A new image from Clown in a Cornfield showcases one of Frendo’s many victims. The 2025 slasher movie, which was directed by Eli Craig (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil), is based on the 2020 young adult novel of the same name by Adam Cesare. It follows high schooler Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas) moving to the small town of Kettle Springs, Missouri, where a killer dressed as the local Baypen corn syrup factory mascot, Frendo the clown, begins murdering teenagers. The Clown in a Cornfield release kicks off on May 9.

ScreenRant can now share an exclusive first-look image from Clown in a Cornfield. The image features both elements of the horror movie’s тιтle, as it focuses on a scared teenager looking off into the distance while hiding in a cornfield, not realizing that Frendo is hiding in the corn just outside her peripheral vision. Check out the full-size image below:

ScreenRant can also share an exclusive comment on the movie from Eli Craig. He reveals that he “almost pᴀssed on the film” but was convinced to take on the project by his mother, who said that “clowns are about to have a big comeback.” Read his full quote below:

I almost pᴀssed on the film and didn’t make it. But on the day I had to decide, I was having coffee with my Mom and she said she thought I should just dive in and do it. She said, “Clowns are about to have a big comeback.” She couldn’t have been more right.

What This Means For Clown In A Cornfield

It Is Balancing Both Horror And Comedy

The sinister nature of this new image emphasizes the fact that the new horror-comedy does not skimp on the horror aspect of its genre crossover. This balance may be one reason the movie has won over so many critics, earning a solidly Fresh score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. That score was aggregated from writeups by 66 different critics, including ScreenRant‘s own Graeme Guttman, who reviewed the movie out of SXSW. Read an excerpt from his 7 out of 10 Clown in a Cornfield review below:

Like finding the remake of Texas Chainsaw Mᴀssacre on the USA network in the middle of the night, you may come across Clown in a Cornfield on Shudder and decide to put it on. You won’t regret that decision. Better yet, see it in a theater if you can. This one feels like it’s made for a crowd like that, one where everyone is having fun laughing at the film, squirming at the gore, and laughing at themselves for getting swept up in it in the first place.

The image also highlights just how much 2025’s Clown in a Cornfield embraces classic slasher tropes. The sH๏τ in question is reminiscent of the iconic scene in the seminal 1978 slasher Halloween where Michael Myers’ masked face slowly appears in the darkness behind a distraught Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). By steeping its horror in the iconic imagery of the subgenre, this should help the comedy element come from a more grounded place that makes it stand out even more.

Our Take On Eli Craig’s Clown In A Cornfield Comments

The Movie Strikes During A Great Time For Clowns

While it was announced that Eli Craig had boarded Clown in a Cornfield in late October 2022, just weeks after Terrifier 2 – which features the killer Art the Clown – became a surprise smash hit, it seems likely that Craig’s conversation with his mother about the resurgence of clowns took place before that movie became a hit, proving his mother’s prescience. Considering the fact that the 2024 sequel Terrifier 3 became an even bigger hit, grossing $90.3 million against its $2 million budget, the new slasher is debuting at a time when audiences are perfectly primed to embrace clownish killers.