Artfully Crafting the Gruesome Sound of ‘Terrifier 3’ – with Martín Hernández

Director/writer Damien Leone is the mastermind behind the ultra-violent Terrifier films. He’s involved with nearly every aspect of them, working as producer, editor, special effects makeup artist, VFX artist, and sound designer on the first two films.

Terrifier 3 was a bit different in that Leone reached out to film industry pros – like award-winning makeup artist Christien Tinsley and his team at Tinsley Studio, who worked on The Passion of the Christ, and award-winning supervising sound editor/sound designer Martín Hernández, who earned two Oscar nominations for sound editing on The Revenant and Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – to help elevate the film’s look and sound. Leone was still very much hands-on with Terrifier 3, even creating some music cues for the film’s last reels. The result is an unrated, gloriously gory horror film that’s sure to stay with you well after the credits roll.

Here, supervising sound editor/sound designer/re-recording mixer Martín Hernández talks about his first-ever collaboration with director Leone, and bringing on trusted sound team members like Roland Thai and Alejandro Quevedo, who helped to develop the chainsaw sounds for the shower scene, foley supervisor Mauricio Castañeda, who created the expressive sounds for Art the Clown, sound designer Paul Hackner, who helped with the mall scene, and sound designers Matt Vowels and Charles Maynes, who helped build the sound of the last reel.

Hernández also talks about mixing the film, crafting the score on the dub stage, creating Victoria’s vocal processing, designing Sienna’s visions, and more!

Terrifier 3 Trailer #1 (2024)

This is your first Terrifier film, and your first time working with director Damien Leone, who is very involved with his Terrifier films. Can you talk about this collaboration?

Martín Hernández (MH): This isn’t a genre that I’m familiar with. This genre affects me a lot. When I watch it as a viewer, it’s a completely different experience. You can work on the film and all of a sudden you’re not looking anymore at the actual events. Instead, you are pursuing the details.

Then, you watch the film after working on it and you’re not attached to the work anymore. You are more into the narrative, into the storytelling. When I was working, I forgot what the narrative was, and what the image was. It was more about the craft and making that very efficient.

When I was working, I forgot what the narrative was, and what the image was. It was more about the craft and making that very efficient.

I worked with Damien, literally, elbow to elbow in the studio. This was a true labor of love. He knows the narrative; he is the writer, and he has done two very successful Terrifier films already. He knows the genre. He’s a director; he’s the editor. He’s a one-man show. If you let him, he’d be selling the popcorn at the entrance. He’s a master of the craft, and in many ways, he has tunnel vision – he knows exactly where he’s heading. He has laser focus; he’s a sniper. Terrifier 3 was his first big collaboration in every department, except writing and directing. He even got some help editing. And the visual effects were amazing. He hired Christien Tinsley and his makeup team at Tinsley Studio, who did The Passion of the Christ.

I can only say that I helped Damien with the sound. I could never say, truly, “Oh, I did all the sound.” That wouldn’t be true. I made proposals and suggestions for sound. I’d play sounds for him and he’s very open. But he knows his audience. In the end, it was a collaboration. It’s our baby. We both worked on this.

…it’s always hard to create something and have aspirations and then fail. Most of the time you fail. Failing is part of the process.

I couldn’t be happier for all the success the film is having. I couldn’t be prouder of the work we have done. It was very efficient. I didn’t suffer a bit. Sometimes I suffer the process because it’s always hard to create something and have aspirations and then fail. Most of the time you fail. Failing is part of the process. Then you come back and fix it and in some magical way, you nail it. It works. It’s perfect. So it was scary at the beginning, not only because I am unfamiliar with the genre, but because I’ve never worked with Damien before.

I watched the first two Terrifier films to get acquainted with them. Watching the first one, I was scared. But I was also intrigued by the simplicity of the whole thing – how masterfully the sound was crafted. I realized that there was an amazing potential to develop ideas. But again, it’s the first time I worked with Damien. He was still cutting and he sent me a couple of scenes so I built those and sent him a QuickTime to listen to. He was very cool. He gave me some notes. He seemed very happy. But again, it’s the first time we worked together. So we had to wait until he came to the studio. When we met for the first time, he came with his producer, Phil Falcone, and with post-supervisor Jason Milstein, who also did the production sound.

