’s is already off to a strong start, critically. On the opposite end of the spectrum, its opening scene, featuring Art the Clown’s latest familial victims, prompted some U.K.
premiere attendees to walk out in response to the filmmaker’s boundary-pushing gore. On top of that, France has now banned anyone under the age of 18 from seeing the holiday slasher film in theaters. This is all familiar territory for the Philadelphia native whose $250,000-budgeted (2022) created similar controversy en route to becoming an unexpected critical and commercial hit ($15.
7 million at the worldwide box office). The DIY horror franchise that began with 2016’s secured more resources ahead of its threequel, including a $2 million budget and a proper makeup effects team, so that Leone, a former special effects makeup artist, and his producer Phil Falcone didn’t have to stop production midstream to design the nauseatingly bloody materials themselves. But as a result of the franchise’s sudden influx of cash, Leone felt a new form of pressure that he’s yet to experience as a full-fledged feature director.
“In some regards, it was easier, but [ ] was also the most stressful and intense film I’ve ever worked on. More money, more problems is real,” Leone tells ahead of ’s Oct. 11 theatrical release.
“The two other films were very homemade. We made them at our own pace. We didn’t have anybody breathing down our neck, saying, ‘The movie needs to come out by this date.
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