Clown In A Cornfield ★★★

Released: 6 June 2025

Director: Eli Craig

Starring: Aaron Abrams, Kevin Durand, Katie Douglas

When it comes to Young Adult horror novels, Adam Cesare is one of the most well-known in the game. His ‘Clown in a Cornfield’ series has not only garnered a strong following over the years, but the first instalment received the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a YA Novel back in 2020. Now receiving the big screen treatment, the town of Kettle Springs has come to life. The story follows Quinn (Katie Douglas) and her father Glenn (Aaron Abrams) who have just moved to this quiet town hoping for a fresh start. Instead, Quinn discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burnt down. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time.

To put it simply, Clown in a Cornfield is a run-of-the-mill, trope-heavy teen slasher – enjoyment will be down to whether the audience enjoys this type of flick. The story is simplistic in approach but well told, featuring an angsty teenage girl and her widowed father who move to a quiet little town, and soon after, the inhabitants are slashed by a masked killer one by one. It does tap into a self-awareness that makes the familiar beats slightly more palatable, featuring some quippy one liners that show the writing team know exactly what they’re doing. However, this doesn’t always give Clown in a Cornfield a free pass. What’s an instant classic slasher for some will be a derivative and repetitive affair for others, as with its cardboard cut-out characters featuring the new girl, the mean girl and the bad boy to name just a few, and a predictable killer reveal that thinks itself much cleverer than it is, the film does feel unoriginal. That being said, there is a nostalgic feel to it all, and one thing is completely undeniable – it has fun.

As it’s built for a teen audience, the horror on display during Clown in a Cornfield is quite tame. There are plenty of kills to be entertained by, especially during the final act which sees more than one killer come after our group of kids, and some gore to be had as the clown slashes and slices its way through the town. However, these kill sequences don’t linger for long, and often cut away before giving us the money shot. The kills themselves aren’t the most inventive, and seasoned horror fans may be disappointed by how safe it plays things. It may work best as an entry level horror flick for younger viewers, as an introduction to slashers and the tropes they entail. As aforementioned, the slasher elements are incredibly familiar here, and figuring out the killer/s may also depend on familiarity with the genre. For most, it’s likely going to be obvious, as the narrative points to the ‘us vs. them’ theme from early doors. Figuring out who the villain is may be simple, but that doesn’t mean the reveal isn’t entertaining. Lengthy third act exposition dump aside (a slasher regular), with intriguing enough ideas at play, the predictability only partially gets in the way of the enjoyment.

From a technical perspective, Clown in a Cornfield feels akin to a straight-to-streaming horror flick. The music supervision is the weakest element, with the tracks playing far too loudly over the scenes they’re placed in and rarely match the tone. The cinematography is fine, though it lacks precision and fails to put emphasis on the location. As the title suggests, the town of Kettle Springs boasts a large cornfield, but this is unfortunately under-utilised. Not only do we spend a minimal amount of time here, but the scope, size and looming sense of dread that usually comes with this setting is ignored. The performances across the board are pretty good, and although our talented cast are playing very stereotypical roles, they do so well. Kevin Durand (Abigail) manages to deliver the stand-out role despite minimal screen-time, and our lead scream queen Katie Douglas (Level 16) creates a likable lead in Quinn. Despite many technical aspects needing some finer tuning, it’s still worth checking out Clown in a Cornfield in cinemas. The humour inside the script and the fun-factor of the storyline will be best enjoyed with an audience, laughing at the self-aware jokes and grimacing at the kills. Though the filmmaking is occasionally weak, it will likely be quite the crowd-pleaser.

Clown in a Cornfield will likely divide horror fans over its release weekend. Whilst some will appreciate the love letter to slashers, its fun tone and straightforward script, others will be disappointed by the lack of originality and see things coming a mile away. A solid adaptation of the novel that birthed it, Clown in a Cornfield is worth checking out for its performances and switch-your-brain-off enjoyment, but doesn’t stand out as one of the genre’s best.