The trailer for Clown in a Cornfield has arrived. The upcoming 2025 horror movie, which was directed and co-written by Eli Craig (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil), is based on the 2020 Adam Cesare young adult novel of the same name. It follows teenager Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas) moving to the small town of Kettle Springs, which is in dire straits after the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. The town’s economic and interpersonal tensions get even worse when a killer dressed as the factory’s mascot Frendo the Clown emerges from the cornfields to wreak havoc.

Shudder has now released the official redband trailer for Clown in a Cornfield, which is set to debut at SXSW on March 10, followed by a nationwide theatrical release on May 9. The teaser starts off innocuously, with an old-fashioned radio announcer introducing Frendo, but the friendly voice is provided with a harsh juxtaposition when Frendo emerges from the cornfield at a barn party and immediately shoots a teenager in the head with an arrow.

What ensues is a series of nightmarish murder sequences underscored by Frendo’s creepy laugh. One showcase sH๏τ sees three teenagers crouched in the corn. Each one covers the mouth of the person in front of her, only for Frendo to cover the mouth of the final teen. The trailer then ends on a character offering the immortal wisdom, “never f**k with Frendo.” Check out the trailer below:

Shudder has also released an official teaser poster for the movie, which features Frendo lurking behind a creepy clown jack-in-the-box. See the full-size image below:

What This Means For Clown In A Cornfield

Frendo Could Enter The Killer Clown Pantheon

There is quite a lot of compeтιтion in the killer clown sphere of the horror genre, considering how many iconic characters there already are, particularly the shapeshifting Pennywise from the It movies and the homicidal Art the Clown from the Terrifier movies. However, the Clown in a Cornfield trailer offers up quite a few effectively menacing sH๏τs of the killer Frendo that, in addition to the eeriness of the friendlier images of the original mascot, imply that he could give the genre’s other clowns a run for their money.

If the new movie is financially successful, it could also kickstart a franchise just like Pennywise and Art the Clown, who are both set to return in the upcoming Welcome to Derry and Terrifier 4 respectively. Cesare has already written two sequels to the original novel, namely 2022’s Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives and 2024’s Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo, both of which explore dark, sociopolitical themes that could help the potential slasher movie franchise stand out among the crowd.

Our Take On The Clown In A Cornfield Trailer

It Seems To Be A Faithful Adaptation

While the Clown in a Cornfield does not reveal too much about the plot of the upcoming movie, which also stars Kevin Durand, Will Sᴀsso, Cᴀssandra Potenza, Aaron Abrams, Verity Marks, and Vincent Muller, it so far seems to be a relatively faithful adaptation of the book, as the barn party is the primary setpiece at which the most violent and terrifying moments of the novel take place. Should the movie continue to prove how close it hews to Cesare’s work, it could win over fans of the book, putting it well on its way to amᴀssing a solid audience.

Source: Shudder