Clown in a Cornfield (2025)
Last Watch Date - Jul 10, 2025
Total Times Watched - One
Comments
I read this book a couple years ago and then re-read it when I heard they were releasing a movie this year. Oddly, a lot of details fell out of my head in that time and the second read was not dissimilar from the first. The author was involved in the film project as well, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Sometimes they force the production to stick to the source more tightly and sometimes they retcon decisions based on whatever they feel like at that time.
You'll be happy to know that NOTHING IS CHANGED from the book. Not a single thing! Ok, well maybe the intro. And the dynamic between Quinn and her dad. And the dynamic between Quinn and her friends. And the dynamic between Cole and Rust. And the dynamic between her dad and the townsfolk. And the events leading up to everything. How do I put this..? Everything is different outside of the major beats. Like, EVERYTHING. It was frustrating to watch for that reason. Some things you can say were made for pacing reasons or "screen" adaptations and that's fine, but others are wholesale changes that provide nothing to the story. In fact, I'd say it actually made it weirder in spots.
Another issue I have is the casting. These high school students all look like they're in their 30s. Maybe one or two don't, but this is back to the 70s/80s style casting where you don't care if a "student" is 35 and has 6 kids, you shoehorn them in and slap layers of makeup on to try to make it work. The very first time I saw Quinn I thought "huh why is her mom in this movie" .. but it wasn't her mom. It was her. Yes, she and her dad look like a couple in this movie. I have a 17, nearly 18 year old daughter and I know how different these kids look compared to the actors in this movie. Go watch Superbad and compare it to this. Will Sasso did NOT fit in this movie at all either.
Those are my nits that I had to pick. This movie was paced pretty well as it only clocks in at 1:30ish and doesn't ever feel long. In fact there were times where I thought "I wonder why they didn't put that scene into the movie" so I guess it could've gone longer. There's a lot of goofy gore in this movie that is not realistic at all. They also made the clown shoes squeak whilst they walk which is definitely a choice.
I suppose in summary I'd say this movie is dumb fun that you will absolutely forget you ever watched a day or two later. There's nothing really to the story other than a heavy-handed anti-conservative message and a dude who looks like Elon as one of the main antagonists. I am NOT conservative in any way and even I was like "yeah we get it already." Subtlety is not a word the author/filmmaker know.
Recommended?
No. It's not BAD but it's not good. Even if you see this, you're not going to remember you did.
