If you plan on watching Clown in a Cornfield, you pretty much know what you’ll be getting, and director Eli Craig delivers, providing everything horror fans everything they would come to expect from a teen slasher movie. Some critics are quick to promote this film as a throwback to some of the classic slasher films from the 1980’s, and despite including many of the traditional horror motifs and themes, Clown in Cornfield is original enough to stand on its own two feet, even if those feet are in oversized clown shoes.
The movie was based on the 2020 novel by Adam Cesare, and if you’ve read the book you’ll find that the filmmakers didn’t stray too far from the source material, following the same narrative and leaving the ending largely intact. The changes that were made, in my opinion, do not detract from the story, and in fact even work to benefit the film version. While the book suggests that faulty wiring was to blame for the devastating fire that burnt down the Baypen Corn Syrup factory, with suspicion that Cole may have been responsible, in the movie it is Cole’s father, Arthur, who sets the blaze and frames his son for the insurance money. I think this variation adds to the drama, and also helps the movie by giving the viewers something to call their own. Even making the characters of Ronnie and Matt victims, rather than villains, works to the story’s benefit. Afterall, this is a horror movie, and higher kill counts are always better.
The movie begins with a flashback to 1991, in a scene reminiscent of Jaws where a group of teens are partying, only instead of getting together on a beach after sunset, the underage drinking and sexual encounters in Clown in a Cornfield, naturally, takes place at a corn farm in in Kettle Springs, Missouri. Not much is revealed about these young people, but you know one or more of them isn’t going to be around very long. When a couple sneaks off into the corn together to be alone, it’s just a matter of time before something bad happens. When a clown appears with a pitchfork, you know you’re in the right movie. Frendo skewers the teens and the legend begins.
The scene flashes ahead to the present, where Quinn Maybrook, an attractive17-teen year old, and her dad, arrive in Kettle Springs, Missouri. They have relocated from Philadelphia to start afresh after the tragic overdose death of Quinn’s mother. Quinn is a senior in high school and Dr. Glenn Maybrook is the new town doctor.
A diner seems like the perfect place to meet the townfolk, and that is where the Maybrooks first encounter sheriff Dunne, a rather hardnosed law man for such a small town. He cautions the newcomers about the town troublemakers, a pack of teenagers led by a boy named Cole, a warning that at least Dr. Maybrook heeds.
Quinn’s first day of school starts with an escort by her neighbor, Rust, an awkward boy who she clearly does not feel comfortable around. The “cool kids” take an immediate liking to Quinn and they let her into their little world in which they delight in making amateur horror films online and pulling pranks. In particular, they have made Frendo the clown into a legendary bogeyman, creating viral videos in which the cheery clown goes on violent rampages.
Frendo had been the mascot for the Baypen corporation, which operated the Baypen Corn Syrup factory in the town before it went out of business and burned down. Cole, who is the son of the Baypen CEO, had long been suspected of arson but seemingly got away with the crime. This is why the sheriff and everyone in town has it in for Cole, and really all the young people in Kettle Springs. This is what provides a lot of the tension in the film and binds the teens together, pitting them against the old guard with their old ways of doing things in the town. This clash between generations is a slow-burning fuse, but the real danger emerges when Frendo the clown goes completely Pennywise on the local teens.
Just as these ‘bad seed’ teens are instantly drawn to Quinn, so is she to them, particularly to Cole. This is something that I’m sure audiences could see coming a mile away, but it’s what is needed to drive the narrative forward. Of course, this friendship angers Quinn’s dad, who punishes her when she comes home after a night of drinking. Being grounded by your parents is never cool, but it’s especially harsh for Quinn at a time when the town has prepared a Founder’s Day celebration. For some skipping this event would have been a good idea, as Frendo claims new teen victims.
Unimpeded by their missing peers, teen life goes on. There is always the next party to go to, and that’s what these teens do, to their detriment, naturally. This is the point in the film where the tension really starts to build and the body count rises.
The use of a creepy music box as a portent of looming death for anyone who finds the object is a nice touch. The toy Frendo that pops out of it does no harm, but the life-size Frendo that soon appears means business, bloody business. The murderous clown uses any implement that is handy to dispatch his victims, including a sickle, pitchfork, sawblade, and a crossbow.
The use of numerous Frendos is also effective in suggesting that there is no escaping alive from this cornfield. The chase scenes themselves through the endless rows of corn is the stuff of nightmares, although when a group of girls huddle together, panic-stricken, while trying to evade Frendo’s wrath, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the Geico commercial, expecting to hear one of the girls breathlessly suggest, “Why can’t we just get in the running car?”
Not wanting to give away too much, I, for one, appreciate the nod to Scooby-Doo at the end. Although, what you won’t hear is one of the villains in this movie say, ‘And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids.’
There is a lot of like about Clown in a Cornfield. For anyone looking for the adrenalin rush of a slasher movie and some laughs, this one more than satisfies. And while it may have been made with the young adult audience, you don’t have to be a teenager to enjoy Clown in a Cornfield.
On a couple of occasions, the filmmakers seem to poke some at the teens of today for not understanding older, simpler technology such as a rotary telephone. Even operating a stick shift is a challenge, like it’s some antiquated skill from a by-gone era. But these teens figure it out the hard way, at least some of them do, and manage to survive. Such moments are certainly intentional, and I believe they are another sort of a wink and a nod to those horror fans who have been around a little longer and have seen all the OG teen slasher movies from the 80s and 90s, either in the theater or on VHS tapes rented from video stores like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video.
If you’re hoping to see more of Frendo, you may not have to wait long. Author Adam Cesare has already peened two sequels, 2022’s Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives and 2024’s Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo.
Published 6/3/25