'Clown in a Cornfield' Review: Delightfully Silly and Gory Teen Slasher for the Gen-Z Crowd
I'm always optimistic when a Gen-Z-oriented slasher flick hits the scene. Eli Craig’s (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil) adaptation of Adam Cesare’s young adult novel Clown in a Cornfield offers a more traditional slasher style than Scream V or Bodies Bodies Bodies. Yes, it may be a contemporary tale of teens trying to escape a killer clown in a cornfield—but this clown-fueled carnage fest has a nostalgic, spunk spirit. Though at times its strengths highlight just how much stronger it could have been, it’s a fun, campy teen slasher with both heart and humor.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of SHUDDER
MPA Rating: R (Bloody horror violence, language throughout and teen drinking.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 36 Minutes
Production Companies: Temple Hill Entertainment, Rhea Films
Distributor: RLJE Films, Shudder
Director: Eli Craig
Writers: Carter Blanchard, Eli Craig
Cast: Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Kevin Durand, Will Sasso
Release Date: May 9, 2025
Seventeen-year-old Quinn (Katie Douglas) and her father Glen (Aaron Abrams) move from Philadelphia to the quiet factory town of Kettle Springs, Missouri, hoping for a fresh start. On her first day at school, Quinn falls in with a group of rebellious teens: snobby Janet (Cassandra Potenza) and her friend Ronnie (Verity Marks), prank-loving horror fans Tucker (Ayo Solanke) and Matt (Alexandre Martin Deakin), and the charming Cole (Carson MacCormac). She learns that the town is still reeling from the fire that destroyed the Baypen corn syrup factory, whose creepy mascot, Friendo the Clown, has now become a symbol of intergenerational tension: the adults blame the town’s youth for the incident. Quinn sneaks off to a late-night Founder’s Day party hosted by local teens in the cornfields, only for the group to be terrorized by a killer in a Friendo costume. But—uh oh—there’s more than one Friendo.
Clown in a Cornfield Charms Like a Nickelodeon Classic
Though I appreciate how this generation and its sensibilities are represented in the recent wave of horror films, Clown in a Cornfield struck a nostalgic chord I feel like we haven’t seen enough of in current media: the “kids rule” motif. I’m talking about teenagers radicalizing themselves to fight against the patriarchy. Less Katniss v. Snow, more Jason Shepard v. Marty Wolf. You know, the kind of movie where teens face hapless, dirtbag adults who live to rain on their parade. In addition to the killer clown, Quinn and her new friends are harassed by hostile adults, including their antagonistic teacher and the town sheriff (Will Sasso), who is eager to lock up Cole and his group. Clown in a Cornfield hinges on this generational divide, characterized by the conservative adults’ reluctance to pass the torch to the new generation and the lengths they will go to maintain the status quo. This classic archetype, dating all the way back to Scooby-Doo and then some, is sorely missing from the landscape of Gen-Z slasher flicks today.
Eli Craig and Carter Blanchard’s screenplay is both charming and well-balanced in its dark humor, but the dialogue is bland and awkward, especially the conversations in the friend group. It's not so much "people don't talk like this," more "wow, this is paper thin." While the ensemble is enjoyable, all their characters are all painstakingly one-note, especially during the weaker first half. Quinn at one point says, "This place reeks of the 90s," speaking my intrusive thoughts into existence. Not to knock the film's ambitious themes or its rebellious tone, but whenever it climbs onto its soapbox, I want to say, “Okay, kid, don’t hurt yourself now.” That said, I genuinely love its “kids rule” attitude — it is wildly cathartic and so fun when the kids finally fight back against Friendo.
Katie Kills It
A slasher is only as fun as its final girl, and star Katie Douglas delivers. I'd only seen her in Dempsey Bryk’s funny dark comedic short What Would Jesus Do alongside Ruby Cruz, Abby Quinn, and Tony Revelori. As Quinn, she strikes the right balance between teen angst, killer charisma, and resilient humanity. She also shares strong chemistry with her co-stars, particularly Aaron Abrams who plays her dad. To further my comparison to Nickelodeon, the film wears its heart on its sleeve as their father-daughter arc unfolds and earns every emotional beat, from the "parents just don't understand" impasse to their running gag about how Quinn can't drive stick (which has a great payoff).
Clown in a Cornfield Could Have Been Slashed in Half
Clown in a Cornfield wants to follow in the footsteps of campy slashers, but the screenplay doesn’t get to the good, witty stuff until halfway through. I was really not digging the first half of the movie where for the most part, every attempt at a joke falls completely flat. At least up to the midpoint, when it pulls a 180 and every dark comedic moment is at least chuckle-worthy, sometimes even gut-bustingly funny. It left me dazed and confused as to why the first half couldn't deliver.
This also applies to the kills. No, not Craig's direction of the kills — many of this slasher's set pieces are well-staged and elevated by inventive camerawork — the kills themselves. They start off so generic and fail to match the building momentum, either flashing by in a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment or landing with a thud of anticlimax. But damn, once the film gets fully into horror-comedy territory, it kicks into gear and becomes a wild, blood-soaked blast. Clown in a Cornfield didn’t win me over in the first half, where its mediocrity was only just compensated by charm and a nostalgic “kids rule, adults drool” vibe. It only truly pays off when the other clown shoe drops. Expect this to become a franchise, just like the book. And you know what? I’m all in for more corny fun with Friendo the Clown, as basic as he is. As long as Katie Douglas is behind the wheel, I’m here for the ride.
FINAL STATEMENT
The Nickelodeon movie of R-rated horror flicks, Clown in a Cornfield is a delightfully silly and delectably gory teen slasher with immense charm and spunky Gen-Z attitude.
