The title of Clown in a Cornfield says it all, really. Clowns are scary and they always have been, and if you’ve ever been in a cornfield at night, you know that it’s an easy way to completely lose your bearings and likely emerge with a horrible bout of hay fever. Put the two together and it’s basically nightmare fuel.
I say this as a city dweller and fan of Stephen King’s IT, and I understand that it’s probably different when you live out in the sticks where the image of a clown isn’t always associated with horror, and your lungs have gotten used to allergens. Such is the case for Kettle Springs, a fading midwestern town that once thrived on account of the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory, for which the mascot was — you guessed it — a smiling clown named Frendo. Enter Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas), a recent transplant from Philadelphia (where cornfields don’t exist and clowns are considered scary), who has recently moved to the area with her widower father (Aaron Abrams). The culture shock of moving from the City of Brotherly Love to a town of farms and factories is enough on its own, but Quinn quickly notices another trend: the adults of Kettle Springs are hell bent on restoring their home to its former glory, while the kids are much more interested in goofing off, making YouTube videos and, ya know, being kids.
As such, Quinn’s new friend group is always at odds with their teachers, parents, and the local Sheriff (Will Sasso), which causes immediate friction between she and her Dad, who is working hard to connect with his increasingly wayward daughter. It’s so rare for the teens in a slasher film to be surrounded by adults at all, so it’s nice to finally have one where the adults exist, and are part of the thematic framework to boot. It adds to the realism of an inherently false subgenre. It also helps that the teens feel like teens — a rarity in slashers, although maybe that’s just my own age speaking.
Kettle Springs is preparing for Founder’s Day, a not-so-ancient tradition celebrating its status as a factory town, complete with Frendo floats, clowns on stilts, and a local beauty queen waving to the masses. The teens can’t really be bothered with the pageantry, however, and are much more interested in the after party. But then someone in a Frendo costume starts killing people. You know how it goes.
Based on the hit novel of the same name, Clown in a Cornfield follows in a long tradition of whodunit slashers, and is stylistically consistent with the type of post-Scream horror flicks that dominated the back half of the ‘90s (this is a good thing — this was an underrated era for the stalk and slash film). Director Eli Craig (Tucker and Dale vs. Evil) brings Kettle Springs to life, giving it a lived-in feel and a believable cultural ecosystem, all of which plays into the script he co-wrote with Carter Blanchard. Naturally, Craig & co. add a layer of humor to the story, and they don’t skimp on the gore. Cornfield may be sourced from a YA novel, but it is very R-rated (and honestly, the book is only YA by categorization — it pulls no punches in delivering serious horror chops).
If you aren’t familiar with the source material, there are twists and turns that will surely surprise you. And if you are familiar with the novel, you’ll be pleased to find that it’s faithful in all the right ways, while also different enough to merit the purchase of a ticket. The characters feel as if they’re lifted right from the page, most specifically Carson MacCormac and Vincent Muller as Cole and Rust, respectively, two former friends who find themselves in the crosshairs of Frendo.
Given that there are three books in the Clown saga (with a fourth on the way), there’s plenty of franchise potential for a new slasher icon to be born, but this time around it’s not necessarily Frendo who is ready to join the slasher canon so much as it’s Quinn Maybrook entering the ranks of iconic final girls. A scream queen is born in Katie Douglas, who brings a depth to Quinn that isn’t entirely on the page. She feels like an actual teen, and behaves the way a teenager would. She’s not your typical virginal good girl that beats the killer clown, but rather a young woman with feelings and desires, who is perfectly capable of making mistakes (she’s more Ginny from Friday the 13th: Part II than she is Laurie Strode from Halloween — respect to both, mind you).
I’ll add in a personal note that the first time I saw this film was via a screening link on an iPad. I watched it all by myself like a cool guy.
BUT
My second viewing was on a big screen with an enthused crowd.
I enjoyed it both times, but there’s really no comparison. The second viewing helped to highlight the film’s energy; its humorous streak; its big heart. There’s more to Clown in a Cornfield than simple slasher thrills. It’s a smart, warm movie that lands in a rather moving place without skimping on everything horror-hounds love about watching teenagers get brutally dispatched by an evil clown.
So now it’s up to you, person who claims that they don’t make anything original anymore, to plunk down your cash and see this banger of a slasher on the big screen this weekend while the crowds are hyped and the spoilables are unspoiled. It’s rare that a small slasher flick isn’t unceremoniously dumped to a streamer, and it’s up to us, the horror fans, to make sure theatrical exhibition keeps happening. Go support a brutal, funny, and clever killer clown movie with the biggest crowd you can. You won’t regret it.
Directed by Eli Craig
Written by Eli Craig, Carter Blanchard, based on the novel by Adam Cesare
Starring Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Verity Marks, Kevin Durand
Rated R, 96 minutes