We had a blast but we realized that there was not enough time. There’s never enough time. We had a very restrictive schedule.

They are lovely people, but imagine the leap of faith. These three guys got on a plane and came to Mexico. We enjoyed our days working. We ate well – it’s hard not to eat well in Mexico, let me tell you. We had a blast but we realized that there was not enough time. There’s never enough time. We had a very restrictive schedule. Damien handles pressure so well; he was under a lot of pressure yet wanted to develop ideas, to try this and that. We could see the deadline looming. At one point, we just had to end the mix and send the film to the distributors. It had a fantastic first release, and then a fantastic national release. He’s obviously very happy with the results. And I cannot express how happy I am about that.

Sound Supervisor/Sound Designer/Re-recording Mixer Martin Hernandez

From the first moment of Terrifier 3, you get to paint with sound. You hear the noises on the roof and the wind moaning and whistling outside. You tell an off-screen story and set the scene – set up Art the Clown’s introduction…

MH: I enjoyed that moment because it was before we got into the ‘classic gore’ sounds. I have a recording I captured many years ago in an old wooden house that was probably built in the late 1800s outside of Mexico. It’s about four hours from Mexico City; it’s a beautiful house in the woods. I was there to record the house for Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth film.

It’s an old house so it creaks. It was full of creaking wood floors, creaking stairs, creaking doors, everything. That house had a very unique personality. Since I had those recordings, I thought it would be nice to use those sounds again. It turns out that Damien is a big fan of Pan’s Labyrinth. He said it was the first movie to make him cry at the end. It’s a beautiful movie, and a beautiful-sounding movie.

Those off-screen sound moments in ‘Terrifier 3’ were an opportunity to develop this idea of bringing a nuanced, unexpected perspective to the film.

Those off-screen sound moments in Terrifier 3 were an opportunity to develop this idea of bringing a nuanced, unexpected perspective to the film. The first gore we hear happens off-screen. You don’t see it; you hear it. This was a chance to trigger the imagination of the audience. You imagine the whole tragic, terrifying event. It’s all built through sound. Damien and Phil Falcone were with me building that scene and they have their points of view of how it should sound – more metal, less whoosh, more sharpness, more of a crack, and so on.

It’s almost like talking about food. You just don’t cut things and they’re perfect and you leave it. No, it’s an organic thing. The idea is there. We build it. Then you taste it – you sit back, you listen, and you keep going. Then we go back to the beginning of the reel and find that maybe the first sound is perfect. The second one needs this. And the third one needs that. You’re working closely with the flavors of each thing. You’re in the craft of making it and not in the actual horrifying event of what’s happening on-screen.

The gore sounds in this movie are expansive. There are so many ‘flavors,’ you could say, and textures to the gore sounds. Where did these come from? Did you end up recording fresh gore sounds or pulling from libraries? Did foley contribute to the gore?

MH: There were amazing collaborators I have worked with ever since Amores Perros (2000). They are Roland Thai and Alejandro Quevedo. They helped me develop some of these scenes, specifically with the axe and the chainsaw.

…chainsaws can be very difficult because they’re not very expressive. It’s just a steady frequency, a steady sound.

Roland did some amazing recordings with the chainsaw. In a way, chainsaws can be very difficult because they’re not very expressive. It’s just a steady frequency, a steady sound. It doesn’t have shape. So Roland developed almost 85% of the chainsaw sounds for the film. He recorded and tweaked them. I asked him if we could change the texture here and there because the movement – in a cinematographic way – changes. It was very interesting to develop these together, but it started with his recordings.

Damien has a very classic library of bones breaking and blood gushes that are the DNA of his Terrifier films. So he still wants to hear some of that embedded into the sound. So, like I said before, it’s a perfect baby – a combination of things that developed through the process of discovering how it should sound.

There’s a scene with Victoria (Art the Clown’s cohort) in the bathtub in the dilapidated house. She cuts her arms with a sliver of mirror and the sound is gruesome. When she’s found five years later still in the tub, she climbs out, and the blood in there sounds thick and oozy. Did foley help with that?

