Clown in a Cornfield (2025)

“Clown in a Cornfield” stars Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Kevin Durand, and Will Sasso. It will be released on May 9, 2025, and it involves a teenager confronting the town’s malicious mascot.
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The film is directed by Eli Craig, who also directed “Tucker & Dale vs. Evil” and “Little Evil”.  It is based on the 2020 novel by Adam Cesare.  There’s no doubt that clowns are not trustworthy, whether you are young or old. They may seem friendly and goofy at first glance due to their appearances, but these makeup-wearing figures serve as reminders not to judge people by their looks. In reality, some may be psychotic murderers who brutalize others.  Why else would you think Stephen King wrote “It”?  This “murderous clown” trend continues with the latest slasher from horror director Eli Craig, showcasing that just because a clown has a friendly name, it doesn’t mean they actually are.  But is this mask-wearing psychopath capable of standing alongside other classic killers of years past?  Let’s find out.

The story follows Quinn Maybrook (Douglas), a young woman attempting to find a fresh start with her father, Dr. Maybrook (Abrams), after moving to a tiny town called Kettle Springs.  However, they realize that the town has been divided by its residents since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down.  While the adults strive to rebuild Kettle Springs, the town’s teenagers are busy having the time of their lives, which doesn’t bode well for the adults’ mission.  As Quinn and her father struggle to adapt to their new home, Quinn discovers a sinister figure is at large by the town’s cornfield.  That figure happens to be the factory’s mascot, a clown named Frendo, who turns homicidal and targets the “rotten” kids to bring the town back to its glory days.  Accompanied by her new friends, Quinn attempts to protect her new home by subduing the clown’s murderous rampage.

If I were to tell you that I had a phobia of clowns, I wouldn’t even bother checking out “Clown in a Cornfield”.  But, in reality, I’m still indifferent about them, even as a child.  So, I was in the right mood to see what this movie offered regarding the murderous clown concept.  I did survive the “It” movies, after all.  Of course, there was another reason for my interest in the film: Eli Craig.  I was first introduced to Craig’s works through “Tucker & Dale”, which I thought was a fun and hilarious take on the slasher genre.  I also remembered watching Craig’s other film, “Little Evil”, on Netflix, which I found to be an unfortunate downgrade compared to his directorial debut.  So, in a way, one good film out of two from Craig was enough for me to see how he’ll handle a killer clown murdering clueless, stereotypical teenagers.  Fortunately, thanks to another mystery movie event I attended, I didn’t have to wait too long to find out myself.  I initially thought it would be “Rosario,” but I was lucky to get this film instead.  Why was I lucky?  Well, I’m glad you asked.

The trailers classified “Clown in a Cornfield” as a traditional slasher movie that involves, you guessed it, a psychopath dressed as a clown.  Even before watching it, I can see the signs that reflect the usual slasher narrative, including a group of teens causing trouble without adult supervision, a masked killer murdering teenagers, and my personal favorite, adults being none the wiser.  Upon watching it, I was pretty much right about how the narrative would turn out.  However, after finding the courage to keep going, I became pleasantly surprised that this wasn’t the case.  It’s not a mind-blowing reinvention of the slasher genre, as it still delivers plenty of elements found in other similar slasher movies.  But, when it injects a meta energy into its balance of modern and old-school traditions, it becomes a fun and cleverly humorous splatter film that proves slasher movies can be fun again if the proper effort exists.

This is primarily thanks to Eli Craig’s direction, which found a way to maintain this challenging balance throughout its runtime.  “Tucker & Dale” became a cult classic for performing a complete 180 on how we see a slasher movie by comically making fun of its horror tropes and expectations.  It was not only unexpectedly hilarious but also blended well with its outrageous depiction of gore. “Clown in a Cornfield” is sort of like the lighter version of “Tucker & Dale” regarding the meta-humor, but with more emphasis on some of its genre rules and slasher elements.  Regarding the horror side of the spectrum, the film was unsurprisingly plagued by its weak scares and a few formulaic traits that dragged its experience down a notch. However, the kills were nicely balanced with its humorous appeal without going too over-the-top.  But, when it resorts to embracing the B-movie throwback and the meta side of its commentary and tropes, that’s where the movie shines the most.  More importantly, it provided plenty of surprises that suitably subvert its usual narrative thanks to Craig and Carter Blanchard’s screenplay.  Some can be on the nose regarding its reflection on generational tradition and “Gen Z” stereotypes.  However, those types of twists kept the movie from becoming overly safe and mundane, making it another example of the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover.”

The characters are portrayed in a way that was supposed to be one-dimensional stereotypes but was intentional for its meta humor.  They’re far from a memorable set of victims, but this direction made the characters bearable, with most of the jokes landing better than others.  Yes, that includes the one scene from the trailer.  You’ll know what I’m talking about when you watch it.  The characters’ approachable yet cliched appearances were conveyed respectfully by the cast portraying them.  Katie Douglas from “Ginny & Georgia” assumes the position of the teen protagonist in a slasher film, and the result was pretty decent.  She was another actress who flew under my radar regarding the filmography, and based on her performance, I won’t be surprised if she starts getting more roles like this.  Carson MacCormac also provided some respectable moments as Cole, one of Quinn’s new friends, and yes, he’s the same guy who played one of the bullies in the “Shazam” movies, which I didn’t realize until now.  I’m also happy to see Will Sasso continuing to make me see him as more than just Curly from the “Three Stooges” movie.  He plays the sheriff of Kettle Springs, who doesn’t take too kindly to troublemakers, and I thought he did a nice job conveying that arrogant personality along with some decent comedic chops from his portrayal.

Overall, “Clown in a Cornfield” makes a clown out of me with a clever and mildly entertaining throwback to its seemingly traditional B-movie slasher tropes.  It may not be a top-tier reflection of its commentary and formulaic narrative, and the movie's first act might take a bit to unleash its delightful chaos.  However, its focus on being a fun horror-comedy mashup that’s bearable, funny, and even competent in its meta-humor makes it a worthy addition to the everlasting horror catalog.  More importantly, it marks a solid start to this year’s summer of horrors amid the crowd of high-budget blockbusters.  The cast was decent in their roles, and Eli Craig’s direction and script delivered a solid balance of meta-comedy and slasher gore, even if the scares were underwhelming.  Despite that lack of effective frights, the film’s execution will likely make slasher fans giggle with glee like a clown for the right reasons.

B-