Starring - Katie Douglas (Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey, What Would Jesus Do?), Aaron Abrams (Hannibal, The Watchful Eye), Carson MacCormac (Shazam!, Zombie at 17)
Release Date - 2025
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Are you afraid of Frendo?"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
One of the last few years I was in college, which doesn't seem THAT long ago, I rushed out to my local WalMart at midnight to snag a copy of Tucker and Dale vs Evil. I was going to snag a copy at FYE when they opened but I was too impatient at the time and decided to hit up WalMart instead knowing that they stocked new releases at midnight. I fell in love with the film and since then I've collected shirts, posters, and a few random things like hats, beanies, and so forth for the film. It's one of my favorite horror comedies and one of the best parodies of the cabin in the woods sub-genre to exist. With that being said, director Eli Craig hasn't really contributed much to the genre since then aside from what looks like a made for television movie, or television show pilot, spinoff of Zombieland that I need to track down. That was until now when he helmed the Clown in a Cornfield adaptation. I'm not one to go out of my way to see a killer clown flick but I'm always open to them. Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Stephen King's It are among my favorite movies, so I always give the sub-genre a chance especially when I saw that it was Craig behind the camera on this one. I want to thank Shudder for sending over the review link for me to check out!
The film follows a teenager girl and her windowed father who move to a small town. The town is known for it's corn syrup factory and it's mascot Frendo. However, the times are tough for everyone and the town is starting to fade. Some of the local youths have turned Frendo into an urban legend with their found footage style YouTube series depicting Frendo as a serial killer. However, their lucrative hobby turns deadly when they start going missing one by one as they are stalked by someone dressed up as Frendo. It's up to those left alive to find out who is behind the killing and why.
I went into this one knowing very little about it. I knew it was based on a young adult novel by Adam Cesare but that was the extent of it. However, as I prepare for the review I discovered that Cesare wrote Last Night at Terrace Lanes which I recently watched. I was not a fan of that film and that would explain why I didn't really care for Clown in a Cornfield. The film has a few moments I liked and loved seeing Will Saso and Kevin Durand but the movie just wasn't for me. The acting in this one is great. Honestly, this probably has the best acting I've seen this year. The cast is great and it was awesome seeing Saso and Durand taking over the role of the villains. Honestly, I would have loved the film if it was focused more on them and their secret Frendo cult instead of the teenagers. The story for this one has some things that I enjoyed and a lot that I didn't. I'm going to blame it on my age, but a lot of the characters are not likable. It's not a problem of the cast, but how they were written. They have shitty personalities and extremely difficult to connect with. The teens are meant to be a bit unlikable and their past actions have caused a lot of issues in the small community but with that aside, it's difficult not to want to watch them all die. Also, the film doesn't do a good job at hiding the twist as to who the killer is. We have some foreshadowing that gives away more than it should which ruins the big twist near the end. There was a few things that I did like. I really enjoyed the idea of teens turning a local mascot into a serial killer in a found footage YouTube series. I also liked that local cult of adults who despise the youths. Finally, the film has some solid practical effects and gnarly deaths. The deaths are not the wildest I've seen but they are enjoyable enough for me to recommend the film on just that alone. I don't see myself revisiting the movie again but I may toss it in and fast forward to these bloody bits. The effects are fantastic and the kills fit the film but they are not that imaginative. Overall, Clown in the Cornfield is a film with a story meant for young adults turned turned horror with unlikable characters and a predictable story. It does have some great looking deaths but nothing that will stick with you especially if you are an everyday horror fan. I recommend the film for the deaths but that is it.
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