Based on the 2020 YA novel by Adam Cesare, Clown in a Cornfield is the latest Shudder production to snag a theatrical release. The horror streamer has slowly bit a niche for itself distributing indie horror flicks, and it has employed a carefully-crafted strategy regarding which ones to give theatrical releases. Whether due to the novel’s success or the facial similarities to the recently-popular Terrifier films, this autumnal horror was selected for the big screen.
Eli Craig of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil fame sits in the director’s chair, perhaps seeking to bring some of his wry, dark sense of humor to the affair. That was a strength of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, a modern cult classic, but this film’s central flaw is the tonal issues that leave the movie in disarray.
We follow Quinn, who moved from Philadelphia to the midwestern town of Kettle Springs with her dad in the wake of a personal loss. She soon makes friends with a group of teenagers constantly filming pranks and posting them on a non-copyrighted version of TikTok. The older generation of the town don’t care for them, and they amusingly give them dirty looks throughout the film as Quinn joins the crew. This is epitomized in the stereotypically over-the-top Sheriff Dunne, played by Will Sasso, who delivers grand lines about his “quiet little town” and criticizes the “kids these days” while calling Quinn “sweetheart” over and over.
This all feeds into the film’s clear theme about a clash between the generations and some of the cultural conflict in America today. Yet this is also where the movie can’t seem to find itself. While Clown in a Cornfield has a clear satirical bent, it also asks the audience to care about the characters and their plight. Quinn is on an emotional arc over losing her mom and trying to find new beginnings. But this all becomes muddled when the film focuses more on satire.
Likewise, the plot is full of contrivances and holes that lack a basic sense of logic about motivations and the ability of characters to get from place to place. These might be more excusable in a film that is more intended to be full-bore humor, but the tonal whiplash makes these moments stand out like a sore thumb. It’s too goofy to be great, and not goofy enough to be a great send-up.
The end result is a frustrating experience, even if there is a gleeful sense of anarchy when it comes to the kills. There are multiple moments that are pretty hilarious. Kevin Durand has a fun time with his limited screentime and is one of the highlights. The same cannot be said about main male romantic lead Cole, played by Carson MacCormac. MacCormac is handed some bland, preachy lines at several points that he utterly fails to deliver with any sincerity or conviction. The muddled nature of these scenes are exemplars of the film’s central issues, as though the actor were unclear if he was supposed to be saying them for comedic purpose or not.
There is certainly potential in this film, and it isn’t an entirely bad experience. Horror fans will likely get their appetites sated in several ways. Yet one is left wishing the movie had committed more fully to something grounded and realistic, and more of an homage to 80s slasher horrors, or something more overtly funny. When a character comments that it feels like they are stuck in a slasher horror, one wonders just how meta the writers and director thought they were being.
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