REVIEW: Clown in a Cornfield
Clown in a Cornfield is a 2025 slasher film directed by Eli Craig (Tucker & Dale vs Evil). The main protagonists are Quinn Maybrook, played by Katie Douglas, and her father, Dr Maybrook, played by Aaron Abrams. The Maybrooks have relocated following the death of Quinn’s mother. It is set in modern day Missouri and, as you might expect, it involves a clown and a cornfield. We are introduced to Frendo the Clown in a murderous cold open (a slasher classic) set decades before the main story. Overall, it is humorous, sufficiently bloody and has a catchy soundtrack.
Like many slashers, the story in Clown in a Cornfield follows a group of conventionally attractive young people. Quinn (Douglas), new in town, makes friends with some delinquents at her high school, despite several people in town telling her to avoid them. The group is made up of Cole (handsome badboy), Janet and Ronnie (bitchy popular girls), and Tucker and Matt (pranksters). Some of the more amusing moments in the movie involve Janet and Ronnie, particularly a scene involving a severed head. A few mildly familiar faces turn up around the town, in particular Kevin Durand as the Mayor and Will Sasso as the Sheriff. I was not familiar with any of the young actors prior to Clown in a Cornfield, but they all played their roles. I look forward to seeing Kate Douglas get some chances in the future.
Eli Craig’s previous two feature films were firmly in horror/comedy territory. (As an aside, I love Tucker & Dale vs Evil.) Clown in a Cornfield is, at its heart, a slasher but it is full of well-timed humour (I legitimately laughed out loud at times) and is firmly tongue-in-cheek. If you prefer your slashers mean, you might want to look elsewhere.
Clown in a Cornfield isn’t a deep film; it doesn’t try to say too much. The motivation behind the killings is a bit of a caricature. It’s hard to imagine it playing out in the real world. However, it is notable how modern the film feels, with repeated use of cruel pranks being recorded and the threat of recordings for bullying purposes (reminds me a bit of Talk to Me).
Now, the violence. Personally, I think the best slashers are when we get to know the core group before they proceed to get murdered one-by-one. Clown in a Cornfield gives us some of that, with Quinn and her friends causing a bit of trouble around town before things go off the rails. Unfortunately, some are given more opportunity than others, and some are a bit two dimensional for my liking. But my biggest complaint is that Frendo doesn’t kill enough people. The film has blood for sure (albeit mostly digital), but give the people what they want: more Frendo!
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