Close Menu
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    HITMAN World of Assassination - Signature Edition

    ‘HITMAN World Of Assassination’ Struggles On Switch 2

    06/16/2025
    One Piece But Why Tho 5

    Fathers of ‘One Piece’: Powerful Bonds, Legacy, and Found Family

    06/13/2025
    Elena Street Fighter 6 But Why Tho

    Elena Brings Style And Versatility To ‘Street Fighter 6’

    06/06/2025
    Lune and Sciel from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    Lune, Sciel, And The Romance Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Fails To Realize

    06/05/2025
    Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro

    Everything To Know About Eve Macarro In ‘Ballerina’

    06/05/2025
  • Star Wars
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » SXSW: ‘Clown In A Cornfield’ Is The Closest We’ve Gotten To Early Aughts Slasher

SXSW: ‘Clown In A Cornfield’ Is The Closest We’ve Gotten To Early Aughts Slasher

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez03/10/20254 Mins ReadUpdated:03/25/2025
A scene from Clown in a Cornfield
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Author Adam Cesare released Clown In A Cornfield in 2020 and sequels in subsequent years. In this young adult horror book series, Eli Craig takes the reins, serving as director and co-writer with Carter Blanchard. Premiering at the 2025 edition of the SXSW Film Festival, Clown In A Cornfield takes place in a small town with small-town problems and secrets.

The film stars Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Vincent Muller, Kevin Durand, Will Sasso, Verity Marks, Cassandra Potenza, Ayo Solanke, and Alexandre Martin Deakin. In the slasher, Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas) and her father (Aaron Abrams) move to the small town of Kettle Springs. Having lost her mom, Quinn sees her new life in Kettle Springs as even more isolated, even if her father hopes she will find more connections.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Instead of a fresh start, Quinn discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. And, in true teen movie fashion, Quinn meets a boy named Cole (Carson MacCormac) and falls into the mess that is his friend group. Janet (Cassandra Potenza), Ronnie (Verity Marks), Matt (Alexandre Martin Deakin), and Tucker (Ayo Solanke) round out the group of teens that will soon become slasher fodder, and each of them has enough personality to make you both root for them and make their death moments truly satisfying.

As Frendo the Clown, the town mascot, begins to stalk the townspeople, locals can’t help but bicker, and the tensions of the past begin to boil over into the present. Only Frendo is tasked with cleaning up all the town’s messes.

Clown In A Cornfield knows exactly what kind of film it is, and that’s a good thing.

Clown In A Cornfield is a film that knows precisely what lane it’s cruising in and never ventures out of it. This isn’t a bad thing, either. As a slasher, Eli Craig’s film understands the genre in and out, using its tropes to the fullest, subverting in some moments and embracing the staples in others.

The kills in the film are fantastic and gruesome but always feature enough slapstick or situational humor to keep them from crossing a threshold into pure shock. Craig and his props team have executed slasher tension that pays off with a bit of camp and a lot of homage to what’s come before, and yet they never feel stale. Misdirection and surprise keep every crafted kill as something special.

The best moment is when a teen finds a severed head, believing it’s a prop, presents it to the group, laughs, and then subsequently realizes it isn’t. That’s probably the best way to sum up the film’s humor and the way that its teen characters interact with their town and the horror inside of it.

Still, though, the film doesn’t just spend all of its time like the greatest hits of the past. There are also choices in the last act of the film, with the kills leading up to it blazing a distinct path. Clown In A Cornfield does enough to make audiences excited to see more of what’s to come in Adam Cesare’s book series. But more importantly, it feels like young adult audiences have their own slasher to latch onto and one undefined by the past through reboots or remakes. That’s something to celebrate wholeheartedly.

If more is to come, Clown In A Cornfield sets up the right hype and stakes.

Sure, there are pacing issues, and the dialogue is definitely not made for my generation. Still, ultimately, any audience member will walk away with a smile on their face, excited by the carnage they just sat through and the level of absurdity Cesare trusted Craig to carry.

Craig’s knowledge of the subgenre makes Clown In A Cornfield a great stab at the early aughts sensibilities, aesthetics, and comedy that we haven’t seen executed this well in a long time. While this is definitely due in part to the source material, it is also a fantastic attempt at understanding how to meet young adults through horror by embodying a decade of horror that did it oh so well. 

It is important to note that my fondness for all of the slashers comes from the fact that they got me to fall in love with horror and the subgenre. While I see the late 90s and early aughts, the contemporary themes and social media woes keep Clown In A Cornfield as a recognizable modern teen horror film.

Good young adult horror is always something to be thankful for, and much like the trilogy of books on which it is based, Clown In A Cornfield has the legs to become one that folks get excited about.

Clown In A Cornfield was screened as a part of the 2025 SXSW Film Festival and will be distributed by Shudder.

Clown In A Cornfield
  • 8/10
    Rating - 8/10
8/10

TL;DR

Good young adult horror is always something to be thankful for, and much like the trilogy of books on which it is based, Clown In A Cornfield has the legs to become one that folks get excited about.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleCities Skylines Celebrates 10th Anniversary With Free Content
Next Article REVIEW: ‘My Happy Marriage’ Season 2 Episode 10 — “Promise”
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Elio in Pixar's Elio
6.5

REVIEW: ‘Elio’ Gets Lost In The Stars But Mostly Finds Its Way Home

06/17/2025
Diablo (2025) promotional key art
7.0

REVIEW: ‘Diablo’ Keeps The Mid-Budget Action Goodness Going

06/16/2025
Deep Cover (2025) key art with Nick Mohammed, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Orlando Bloom
6.0

REVIEW: Orlando Bloom Gives His All In ‘Deep Cover’

06/15/2025
Our Times But Why Tho
3.5

REVIEW: ‘Our Times’ Wastes A Good Premise On A Bad Plot

06/14/2025
Red Blood Cell and White Cell in Cells at Work
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Cells at Work’ Does A Beloved Anime Justice

06/13/2025
Camila Morrone and Willem Dafoe in Gonzo Girl
6.5

REVIEW: ‘Gonzo Girl’ Is A Careful Character Study About Main Characters

06/12/2025
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night with the Duke Episodes 1-2
8.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 1-2

By Sarah Musnicky06/12/2025

The bar is set pretty high with The First Night With The Duke Episodes 1-2. While exposition-heavy, it is a delightfully silly watch.

Gundam Seed Battle Destiny Remastered promotional art from Bandai Namco
6.0
PC

REVIEW: ‘Gundam Seed Battle Destiny Remastered’

By Matthew Glenn06/14/2025

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Battle Destiny Remastered is runs on nostalgia and great Gundam piloting, but there is more left to be desired.

Y'shtola in the FFXIV Commander Deck - Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy Interviews

Magic Designer Explains The Challenge Of Picking A Face For The FFXIV Commander Deck

By Kate Sánchez06/11/2025Updated:06/11/2025

FFXIV Commander Deck pulls highlights core characters and mechanics, with Y’shtola as its Commander. But building the deck, wasn’t easy.

Eric McCormack in Hell Motel
7.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Hell Motel’ Takes A Stab At True Crime

By Sarah Musnicky06/17/2025Updated:06/17/2025

Hell Motel blurs genres with this murder mystery, true crime slasherfest. While it’s not the team’s best work, it’s still fun.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here