MH: The foley was created by an amazing foley artist in Chile named Mauricio Castañeda. He and his great foley crew enjoy the process so much. They did a lot of layers – ten different layers – with different nuances. Then, we added in Damien’s DNA sounds. The combination was very intriguing because now you can have the classic flavor that fans don’t want to miss, but there’s also an edge, a different texture.

…you can have the classic flavor that fans don’t want to miss, but there’s also an edge, a different texture.

When Victoria is cutting her arms with a piece of the mirror, I wanted to add a ‘shing’ sound so you feel that it’s sharp. It’s more like a tonal element under the blood layers.

Those are the additions that I wish we had more time for throughout the film. Normally, we have months to develop these ideas, but we only had 15 days for the mix. I was telling Damien as a joke (but it’s true) that we have this crazy relationship of “Hi, my name is…now let’s get married.” And then we have a baby (i.e., this film). It’s crazy.

Art the Clown doesn’t talk or make sounds like breaths and efforts. His foley – that rubber, squeaky mask sound, and the sounds of him rummaging in his trash bag and the Santa sack – is how his character is expressed. That’s so fun! Can you talk about Art’s foley?

MH: That’s what I love about foley work. All foley sounds are custom-made. Foley is like a research lab for custom-made sounds.

Foley is like a research lab for custom-made sounds.

From the very first Terrifier film, the presence of Art the Clown was only felt. He definitely has a presence, but, as you mentioned, he has no voice. He has no sound. Initially, Mauricio had done some chuckles and sounds for Art the Clown but Damien didn’t want it. He wanted Art to be completely mute.

…when he’s sitting in his rocking chair, you want to feel that detachment of an old couple. Mauricio nailed it. I love that scene.

So the foley team created a very thick personality for Art. This was very much needed because there were scenes with no dialogue and no gore. It’s just Art’s presence. For instance, when they arrive at home (the dilapidated building) and Victoria is feeding the rats and Art is looking at his instruments longing for the old days, you want to feel his presence. Then, when he’s sitting in his rocking chair, you want to feel that detachment of an old couple. Mauricio nailed it. I love that scene.

What went into Victoria’s vocal processing?

MH: That was one of the last things we had to figure out for this film because Damien had to re-record her lines. At that point, he was already in Mexico working with me and we still didn’t have the lines, so we didn’t have enough time to fully develop an idea. We knew that the character, the personality, needed to be an ambiguous demon, someone who has multiple personalities or multiple voices.

We knew that the character…needed to be an ambiguous demon, someone who has multiple personalities or multiple voices.

 
I remember creating something like that for Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army. We needed the voice for this character called the Angel of Death. We had recorded several actors and the lead actor and we layered those performances. I had time enough to do that, and it was only for one scene.

Victoria wasn’t in the other Terrifier movies. This is her only one. So, for her voice, we recorded a male voice performing her lines and then we mixed her natural voice, her processed voice, and the male actor’s voiceover. Damien is very specific, and so we played with how much we heard of each layer for each word. We were literally working word by word. As you can imagine, that requires a lot of time. I wish we had another week to develop that properly. But it works and people are happy with it.

…we mixed her natural voice, her processed voice, and the male actor’s voiceover…We were literally working word by word.

Actress Samantha Scaffidi, who played Victoria, is amazing. She did so much with her performance, her voice, and that was difficult on set because she had all of these facial prosthetics that obstructed her mouth. We were able to use only a little bit of that, so we re-recorded her, and she performed beautifully.

All the nuances in her performance – sometimes sounding sweet and nice and sometimes angry – are challenging to deliver when you’re acting with a mask. You need those nuances because there’s barely any facial movement. The tonality of your voice is going to tell the whole story. So, that was a challenge but she performed beautifully.

Sienna experiences hallucinations. We see it first at the dinner table and then again when they’re holiday shopping and the announcements over the mall’s PA system go crazy. What was your approach to Sienna’s moments of psychosis?

MH: Those were the three scenes that I worked on first. Damien was still cutting and about to shoot the final scene. So he sent the dinner scene to me, which was almost how it looked in the final. He just trimmed a little bit here and there. Damien doesn’t change a lot after he cuts it. What I saw pretty much stayed like that until the very end.

So, I had the dinner scene, the mall scene when Sienna saw Art, and the chainsaw massacre scene in the shower room. Those were the first ones I started investigating and working on with my team.

