Clown in a Cornfield

"Clown in a Cornfield" centers around the new girl in Kettle Springs, Quinn Maybrook, and the deeds of her newfound friends (Cole, Rust, Janet, Tucker, Ronnie & Matt). But the adults from Kettle springs hide a terrible truth and the symbol of past glories, Frendo the Clown, is on a hunting mode... The movie starts strong with a great horror atmosphere and has all the ingredients to be a hit, but towards the end reaches the flatlines and becomes more interested in selling us an intergenerational criticism than an actually good film.

That's a big letdown and a shame, 'cuz the cast is well assembled & the protagonist ain't insufferable or too much girl-bossing. The final act nearly kills the movie, so my vote reflects that.

A good way to forge a horror movie, but still requires some developments.

It was so predictable. The plot was good but not well executed. It is ok if you dont have anything else to watch. I was expecting more sadly it didnt. The acting was ok not that good. The visual effects aré not that good either but it is watchable. Hope there Is not a sequel because it was a bit Boring.

While I enjoy a good slasher, I would not call myself a fiend for them. I don't subscribe to Shudder and I don't watch all the horror movies that come out. I'd even say that I tend to stay away from the schlocky and B/C grade ones, though there are those that I do enjoy. For me, this is one of those films. While I appreciate that this one tries to do a little more and have a little more to say, in the end, the slasher elements just felt okay. The kills lack creativity, the whodunit part is kind of predictable, and the film felt very much in line with your typical slasher in it's most visceral elements.

Quinn is a new kid in town and quickly finds herself among peers. They take to her, mostly, and she's soon hanging out, drinking beer, and getting cozy with one of the boys. Of course, this is a slasher and the good times don't last long before the clown starts messing things up. I will say that the film does do a good job with it's central theme, that being a divide between the generations. While the kids fit into the modern mold of being kids, getting into a bit of trouble while spending some time creating a bit of horror content for YouTube, the adults are much more morose and agitated. They don't take kindly to the kids and it's a central theme to the story throughout. The cast is also mostly good, though too many feel like throw away characters left to be fodder. Katie Douglas, Carson MacCormac and Aaron Abrams fare the best by being more than one dimensional and actually giving the movie some emotional weight. The film also contains the trappings of most slasher films, so those who love the genre staples will be right at home here. Initially, I expected the movie to be pretty cliche and similar to everything else. Then, halfway through, things take an intense turn and the movie shifts into overdrive.

Here is where most will find the film's strengths. Not content with just wallowing in the films cliches, it decides to kick things up. I won't spoil it here, but it was a pleasant surprise after thinking I'd be let down. All of that said, the movie never rose above average for me. Everything about it screams "watch at home on TV with some popcorn and friends and/or family". I can't quite put my finger on it, but the whole production feels very much run of the mill, 80's/90's slasher that you'd rent on a weekend. It does do a decent job with it's favored social commentary, even though I found that to be a little to on the nose, but it's not enough to elevate the production. On top of this, the kills lack any real creativity. We get a lot of the usual, from slashings to stabbings to severed parts. There's maybe one kill that stands out, but it's incredibly goofy and I actually laughed in the theater when it happened because it was so ridiculous. This, for me, may have been the biggest buzz kill. The lack of creativity.

Clown in a Cornfield is likely to make genre fans who eat this stuff up like corn syrup overloaded candy, but for anyone looking for something more than an average slasher, this will be a let down. It's not bad, just mostly average.

Fun movie which hopes to ride the wave of self-aware 'bad movies' but it would have been a much better watch if the movie slowed down a bit and took it's time building up the premise of a cult operating in a small town which infiltrates most of its institutions and traditions.

Instead it jumps too soon into the slasher/horror side of things and spends too much time with the cast of teenagers and the story of them live streaming events for their social media channel.

It could have been a much better movie if it either ripped off IT and built up the lore and supernatural aspect with some entertaining horror scenes or did a better job of following the life of the father and his interaction with the townsfolk and secret societies. It doesn't do this and so the movie lacks any tension or engaging storyline.

It's quite amusing at the end how one plot thread is concluded and ready for the cutting room floor in the hope the movie can be screened in China or feature as an onboard flight movie with major airline Operators with very little consequence to the story.

Gets a 5 from me.

What made Adam Ceasare's book so great was that we really got to know the characters, and had long enough in the terrifying situations to really soak them in. The movie, on the other hand, feels like it flies by. It's fun, quick paced, and Quinn Maybrook is still an undeniably fun character. I loved the humor injected throughout, and every kill is great. I just wish the movie was perhaps 20 minutes longer so that we could really feel the horror elements. Ultimately it feels like they rush by the scary parts and overemphasize the message of the movie.

There's also a huge change from the book in how and why the final attack occurs, and I am not a big fan of the change.