Clown in a Cornfield: A Subversive Film Stuck in an Unambitious One

Clown in a Cornfield is a fun romp, but is almost so much more

I’ve struggled with my thoughts on Clown in a Cornfield since I watched the movie last night. This movie is entertaining enough- but waits too long to make the final reveal, making most of this movie feel like a riff on so many other movies you’ve seen before. The movie is about a girl and her father moving to a small town in the midwest after the death of her mother. She gets involved with a group of friends who aren’t the most responsible who like to make videos showing the towns mascot, Frendo, viscously murder people. The videos blend into reality as this group of teens discover there is actually multiple people dressing up as the clown and murdering people in real life, and there’s an underlining conspiracy to why this is happening as well.

From me describing the plot, you probably already understand that this movie is filled with typical horror movie troupes. Throughout most of this movie, I kept thinking how it was a struggle between a really strong director with a lacking script. The movie plays out similarly to how a Disney Channel Original Movie would. The characters are all very broad- the dialogue is spelling out everything you need to know about everything going on in the story and motivations of the characters. There is no nuance in this movie, but the campier sensibilities of the film also help it feel inherently more nostalgic. This has that ‘2000s TV Movie vibe” in it, while having great production value. The way director Eli Craig is able to build tension in a scene is wholly effective. One of the earlier shots follows a teen walking his house looking for the clown thinking it’s one of his friends dressed up as a clown- and I was watching the scene with my arms gripped to my chair waiting for the clown to jump out of the most unexpected place and where that clown finally emerges was brilliant. This is what helps the film feel entertaining, a good sense of timing and place. I love the overall aesthetic of the film as well, it’s drenched in Halloween vibes and made me nostalgic for the fall. In all honesty- releasing this in May was a major mistake for the studio. This is the exact campy and schlocky horror movie with cozy vibes that would have done really well in September.

The movie has a third act reveal that does paint the rest of the movie in a new light. While I appreciated this third act reveal and the film actually daring to be about something deeper than it first appeared to be, I felt like the reveal was a little too late into the movie. I think figuring out who these clowns are and their motivations is really funny- but also provocative. I can see people being offended by what the film is trying to convey with the third act twist and that’s why I admire it so much. It doesn’t pull back it’s punches on exactly who it is making fun of, and the themes surrounding this small town come to play in a compelling way. However, I do believe if this film wasn’t played so broadly, this third act reveal could have been even more poignant. This film screams at you what it wants you to learn and take away from the film and the film doesn’t feel like it properly sets up this reveal other than laying a few obvious lines in the first twenty minutes.

So overall, I’m mixed on Clown in a Cornfield. There’s a lot to like about this movie and as an entertaining romp in the horror canon, it’s wholly effective and fun fluff. The movie fights to be about something deeper and I believe with a stronger script it could have gotten there, meaning there is a bit of a missed opportunity.