Clown in a Cornfield - Film Review

Post

Subscribe

Based on a 2020 novel of the same name, Clown in a Cornfield is one of the best slasher films to come out in a long time, being both fun with underlying depth, and has plenty of slasher-type deaths without being stomach-churning gory. This is also a movie that is designed to appeal to all ages, and people who grew up on slashers will want to see this one as well as the normal younger audience that flock to cinemas in groups to watch slasher films.



Plot
Quinn Maybrook, played by the charming and talented Katie Douglas, moves to the small town of Kettle Springs with her father Dr. Glenn Maybrook. Queue father-daughter tension and the odd feeling of the town that is just a little off-putting.



Quinn makes new friends at school but is warned to stay away from them as they are trouble. But that seems to be mostly making videos, including prank videos. But there is something more happening. Do they, the town, or everyone harbour dark secrets? Underlying the plot development is a mystery about the town and who to really trust.

Don't worry, slasher film hijinks will quickly ensure. A quick spoiler alert, yes, at some point there will be a cornfield, and in that cornfield will be a clown. But just when you think everything is happening along typical slasher film lines, the plot blows up into something bigger, crazier, and wackier.



Themes

I could write a whole thesis about all the themes explored or at least touched on this movie. But as they pretty much all of them are integral to the plot development I don't want to reveal too much. The main ones I should mention are the relationship across generations and the relationship between the story told (or memes generated) and the truth.

Most themes and ideas are addressed with a light touch, integrating them into the story nicely, if not with the type of depth I would like. If you prefer, you can ignore the themes and just enjoy the movie for its horror, slasher, and mystery elements.

Verdict

This is a movie that takes a lot of great ideas and throws them all together in an okay manner so you get both an entertaining and thoughtful genre movie. It is fun for both younger and older viewers, both honouring and making fun of movie tropes going back to the 1980s. Its main weakness is that it doesn't spend enough time with any of its ideas to turn them into themes in the movie. Good horror movies, including slasher and pulp horror, do make commentary on contemporary social issues, and Clown in a Cornfield does this, but in a mostly superficial manner.



As a good but not great movie, it is a movie worth checking out even if you are just a casual fan of the genre. It may be best enjoyed with a group, so it could be a great cinema movie for many, while others will wait until it hits streaming as something to watch during slasher movie parties. Maybe there is not enough there to make it a classic of the genre though, but you can never really tell until the years go by and the sequels start building up.

%wneverywhere
#film_tv_reviews
#film
#film_reviews