Some movies are like an onion, slowly exposing each of their layers throughout their runtime. That's often true of the very best and most decorated films of all-time, but even within the horror genre, which isn't always known for being the most highbrow form of art, it can hold true.
Take Sinners for example, the Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan vampire thriller released last month. There's a lot more going on in that masterfully made movie than simply biting necks. It's a movie that makes you think about its deeper themes and read up on its hidden meanings well after you leave the theater. Sometimes you want that. Sometimes, though, you just want a clown in a cornfield.
I came into Clown in a Cornfield, the latest movie directed by Tucker & Dale vs. Evil director Eli Craig, knowing nothing except what the title offered me. I watched zero trailers, read no plot synopses, nothing. Nevertheless, I felt like I had a good idea of what I was getting into. As we all know, clowns are bad. Most would agree that they're evil, in fact. If any good clowns are out there, they certainly don't make movies about them. They make It and Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Terrifier.
Clown in a Cornfield is obviously influenced by all of those. Frendo, the titular clown, may not be a supernatural entity like Pennywise or a visitor from beyond the exosphere, nor is he an unkillable killing machine like Art the Clown, but he wears all of those influences and others from the genre on his red-and-white striped sleeves.
Horror aficionados will find references and homages to many of their favorites in this movie, from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Children of the Corn to Thanksgiving, and most definitely to Friday the 13th. There's no avoiding the comparison to the classic slasher, right from the first minute when a group of drinking, horny teens are partying around a bonfire. Who knows when we'll get to return to Camp Crystal Lake again, but for now, Kettle Springs will do just fine as a stand-in.
What's going on in Kettle Springs?
When we settle into modern day Kettle Springs, we're quickly told that the town has fallen on hard times because the economic hub of the town, the Baypen corn syrup factory (a smart choice, since as Scream taught us so many years ago, corn syrup is used as fake blood in movies), burned to the ground not long ago. Its ashy husk still looms over the flyover town, and can easily be seen from the new house that Quinn, the main character and ostensible final girl, and her dad just moved into.
Kettle Springs has a similar air to Derry from It or Shadyside from the Fear Street trilogy in that it just feels cursed. Nobody is happy, and every person we see treats Quinn and her new friends like absolute crap. In fairness, they're not the most well-behaved bunch, as they like to play pranks on their teacher and film homemade movies depicting Frendo, Baypen's mascot, as a deranged serial killer. Still, it's obvious that something is not right here.
Clown in a Cornfield is an easy recommendation to horror fans
I implied above that Clown in a Cornfield is a simple movie, and in a lot of ways, it is. This is the kind of experience where you can just turn your brain off and enjoy some genuinely good and cringe-inducing kills while also laughing out loud at some of the more ridiculously campy lines. It's an easy crowd-pleaser of a horror movie, much in the way Heart Eyes was earlier this year, and I definitely mean that as a compliment.
Clown in a Cornfield may not be the most densely layered horror flick out there, but it has themes and ideas that, as a child of the '90s, I appreciated. The generational divide between boomers and Gen Z is a major through line here, and it's played both for laughs and killer motivations. Many horror movies portray teens being terrorized because the older generation blames them for the sins of the world. All of their drinking and drug use and sex is a metaphor for what's wrong with society, and they often end up punished by someone like Mrs. Voorhees or Jason himself for their misdeeds. Clown in a Cornfield takes that trope and twists it, then puts a finer point on it in a really satisfying way.
There were few actors I recognized here, but the performances were solid for what you'd expect in a movie like this. Katie Douglas was new to me and was really great as Quinn. She reminded me a lot of Lauren LaVera's Sienna from the Terrifier series, though Quinn was given a few more laugh lines. Will Sasso of Mad TV fame hit all the right notes as Kettle Springs' stickler sheriff, and Kevin Durand, who had a great turn in Abigail around this time last year, was also fun as the town's mayor.
Clown in a Cornfield is based on a book by Adam Cesare, and as I came to find out after watching the movie, there are actually two sequels, which gives me hope that we haven't seen the last of Frendo. This is the kind of horror movie I'd watch two of each month and never leave disappointed. If it's playing in a theater near you and you're a fan of Friday the 13th, make some time for Frendo. You'll be glad you did.