Although a film called Clown in a Cornfield might inspire little confidence in anything of substance, writer-director Eli Craig‘s latest film offers much more than the title suggests.
Based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Adam Cesare, the satirical slasher stars Katie Douglas as Quinn Maybrook, a troubled teen girl who moves with her doctor dad (Aaron Abrams) to the small town of Kettle Springs, Missouri.
A once-booming town stuck in the ’90s, residents still gather to celebrate its Founders’ Day, as well as Frendo the clown, the mascot for the once-thriving Baypen corn syrup factory that has since caught fire and left many without work. After Quinn quickly befriends a group of troublemaking teens suspected of setting the blaze, the youths are picked off by the titular homicidal jester.
Beyond the absurdly dark humor and brutal kills, the movie emphasizes many Middle America struggles while playing on the myths people create to cope with the world.
At the town’s centennial celebration, its older residents cheer for “tradition” and “small town values,” which reads especially MAGA, complete with the clown nose. “Tell people what they want to believe and you can get away with murder,” says one nefarious character, which sounds familiar.
It’s pretty easy to guess who the baddies are once you realize the film is basically Jaws (1975) set in a landlocked state. The predictability doesn’t make the message any less timeless or satisfying.
The film also speaks to a generational divide at the heart of so many U.S. issues, as the privileged, idealist Cole Hill (Carson MacCormac) passionately asserts that their parents were the ones who “fucked everything up” for their future.
It’s also humorously demonstrated as Quinn — arguably the smartest teen of the bunch — can’t figure out how to dial 9-1-1 on a rotary phone when her life quite literally depends on it. A sweet arc of Dr. Maybrook teaching his daughter how to drive manual (which comes in handy) actually speaks to the generational divide coming together.
Clown in a Cornfield marks another father/daughter bonding film set after the death of a mom, which seems to be a common theme at this year’s SXSW with Death of Unicorn, starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega. Why is it so often the mom who dies as an expositional device in horror films? Justice for Maureen Prescott!
Other horror tropes are addressed in a more tongue-in-cheek way, like one character who notes the situation feels “like we’re in some awful ’80s slasher movie,” which means “I’m next” as the horny teens and Black characters are some of the first to go.
For a film that doesn’t get too creative with the title, Clown in a Cornfield’s fun, witty and absurd take on the slasher genre also comments on a divisive culture fueled by corrupt government, distracting America with its own suffering and pitting its people against each other.
Title: Clown in a Cornfield
Festival: SXSW (Narrative Spotlight)
Distributor: RLJE Films, Shudder
Release date: May 9
Director: Eli Craig
Screenwriter: Craig, Carter Blanchard, Adam Cesare
Cast: Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Vincent Muller, Kevin Durand, Will Sasso, Verity Marks, Cassandra Potenza, Ayo Solanke, Alexandre Martin Deakin
Running time: 1 hr 36 min