Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Terrifier 3!
Sienna has various dreams inTerrifier 3, and the ones that act as flashbacks to time with her dad are incredibly important.Terrifier 2marked the introduction of Sienna and the Shaw family in the franchise, and the film established how vital they were toArt the Clown’s story. This primarily concerns Sienna’s role as the Angel Warrior and the counterpart to the demonic clown.Terrifier 3continues to explore that connection, one that Sienna’s father, Michael Shaw, seemed to know was her ultimate destiny when creating the Angel Warrior design before his death.
Although Sienna’s dad is dead and has no physical role inTerrifier 2, that changes withTerrifier 3thanks to some key dream sequences. At different points when Sienna is sleeping, she dreams of memories she had of her father from her childhood. The movie effectively uses these moments asflashbacks to flesh out Sienna’s relationship with her dadand explain a few details about what he foresaw when creating the Angel Warrior comic character. These sequences leading toTerrifier 3’s endingare revealing and connect to where the story is going inTerrifier 4.
Sienna’s First Dream In Terrifier 3 Explains Angel Warrior’s Origin
Sienna Encouraged Her Father To Create The Warrior
The first of Sienna’s dreams inTerrifier 3goes back to an unspecified time in her childhood with her father. She is in his room looking at the drawings and designs he’s made for his comic series when she questions him about the lack of female characters in his work. While the dad tries to push back on that idea by showing her a woman featured in a particular unfinished page, she is a damsel in distress, not the story’s hero. Sienna takes this as an opportunity toremind her dad of his promise to create a female superhero.
Terrifier 3’s Major Character Death Explained
Damien Leone’s Terrifier franchise continued with Terrifier 3, which saw one of the franchise’s major characters die along with many minor characters.
This is essentially the origin story of Sienna’s dad’s creation of the Angel Warrior character. He hears his daughter in this moment and makes sure to begin working on her wish as soon as he finishes up the main comic. It’s no surprise that heloosely modeled the warrior after his daughterthen, as she is the direct inspiration for the character. The Angel Warrior character is obviously designed to be much older than Sienna during this memory. Still,Terrifier3’s dream emphasizes that she had a bigger role in creating the hero than previously believed.
Sienna’s second dream sequence inTerrifier 3is much more elaborate. It begins by showing a follow-up memory with her dad as he shows her his final Angel Warrior design for the first time. The finalized sketch is presented to Sienna, but as she goes to take it,her dad has a vision of the future. He sees the events ofTerrifier 2’s endingas a grown-up Sienna fights Art the Clown years before it actually happens.
She sees a Mary statue forcing a mysterious being, presumably a demon, to forge a new version of Sienna’s angel armor
This leads Sienna’s dream to switch from a memory of her father to a glimpse of Hell or a very unexpected-looking version of Heaven. She sees a Mary statue forcing a mysterious being, presumably a demon, to forge a new version ofSienna’s angel armor. Whereas Sienna created her original armor as a Halloween costume,the dream sequence gives her a glimpse into the possible future, just as her dad received years before.
This dream is potentially incredibly revealing for theTerrifierfranchise at large, specifically when it comes to explainingSienna’s dad’s connection to Art the Clown.Terrifier 2revealed that he drew some of Art’s murdersand appeared to have a prophetic sense that his daughter would encounter the murderous demon at some point.Terrifier 3’s dream sequence implies that this all started when he and Sienna were both holding the Angel Warrior drawing for the first time. He must have had other visions afterward based on his sketchbook, but it seems they began here.
Sienna’s dad died before Art the Clown’s first known appearance
That is notable when considering Sienna’s fate as the Angel Warrior. It was thought that her dad potentially knew about this destiny when he originally designed the character. Now, it appears that it was only after creating the Angel Warrior character thatMichael understood that his daughter would one day assume this title, wear the costume, and fight a powerful villain. Instead of the design being prophetic in its design and origin, it is now a reality that Sienna’s dad knows will come to pass, leaving it up to him to make sure she has the sword and is prepared.
She Has Many Dreams & Hallucinations In The Movie
Sienna’s mental well-being is a huge part ofTerrifier 3’s story, so what she’s dreaming about is noteworthy. The trauma from fighting Art the Clown before resulted in Sienna spending years in and out of facilities, and she’s still haunted by her dead friend five years later. Journaling about her experiences and her thoughts is one way that she tries to overcome her PTSD. But, she mostly attempts not to think about what happened in the past and attempts to move on by ignoring what she sees or feels.
Sienna only talks about missing her mom or Jonathan, but she dreams about her dad. This is potentially her subconscious working to provide answers about her father and what he knew about the future. Of course, there is also the possibility of some level of divine intervention.Terrifier 3sets up the idea that Sienna is the good counterpart created to combat the evilthat is Art the Clown. Perhaps these dreams are meant to help give her some understanding of her role in defeating Art and why she was chosen for this task.
The Sequel Can Build On What Terrifier 3 Shows
The decision to include these dream sequences inTerrifier 3are not throwaway moments used to fill the movie’s runtime. They instead appear to be rather important steps as director/writer Damien Leone builds up toTerrifier 4and the end of the franchise. This could come in a few different ways, ranging from an elevated presence for her father or teasing the journey ahead for Sienna.
Terrifier 4: Confirmation & Everything We Know
Director Damian Leone’s Terrifier 3 took the already blood-soaked slasher series to gory new heights, and Art the Clown will return in Terrifier 4.
It’s notable thatTerrifier 3cast Jason Patric to play Michael Shaw only to give him the two flashback sequences. With plenty of mystery still surrounding his connection to Art the Clown and the full scope of his knowledge regarding Sienna’s future as the Angel Warrior, this is an area thatTerrifier 4could absolutely expand on. Answering some ofTerrifier 3’s unanswered questionsis a necessity for the franchise’s final installments, andthese dreams feel like the beginning of a subplot that will be fleshed out going forward.
Furthermore, Sienna’s vision of Heaven or Hell and her real Angel Warrior armor being forged that comes during her second dream of her dad could be a direct sign ofTerrifier 4’s story. The movie’s ending has Gabbie and Sienna’s sword fall into a hole that presumably leads to Hell. There is now an expectation that Sienna will have to travel to the deepest depths of the underworld to rescue her cousin and finish off Art. This could include getting the final Angel Warrior armor shown inTerrifier 3and fulfilling her ultimate destiny.
