CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD – Corn, Chaos and Clown Shoes
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Directed by: Eli Craig
Starring: Katie Douglas, Kevin Durand, Aaron Abrams
Release Date: May 9, 2025
Platform: Theatrical
Rating: 4/5
By Crystal Justine
“A strong cast, a clear directorial vision, and a faithful adaptation of its source material.”
If you thought clowns were terrifying before, CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD might not cure that, but it’ll definitely make you laugh about it. This movie combines two of the scariest things in horror movie history: clowns and cornfields. Clowns are already nightmare fuel, but toss them into a cornfield, where nothing good ever happens, and you’ve got a recipe for pandemonium. Based on the best-selling book by Adam Cesare and co-written/directed by Eli Craig (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil), this horror-comedy slasher hybrid made its premiere at SXSW with a bang—and a chainsaw.
Craig was a perfect match for this material. His signature blend of absurd horror and punchy humor is stamped all over this film, like a bloody and squeaky clown shoe print. The result? A rollercoaster ride through small-town paranoia, teen angst, and a cornfield full of chaos. It’s not high-brow horror, but it’s not trying to be. CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD knows exactly what it is, a crowd-pleaser with guts (literally and figuratively).
Speaking of guts, the kills are creative, graphic, and ultimately fun! You’ll laugh. You’ll wince. You’ll nudge the person next to you like, “Did they just do that?” This kind of movie reminds you why we love slasher flicks in the first place: for the thrill, the spectacle, and the chase.
Leading the film is Katie Douglas. She may be small in stature, but she packs big scream queen energy. Douglas’s performance as Quinn anchors the movie with a surprising balance of emotional depth and perfectly timed humor, even when surrounded by flying arrows and roaring chainsaws. The rest of the young cast delivers too, with a mix of fresh-faced charm and hilarious terror. Casting relative newcomers was a smart move as it grounds the movie and keeps the spotlight on the story, not the star power.
Being completely real, the script isn’t perfect. The first act leans hard into Gen Z, which lands somewhere between “TikTok authentic” and “please make it stop.” But once the blood starts flowing and the clowns are on the hunt, the dialogue tightens up, and the tone hits its stride.
As for fans of Adam Cesare’s novel, rest assured the film largely holds up. CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD captures the core themes and chaos of the book with respect. Like most adaptations, it trims some of the deeper layers for the sake of pacing, and while character development—particularly for Quinn—feels played down, it doesn’t detract from the overall impact. If there’s one creative choice that misses the mark, it’s the film’s opening scene. The novel’s introduction is significantly stronger and sets the tone with far more tension and intrigue, while the movie opts for a more generic opening that feels like a missed opportunity. Still, the film does an admirable job translating the book’s essence to the screen, and with two more books in the series, it’s clear there’s plenty of room for sequels should the franchise move forward.
What stands out most about CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD is its rewatchability, which is a quality many horror-comedies struggle to maintain. On repeat viewings, the humor remains sharp, the kills still land, and you pick up on little quirks that may have been missed the first time around. This is a film best experienced in theaters, where its blend of horror and humor can be fully appreciated. With a strong cast, a clear directorial vision, and a faithful adaptation of its source material, CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD proves itself a standout entry in the slasher genre.
