Clown in a Cornfield Movie Review: Blood, Gore, and Fun

Clown in a Cornfield is a 2025 American slasher film directed by Eli Craig and written by Craig and Carter Blanchard. It is based on the 2020 novel by Adam Cesare, and stars Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Kevin Durand, and Will Sasso.

Looking for a fresh start, Quinn and her father move to the quiet town of Kettle Springs. They soon learn the fractured community has fallen on hard times after losing a treasured factory to a fire. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning clown emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time.

Director: Eli Craig

Running time: 1h 36m

Distributed by: Shudder, RLJE Films

Clown in a Cornfield Movie Review: Blood, Gore, and Fun

A fading midwestern town in which Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success, reemerges as a terrifying scourge. (IMDB)

Quinn (Katie Douglas) and her doctor father (Aaron Abrams) move to the backwater town of Kettle Springs to escape their past, the loss of a mother and wife, and to start afresh where no one knows them. On her first day at a new school, Quinn meets Rust (Vincent Muller) a redneck teen who walks her to school and warns her about all the weirdos in her class. Quinn immediately gravitates towards these ‘weirdos’ and finds herself in trouble with the school and her father faster than she can say, “Hey, can I hang with the cool kids?” 

Her new friends, including potential romantic interest, Cole (Carson MacCormac) are the cool kids, all very attractive and popular; at least with their peers, not so much with the townsfolk who simply see them as trouble. They have a sideline in making scary YouTube horror videos based on Frendo the Clown, mascot of the recently-put-out-of-business Corn Syrup factory an event they may, or may not, have hand a hand in.

As the town’s annual Founder’s Day celebration approaches, being grounded is not going to stop Quinn from sneaking out of the house to join Cole and her friends in a local barn for a late-night celebration of drinking and dancing, surrounded by cornfields.

So far, so teen slasher.

Of course, this is the point where a certain clown turns up to start slashing bodies and the shit hits the fan, big time.

With a screenplay based on the hit novel by Cesare and Craig, the director of Tucker and Dale Versus Evil, what is not to like?

Not a lot to be fair, and I had a ton of fun with Clown in a Cornfield, there really isn’t anything to dislike about this movie. While you won’t get any major surprises, there is still a lot of fun to be had, a few laughs, good kills, and plenty of blood and gore. 

Clown in a Cornfield may be open to claims that it is a bit predictable, but that is not really a criticism from where I am sitting; this is a teen slasher and there are various tropes and set pieces we want to see, we’d feel cheated without them.

And Clown in a Cornfield knows this. It knows exactly what it is and plays to those strengths, thumbing a nose at its own awareness as well as tipping a nod to some old favourites. While you will likely see the main twist coming fairly early in the film, there is no real need to hide this one, and it will still leave you second-guessing who is in on it all. Having said all that, there are still a few surprises to be had and Clown in a Cornfield is paced so well, none of this matters, as we are just along for the gory, frantic ride.

Once you do know what is going on, you can play the game of trying to work out why it is all happening and, while some may feel the reveal is a bit of a stretch or perhaps a little weak, it is perfectly pitched for the way Gen-X and Gen-Z often behave towards each other.

Without saying too much, Clown in a Cornfield’s story plays out in my mind a bit like if William Hurt from The Village was a nutjob cult leader. For me, it didn’t quite work as justification for what was happening (I’d love to know how they planned to get away with it) but, at the end of the day, when you are seeing heads squashed and the pitchforks are flying, is that really our main concern? 

A couple of days on from watching the film and I am still thinking about it. Not necessarily because it is the next great American horror film, but because I enjoyed it so much. The movie recognises what horror fans want, and it delivers… in spades, baseball bats, arrows, chainsaws, and pitchforks!

It looks good, it’s directed well, and the cast are all great, so it comes together on all levels. My only other criticism is perhaps there wasn’t enough of Kevin Durand but that may change, you never know, <thumbs nose mysteriously>….

Clown in a Cornfield is a Gen-Z slasher with one foot firmly planted in the 80s. it riffs on current social divides; a modern narrative and message with a familiar and nostalgic parade of gore and fun kills. There is clearly an opening for a sequel (there are more novels) and I am up for it. I will also need to sort out getting the books off my “to buy” pile and at least onto the “to be read pile.”

Go see it!

Further Reading

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