Sienna’s visions and altered perception of reality was my first opportunity to test if my ideas were working for Damien, or not.

Sienna’s visions and altered perception of reality was my first opportunity to test if my ideas were working for Damien, or not. That’s always a scary moment for me. What if he doesn’t like it? But, I decided to go bold because the movie is bold in every way. And it worked. What I sent to Damien pretty much stayed the same to the end, except for the shower scene. That one we had to invest a lot of time in for obvious reasons.

We needed to fine-tune almost every shot of the shower scene. Actually, just shooting the scene was a challenge. If you analyze that scene, you see the restrictions that Damien and his crew had during the shoot, like covering the camera during filming, preparing the practical effects and props, and then editing it. It’s a challenging scene. We all spent a lot of time on that scene and I’m very happy with the way it ended up.

The scene in the mall was a reel that Paul Hackner worked on. He’s an amazing sound editor…

Other scenes were super fast. The scene in the mall was a reel that Paul Hackner worked on. He’s an amazing sound editor and mixer friend of mine in L.A. I sent him the draft we had for the mall trip and he helped me develop that reel, and he helped me develop the kids’ voices there.

We also had Matt Vowles, another amazing sound designer and a sound supervisor and mixer in his own right. He invited sound effects editor Charles Maynes to help develop the last reel. At one point, we hit the wall. We couldn’t finish at the level we wanted because we had so many reels. Damien and Phil agreed that I could invite two more friends/sound editors to help develop this. So we had Paul, Matt, and Charles, and Charles really helped to develop that last fight scene with Sienna.

Time is always what you need. Once you find that there is an opportunity for sound, you want to go further with it. But you look at the clock and realize that you have to keep pushing forward.

The film score is so interesting! Sometimes it sounds twisted and warped. Was that processing something you added to the score on the dub stage, or did that come from the composer?

MH: Damien has worked with the same composer, Paul Wiley, on all three Terrifier films. Unfortunately, Paul got very sick on this one, at the time when he needed to develop more ideas for the film. So Damien grabbed whatever new material he had from Paul and all the score material he had from the previous films and then created new music by editing and layering those tracks.

Imagine how dedicated Damien is. After finishing a 10-hour mixing day, which is loud, Damien went back to his hotel and started cutting the music for the last reels. He’d work on it on his computer at night before going to sleep. And the next morning, he’d show up to the dub stage with a new music track.

After finishing a 10-hour mixing day, which is loud, Damien went back to his hotel and started cutting the music for the last reels.

And we’d also make changes to it on the stage. I remember cutting some of these tracks, altering some of these tracks, or shifting the tempo or level. We were doing elaborate mixes on the score at the very end. We’d try different things with the stems, and bring in this flavor if it worked better than another one. We played with it until it worked.

I have to say I am not a mixer. When I said that to Damien, he looked at me with some surprise. But it’s true. I am by no stretch of the imagination a mixer. I’ve been forced to start mixing my own ideas, but I always rely on the ears of a good mixer. But at this point, we couldn’t get in with a proper mixer. So I started, mixing and I just kept on mixing until the very end. It’s a challenge. And again, this is a new genre to me. It’s the first time I worked with Damien, who is a very specific director with strong points of view, and it’s a very loud mix. The loudest mix I was at was Hellboy II with Guillermo. I remember the last battle of the robots with Hellboy was so crazy loud that we were using earplugs. And it was the same for Terrifier 3. It was crazy loud, but it fits the film and it’s true to the genre.

… if you make a bold decision, you have to go all the way.

One of the biggest things to keep in mind as an artist – as Damien knows – is that you have to be truthful to your story. You have to be truthful to your characters. You cannot betray them. You can’t make your clown sing because you pay the price for that. It’s a bold decision. But if you make a bold decision, you have to go all the way. If you travel on lukewarm waters, then you pay the price for that. And Damien is bold. He goes all the way. He’s going to go into the kitchen and do his own thing with his own flavors. And there’s the results.

You can’t argue with those results since Terrifier 3 is smashing box office records and is now the highest-grossing unrated film to date.

Thanks, Martín, for sharing your experience of working on this film…

MH: Thank you, Jennifer.

A big thanks to Martín Hernandez for giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the sound of Terrifier 3 and to Jennifer Walden for the interview!

Please share this: