CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD – Review

Last week, the big Summer cinema season kicked off with another trip to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with another Impossible Mission and a Disney remake debuting in just a few weeks. So, does that mean that horror fanatics (AKA “gore-hounds”) will have to wait for the cooler temps for their “fright fix”? Well, ROSARIO gave up some scares last week, and that late April “sleeper smash” SINNERS is still dishing up some plasma with its blues soundtrack. So, why not a new chiller featuring the “go-to” thriller icons of the last couple of decades? No, we’re not talking about more vampires, werewolves, or zombies, but less supernatural creeps. Yes, it’s those brightly garbed, painted-on-smiles, former kids entertainers, that are now nightmare “fodder” after several “Jokers” and Pennywise of the IT flicks. And how about seeing their oversized feet tromping about the usually tranquil heartland? Who wouldn’t dash back into the barn after spotting a CLOWN IN THE CORNFIELD? Maybe they can squirt some seltzer on those dry crops.

It all begins with a flashback to 1991 when the “title terror” struck at a wild teen party (think an “ocean-free” JAWS opener). Flash forward to modern-day Kettle Springs, MO, and the arrival of the new town MD, widower Dr. Glenn Maybrook ( Aaron Abrams), and his sixteen-year-old daughter Quinn (Katie Douglas). She’s pretty bummed about being “stuck in the middle of nowhere”, but her papa thinks that they need a “fresh start” after losing Mom. Plus, their new house is a “fixer upper” that needs wifi (Quinn’s #1 priority). The next morning, she’s about to leave for school when the spooky stoic “down-the-road” neighbor Rust (Vincent Muller) shows up at their door to walk with her. Quinn’s late for her first class and gets detention along with a rowdy group thought to be behind a prank on testy teacher Mr. Vern (Bradley Swatsky). She bonds with the quintet who invite her to join them that night at the old burned-out Baypen Corn Syrup factory, where they make viral videos about the company’s creepy old mascot, Frendo the Clown. Quinn likes them all, but feels a romantic connection with the dreamy, rebel Cole (Carson MacCormac), who happens to be the son of the town’s Mayor Hill (Kevin Durant). Excitement is in the air since the big Founders’ Day Festival is days away. Ah, but gruesome murder is also in the ether, as the “real” Frendo begins killing some local teens. Everything builds up to the big post-parade moonlight teen party at the old factory as Quinn and her new friends, and possible BF Cole, must try to survive a near-endless night of “clown carnage and chaos”.

As with many classic horror flicks of the last fifty years, the story’s main character is (perhaps a cliche now), the final girl, as in Laurie Strode in HALLOWEEN. Here, it’s Katie Douglas as Quinn, who is a bit of a mix of nice and slightly naughty. Ms. Douglas generates great empathy as the little town’s “new kid” while offering up big doses of snark and sarcasm, while still never losing an endearing charm. And she has good chemistry with MacCormac as Cole, who is the resident “dream guy” who also appears to be hiding a few dark secrets as he begins putting the “moves” on Quinn. The rest of the “teen pack” are comprised of young “camera-ready” actors who could fit in on a 2010 CW TV show (they’re going to reality now), though Verity Marks shines as the surprisingly “meta’ sidekick to the blonde “queen bee” (being the tanned bruinette she states, when the blood flies, “You just know I’ll be next!”) along with Muller as the off-kilter awkward Rust. As for the adults, Abrams is the warm, sometimes stern but always sympathetic “daddy doc”, who tries to give his spirited teen a “limited freedom”. Plus he’s a dream compared to the town’s surly other elders, best represented by comic actor Will Sasso as the growling chief of police who’s quick to point his pistol at theose “brats”. Much can be said of Durant, who almost breaks into the old “bye Bye Birdie” standard tune “Kids!” while bemoaning the next “gen”. Perhaps he could make that song a “duet” with Sawatsky’s twitchy, always esasperated Mr. Vern.

This often familiar terror tale is directed confidently by thriller veteran Eli Craig, who brings a fun vibe to the ghoulish mayhem, though he never hits the heights of his earlier genre-flipping classic TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL (hmm, one of the teens is named Tucker here…). Craig conveys the small town “dread” as Quinn is suddenly out of her urban ‘comfort zone” in the creepy quiet of the midwestern “corn country”. And the “kills’ action secquences have lots of energy and creative stunt work paired with several gruesome “practical effects”, though the CGI plasma erupts into our laps. Unfortunately, the tone wears thin as the final act (the big “death derby”) commences as the screenplay wants to have it both ways, existing as a campy thriller satire while trying to send tingles up our spines and work as a legit terror tale. The idea of a corporate “mascot” becoming a nightmarish butcher is a neat twist, but the SCREAM films have had more success at mixing humor and horror (though they often stumble). And, as is often with these films, the finale lurches along with multiple endings while the big master plan of Frendo feels devoid of logic and “future-thought”. Much like SNAKES ON A PLANE, this title promises more fun than is on screen (I wonder if the source novel delivered more), but fright fans may “reap” some rewards from that spooky and often silly CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD.

2 Out of 4

CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD opens in theatres on Friday, May 9, 2025