Clown in a Cornfield 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Clown in a Cornfield 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 16, 2025

It’s been a little while since we’ve heard from co-writer/director Eli Craig. His last release was 2017’s “Little Evil,” an entertaining follow-up to his raucous debut, 2011’s “Tucker & Dale vs. Evil.” Craig is a talented helmer and someone who clearly loves genre moviemaking, heading right back into the darkness with “Clown in a Cornfield,” which is an adaptation of a novel by author Adam Cesare. It’s a YA title handed the R-rated treatment, as Craig transforms a potentially self-aware concept into a bloody but amusing ride of slasher cinema, paying tribute to the traditions of the subgenre while also exploring a little more characterization than what’s usually pursued. “Clown in the Cornfield” has substance, which is impressive, and strong performances, which is rare, and while the writing fights a feeble climax, the build to a payoff is exciting and intentionally funny.

Dr. Maybrook (Aaron Abrams) is looking for a radical life change, electing to move his 17-year-old daughter, Quinn (Katie Douglas), to the small town of Kettle Springs. It’s a rural change of pace for the teenager, who’s introduced to a new group of friends, including Cole (Carson MacCormac), Janet (Cassandra Potenza), Ronnie (Verity Marks), Tucker (Ayo Solanke), and Matt (Alexandre Martin Deakin). Kettle Springs was once home to the big business of corn syrup, as the company Baypen dominated the market with their goods, sold through the clown mascot of Frendo. As the countdown to the local Founder’s Day Parade begins, strange events start happening, as Frendo takes the form of a serial killer, ready to eliminate the kids in town. Quinn is lost in love and rebellion, but she soon understands the threat coming for her, joining her peers as they try to survive a night of clown attacks.

“Clown in a Cornfield” opens in 1991, following the antics of local teens having their fun inside the Baypen corn syrup facility. The business is closed, but the building isn’t empty, and horror soon erupts, establishing that things aren’t right in Kettle Springs. However, Dr. Maybrook doesn’t know that, relocating his practice to the small town, even purchasing a house he hasn’t visited before, entering a dwelling with a dead animal rotting away in the chimney. “Clown in a Cornfield” focuses on the relationship between the father and daughter, as Quinn isn’t delighted by the moving situation, making her an immediate outcast at school. Some help is provided by Rust (Vincent Muller), a kind but odd neighbor boy, and school tensions are identified by terrible teachers, allowing the new kid to bond with classmates in detention. Part of the gang is Cole, the “heir” to the Baypen legacy, and he becomes a romantic figure in Quinn’s life, adding to tensions with her parent.

Small town strangeness is identified throughout “Clown in a Cornfield,” extending to the vaguely threatening ways of Sheriff Dunne (Will Sasson). Cole’s family works to keep up the legacy of Kettle Springs, as his father, Arthur (Kevin Durand), is the chief organizer of the Founder’s Day celebration, putting pressure on his son to live up to expectations. Dramatically, there’s a little more to “Clown in a Cornfield” than anticipated, and while Craig doesn’t sustain character development all the way to the end, he gets pretty far in the screenplay (joining co-writer Carter Blanchard). Also of interest is the gang’s love of creating prank videos featuring the terror of Frendo, which helps to blur the line of reality between threat and goofiness, and a signature of sorts, a jack-in-the-box, is present to increase tension as a real clown-based killer makes his presence known.

Clown in a Cornfield 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Screencaps are taken from the Blu-ray

The visual presentation (2.35:1 aspect ratio) for "Clown in a Cornfield" offers an SDR viewing experience for the UHD. Compression issues are a common sight, as banding is a persistent problem, with a few major flare ups. Some blockiness is also encountered, and while blacks are mostly deep, some evening events lose consistency. Detail is acceptable, capturing the textured appearance of Frendo, and skin particulars on the cast are preserved. Town activity stays dimensional, with lots of signage and vastness to highlight. Interiors protect decorative additions. Color is satisfactory, doing well with rural life, offering plenty of greenery. Clown visuals are also active, with distinct reds and whites, often joined by yellow corn. Skin tones are natural.

Clown in a Cornfield 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix delivers an immersive understanding of "Clown in a Cornfield." Sound effects are active, creating a few distinct environments as the action heads into rural areas, offering crunchy corn field movement. Violence also adds intensity, with surrounds delivering separation effects to aid suspense, providing a more circular understanding of peril. Dialogue exchanges are crisp, supporting performance choices and heated encounters. Scoring handles with defined instrumentation, also examining some presence in the surrounds. Soundtrack selections provide clear vocals. Low-end remains alert with harder hits of violence, bass stings, and musical beats.

Clown in a Cornfield 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features co-writer/director Eli Craig, author Adam Cesare, and actors Carson MacCormac and Katie Douglas.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included on this release.

Clown in a Cornfield 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Clown in a Cornfield" adds sequences of danger to massage some suspense out of the premise, but it really saves most of its hellraising for the second half of the endeavor, which puts the teens in peril while they have fun at the former factory. Grislier events arrive, along with survival challenges, including the utter horror of figuring out how to drive a car with manual transmission. Craig brings the blood and gore, but he creates some nail-biting moments, also paying attention to humor without disrupting the tone of the feature. The last 20 minutes of "Clown in a Cornfield" carries on for too long, working to settle a story that obvious casting already ruins, and the production can't completely evade disappointing formula. Still, there's a good time here, as Craig brings some energy to the feature, and the cast capably adds personality to the movie, giving it a bit more to work with than the usual in horror, especially clown-based nightmares.