Film Review — Clown in a Cornfield
Eli Craig’s adaptation of Adam Cesare’s novel attempts slasher horror subversion with moderate success
The opening of Clown in a Cornfield is an obvious echo of the opening of Jaws (1975). A group of teenagers circa 1991 drink, smoke, snog, and get high around a campfire. A girl catches a boy’s eye, and runs off, stripping and playfully inviting him to chase her. However, they aren’t on a beach but next to a cornfield in the remote town of Kettle Springs, Missouri. Something deadly lurks amid the corn, and once the girl runs into the field, it’s only a matter of time before events take a slice-and-dice turn at the hands of the titular clown, Frendo, mascot of the local corn syrup factory.
So far, so retrograde slasher flick. But director Eli Craig and co-writer Carter Blanchard’s adaptation of Adam Cesare’s horror novel is determined to be progressive and acceptable to today’s more sensitive audiences, in ways that may wrong-foot some, but I saw coming a mile off. Subverting expectations is the name of the game here (and in many horror films these days). This it does moderately entertainingly, but anyone who watches too many masked maniac movies (like yours truly) will be able to predict most or all of what follows.
Nor is this particularly scary, though those who enjoy splatter will find it enjoyably gruesome. Once we’re past the 1991 prologue, the plot shifts to the present, and concerns teenager Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas) and her father, Glenn (Aaron Abrams). They’re new in town, following the tragic demise of Quinn’s mother, with Glenn stepping in to become the town’s doctor. Meanwhile, Quinn is off to school, where she befriends the mayor’s son, Cole Hill (Carson MacCormac) and his entourage. They get their kicks making prank horror parodies reimagining Frendo as a serial killer for YouTube, much to the chagrin of the town’s older population. They take a decidedly dim view of Generation Z, and not just because they can’t use rotary phones or drive stick-shift vehicles (the latter gag won’t translate here in the UK, as stick-shift vehicles are the norm).
But what if there really is a killer clown out there? Does it have a supernatural origin? Or is the murderous presence something more earthbound? Obviously, I won’t provide spoilers, but once the murder spree kicks in, this becomes enjoyable nonsense that passes the time reasonably well. The cast all do well, with supporting players including Vincent Muller, Kevin Durand, and Will Sasso making fine contributions as local oddball, mayor, and sheriff, respectively. It’s solidly directed and, at a brisk 96 minutes, doesn’t outstay its welcome, even if things do feel a little dragged out in the finale. Don’t apply anything as foolish as logic to the plot either, as it will collapse like a house of cards.
Returning to the opening, given the way it invokes Jaws, I couldn’t help wondering what would have happened if that film had been titled Shark in an Ocean. Then again, one would expect to find sharks in the ocean. One wouldn’t necessarily expect to find clowns in a cornfield. Such pontification aside, Clown in a Cornfield is an entertaining but unremarkable slab of slasher subversion that will pass the time agreeably for fans of the genre.
(Originally published at Medium.)
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