The trailer for Clown in a Cornfield has arrived. The slasher movie, which is based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Adam Cesare, was directed and co-written by Eli Craig (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil). The upcoming Clown in a Cornfield stars Katie Douglas as teenager Quinn Maybrook, who moves to the small town of Kettle Springs, only to discover that a killer dressed as Frendo, the clown mascot for the local closed-down corn syrup factory, is menacing the local populace.

Shudder has now unveiled the full official trailer for Clown in a Cornfield. The trailer opens on an eerie scene where Quinn is given a Frendo jack-in-the-box while being driven in a car that nearly runs down a hunter. Then the video introduces Frendo and the fact that the teens in town love scaring each other while dressed as the clown.

However, after Quinn notices another Frendo in the background of a prank video, silently lurking, the presence of the clown grows more sinister as it becomes clear that someone wearing the outfit has ᴅᴇᴀᴅly intentions and is targeting the teens’ barn party. Frendo is then shown executing various grisly kills, including one involving a serrated knife and a weight bench, though the comedic undertones of the movie are also highlighted in a sequence where teenagers attempt to call for help using a rotary phone that they don’t know how to operate. Watch the trailer below:

What This Means For Clown In A Cornfield

The Trailer Lives Up To The Hype

This new video, which is the first full-length trailer promoting the movie, seems to offer an explanation as to why the initial response to the movie was so strong coming out of its SXSW premiere earlier in the month. Early reviews have earned it a dazzling 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which has been aggregated from 25 different critics’ writeups, including the one from ScreenRant‘s own Graeme Guttmann. Read an excerpt from his 7 out of 10 Clown in a Cornfield review below:

Clown in a Cornfield can be gut-churning and gnarly. It can play into teen horror tropes with the awareness that they are tropes, using that confidence to make it feel just right. It’s also quite hilarious, playing many moments for laughs with just the right timing. Humor and horror can often be a hard balance to hit just right and though not all of Clown in a Cornfield lands, the cast is game enough.

The blend of horror and comedy that Guttman points out in the movie is already present in the trailer, which deftly swings between intense kills and the more humorous moments implied by the fact that the movie features a clown in the first place. Additionally, if the upcoming 2025 horror movie maintains the undercurrent of social commentary that is present in the original novel and its sequels, it could capture the zeitgeist in a way that makes it even more compelling as a genre exercise.

Our Take On The Clown In A Cornfield Trailer

Frendo Has A Chance To Prove Himself

Evil clowns are nothing new in the horror genre. Some of the most notable examples are the тιтle characters in 1988’s Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Pennywise in both the 1990 and 2017 adaptations of It, and Art the Clown in the Terrifier movies. Frendo the Clown has big shoes to fill, but this trailer for Clown in a Cornfield highlights how he can separate himself from the pack. While it remains to be seen if the movie connects with audiences and becomes a hit, this new killer clown on the scene seems to be setting himself up for success.

Source: Shudder