FILM REVIEW:
CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD (USA 2024) ***
Directed by Eli Craig
Horror films have featured scary clowns (CLOWN, CLOWNS 2) and cornfields (CHILDREN OF THE CORN) and this new horror slasher comedy combines clowns (there are more than one) in a cornfield, though the reason the clowns are so dressed is not convincing.
The film is based on Clown in a Cornfield, is a 2020 horror novel by American author Adam Cesare and marks his first novel in the young adult genre. The film centres upon Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas), a teenage girl who is a senior in high school and who has recently moved to the small factory town of Kettle Springs, Missouri, from Philadelphia after the tragic death of her mother, Samantha. Her father, Glenn (Aaron Abrams), has been hired as the new town physician in the hopes that this will allow the two of them to heal. But Quinn is not looking forward to moving. Kettle Springs has suffered financially since the closing of the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory and its subsequent burning due to arson by a local boy named Cole Hill (Carson MacCormac). As a result, the town is at odds with itself and strict lines are drawn between the largely conservative adults and the teens, who are more interested in having fun and getting views on their YouTube channel. The clown? The clown is Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown who goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now." “Never fuck with Frendo!” this is th advice given to the kids when they are put in a holding cell in one scene with a crazy.
The film is shot largely in Manitoba, though the setting is American. The main actors, Douglas and Abrams, are also Canadian, as is the more well-known Kevin Durand, once again playing a crazy the craziest way crazy can be.
The small-town atmosphere is well created. The local folk are apprehensive of the new residents. The townsfolk celebrate Founder’s Day, in which a marching band plays American favourite band anthems like The Washington Post.
Director Eli Craig is also Canadian and hails from the province of Alberta. Craig is not a stranger to comedy horror with his film, the 2010 horror comedy TUCER AND DALE VS EVIL, winning the Best Feature Film Prize at the Alberta Film and Television Awards. Craid also proves his mettle at comedy. There are quite a few laugh-out-loud laughs amid the horror. The film also contains jump scares, a tactic this critic largely dislikes, but the ones done here are well thought off, with a series of jump scares, one after the other, all false alarms in one horror set-up sequence, but he last one ending up for real.
CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD opens in theatres on May 9th. A low-budget well made comedy horror that will leave audiences both laughing and scared with a few gory, violent scenes at the same time - a scary mix as well as the SCREAM franchise.
Trailer:
SHADOW FORCE (USA 2025)
Review embargo lifted May 8th
(Critical Review are under strict embargo until May 8 at 9:00PM ET / 6:00PM PT**)
Kyrah (Kerry Washington) and Isaac (Omar Sy) were once the leaders of a multinational special forces group called Shadow Force, but broke the rules by falling in love, and they go underground to protect their son, Ky (Jahleel Kamara) with the rest of the Shadow Force hot on their trail.
Trailer:
SHARP CORNER (Canada/Ireland 2024)
Directed by Jason Buxton
Critical Review are under strict embargo until May 8 at 9:00PM ET / 6:00PM PT**
SHARP CORNER opens in theatres Friday, May 9th.
Trailer:
