Clown in a Cornfield follows Quinn, a high school senior who moves from Philly to the small town of Kettle Springs. Right away, she’s introduced to the town’s weird history, including Frendo the Clown, the mascot for the local corn syrup brand. As Quinn gets acquainted with the cool kids (including Cole, heir to the corn syrup fortune) she discovers their strange hobby – making horror videos for Youtube featuring the town’s beloved clown.
This setup is already pretty silly, but Eli Craig has shown he knows how to pull off this kind of thing. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil was one of the first horror movies I ever watched in college, and even Little Evil still maintained the charm and humor of his style. What he does here is similar to his other films in that he takes a tropey set-up and flips it on its head by the end.
The first half of the movie follows a well-known formula: new girl meets popular kids, hijinks ensue, then heads start to roll. I got a little concerned during this setup but I should have trusted Craig, because this movie takes a TURN in the second half. From there, the movie isn’t afraid to just fully lean into the absurdity of its premise, ramping up the kills from typical to the absolutely ridiculous. By the end, I was fully bought in and laughing my ass off.
Nobody here is that special, but the characters are more developed than your average slasher. Katie Douglas is the standout as Quinn, but honestly the main teen cast came across as believable Gen-Z cringe teenagers even in the bad writing moments. The real strength of the cast comes from the complete buy-in to exactly what this movie is, which is a comedy-heavy horror comedy. Everyone showed up ready to play, and the energy shows in every scene.
I have to add that this movie does try to throw in a big social issue as it’s core theme, and I don’t think it sticks the landing. I’m not going to name it here since it can potentially spoil some plot elements, but it’s preachy as hell and will definitely rub some people the wrong way. It’s not Black Christmas (2019) bad, but it feels forced all the same.
Overall, Clown in a Cornfield is a ton of fun. It’s gory in a goofy over-the-top way that makes it approachable to non-horror fans, and it has some genuine laugh out loud moments. I doubt it’s gonna crack my top 10 for this year, but I’m still glad I went to see it and I’m excited to see more from this director.
