CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Eli Craig
Stars: Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Will Sasso, Kevin Durand, Cassandra Potenza, Vincent Miller, Verity Marks, Alexandre Martin Deakin, Ayo Solanke, Daina Leitold, Bradley Sawitzky.
Killer clowns. Cornfields. Horny teens partying. A small American midwestern town with a history and dark secrets. All these familiar staples of the slasher/horror genre come together in Clown In A Cornfield, a gory horror film that pays homage to those slasher films popular in the late 80s and 90s.
Rebellious teen Quinn Maycomb (Katie Douglas, from the tv series Ginny & Georgia, etc) has reluctantly moved to the town of Kettle Springs in Missouri with her doctor father (Aaron Abrams, from the tv series Hannibal, etc). The move follows his breakdown following the death of his wife and Quinn’s mother. He responded to an advertisement in which the small town was seeking a doctor. Kettle Springs was home to the Baypen corn syrup factory that burned down a few years earlier. The town has struggled economically since. But Frendo the clown, the familiar mascot for the company, is still honoured each year during the annual Founder’s Day Parade.
However, a gang of local teens, led by the handsome Cole (Carson MacCormac, from Shazam!, etc) has been sneaking into the abandoned factory to shoot short You Tube horror films which depict Frendo as a serial killer. The teen group consists of the usual archetypes of the genre – the jock (Matt Alexandre Deakin in his film debut), the mean girl Janet (Cassandra Potenza, from Bring It On: Cheer Or Die, etc)), the fun loving Tucker (Ayo Solanke, from Sniper: Rogue Mission, etc), and Matt’s girlfriend Ronnie (Verity Marks, from Toys Of Terror, etc).
On her first day in Kettle Springs Quinn falls into the orbit of Cole and his gang. Cole is a descendant of the town’s founders. His father Arthur (Kevin Durand, from Abigail, etc) is the town mayor but has disowned Cole because he is disappointed in him and his reputation as a bit of a troublemaker. He still keeps the family tradition going by presiding over the Founder’s Day parade. The town’s sheriff (Will Sasso, from The Three Stooges, etc) seems to have a grudge against Cole in particular, and his friends, who are not popular amongst the townsfolk.
But on the day of the parade, Frendo the clown emerges as a vicious killer who uses chainsaws, crossbows, pitchforks and other lethal weapons to cut a swathe through the teens who have been trashing his reputation for You Tube clicks. Quinn and Cole have to fight to survive the night.
Clown In A Cornfield is based on the award-winning 2020 YA novel written by Adam Cesare. It has been adapted to the screen by screenwriter Carter Blanchard (Independence Day: Resurgence, etc) and director Eli Craig, who give the material a darker edge. Surprisingly they have included some nice touches of humour here, especially in those scenes that depict today’s clueless teens struggling to understand how to use a telephone with a rotary dial or drive a car with a shift stick. And there is also a positive depiction of a closeted gay teen living in small town America.
Craig (best known for Tucker And Dale Vs Evil, etc) obviously knows the tropes of the slasher genre and he embraces them with relish. He also delivers plenty of gore here. He handles the familiar and formulaic material with relish. There are some good visual effects. Cinematographer Brian Pearson (I Am Legend, etc) uses dark lighting to heighten the tension. He also imbues the cornfields that surround the town and the abandoned factory with a sinister atmosphere.
The largely unknown cast do well with their cliched roles.
Clown In A Cornfield is a moderately successful addition to the slasher genre, and it will appeal to fans of Stephen King.
★★★
