Clown in a Cornfield

When moody teenager Quinn (Katie Douglas) moves to the sleepy town of Kettle Springs, she makes new friends and crosses paths with the local mascot: a sinister, ever-grinning clown called Frendo.

A straightforward slasher that ticks off the usual genre elements, but one that still guarantees some violent fun. After debuting with cult favorite horror comedy Tucker and Dale vs. Evil and following it up with the more somber Omen tribute Little Evil, director Eli Craig shifts to conventional slasher territory with Clown in a Cornfield. Based on Adam Cesare's novel of the same name, the title gives away the look and feel of the film. The premise is simple: cut in the cloth of post-Scream slashers and over-the-top genre entries like Thanksgiving (directed by Eli Roth, the slasher genre's other Eli). There's the usual "cool bunch" of juvenile rebels who unite against a shadowy, masked killer (Frendo the Clown, in this case). Post the one-hour mark; we even hear a non-white character exclaim how she might be the next to die as their situation reminds her of an "awful 80s slasher horror movie".

A Gen-Z bent offers some new tricks to this clown routine. To Gen-Zify the usual slasher formula, the film's teen cast is depicted as virality-seeking YouTubers who stage clickbait-y killer clown videos, only to be stalked by an actual one. The social media spin can come off as slightly obnoxious banter among the youth, but that's what ultimately adds some spice (and even hilarity) to the bloody mayhem that follows. It's hard to truly empathize with characters who talk like they're "2010s kids in a 2000s horror". So, even when they're butchered in some creative ways on the titular fields, you can't help but get some cheap thrillers and sadistic kicks out of it. Eli Craig has studied his horror classics, a trait that comes out in all of his films. Here, too, he doesn't necessarily reinvent the clown subgenre, but his slasher adaptation has enough traditional town-versus-rebellious youth action to hold your attention. As for the Clown, though, let's just say Frendo might not be Pennywise, but he can elicit some goosebumps as he breathes down his next victim's neck. Tread with caution if you have a case of coulrophobia (fear of clowns).