Borrowing (and adapting) Indiana Jones’ most famous line: “Clowns. Why’d it have to be clowns?” These garish, whimsical characters with their exaggerated features and painted-on expressions, are supposed to be innocent sideshow entertainment, but instead, have become the stuff of nightmares. Originally foisted on us in the guise of fun and merriment, the role and reputation of clowns seems to have shifted over the years. Long gone are the fun-loving days of Bozo and Ronald McDonald, replaced by Pennywise, Art from Terrifier, and Killer Clowns from Outer Space.
Add to this sinister list Frendo the clown from Kettle Springs, in Shudder and AMC+’s new horror thriller CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD, streaming August 8. CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD made its world premiere at this year’s SXSW Film and TV Festival and certified FRESH on Rotten Tomatoes.
To help get us all excited about Frendo and his exploits in the cornfields of Kettle Springs, Shudder and AMC+ brought a whole Founders Day festival and cornfield maze to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. We braved the corn maze, and barely made it out alive! Here’s a short video of our adventure:
Directed by Eli Craig (Tucker and Dale vs Evil), co-written by Craig and Carter Blanchard, the film stars Katie Douglas (“Ginny & Georgia”), Carson MacCormac (Shazam!), Aaron Abrams (“Hannibal”),Will Sasso (The Three Stooges) and Kevin Durand (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes).
In CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD, Quinn and her father have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time. Welcome to Kettle Springs. The real fun starts when Frendo the clown comes out to play.
