmaker Mike Flanagan. And knowing that the people she admires support her work is still hard for LaVera to process. “Every single time,” she says when I ask if she still gets starstruck by these shoutouts.

“I am so honored that people I’ve always looked up to are starting to recognize the work I’m part of… and I don’t think that feeling will ever go away, honestly.” But it’s not just fleeting recognition. LaVera appears in The Life of Chuck, the upcoming Stephen King adaptation from Flanagan, which just won the top prize at TIFF and is generating plenty of awards season buzz.

“I have a cameo in The Life of Chuck,” she tells me when I congratulate her on the role. “He [Flanagan] reached out to me about it. It’s a voiceover, and I get to speak Italian for it. We had previously discussed working together in the future. He also reached out to me because he wanted to see Terrifier 3 at Fantastic Fest. He texted me, and I was like, ‘Uh, yeah, I’ll get you a ticket!’ So he came to the Fantastic Fest screening, and I got to see him and Kate [Siegel], and it was phenomenal. I love those people.”

It seems that Lauren LaVera has a bright future in the genre ahead of her. And it wouldn’t surprise me to see her breakthrough into more mainstream horror if she wants to. Genuinely curious, I ask what active genre franchise she’d most like to get a call for. Because why not put what we want out there?

“I love Evil Dead, I love every iteration of it, and I love every woman that’s in it. I’ve been especially into the newer chapters, like Evil Dead 2013 and, of course, Evil Dead Rise! I would love to be in that franchise.”

And honestly, I can absolutely see this happening. Sam Raimi, give her a call, please. And when I ask if she’s ever been inspired to write something herself, it turns out she has been.

“Absolutely,” she says. “I’ve been writing a coming-of-age comedy with my best friend since before Terrifier 2, but I’ve had to put it on hold. Although, I have been trying to pick it back up because it’s something we truly love. I also have another horror film idea that came to me just last month. And I’m starting to write it! Writing is definitely something I want to continue to do, and maybe, down the line, directing if I’m feeling confident enough to do so.”

Desperate for the scoop, I plead to see if there’s anything I can know about the horror idea.

“All I can tell you is that I want it to be a Western slasher,” she says with a bit of a knowing smirk.

Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 starring Lauren LaVera is exclusively in theatres starting October 11, 2024. Get your tickets now.

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