Shudder’s Clown in a Cornfield Trailer Promises Movie to Be a Thing of Nightmares

Shudder has unveiled the official green band trailer for their upcoming slasher film Clown in a Cornfield, showcasing a blood-soaked rampage through the fictional town of Kettle Springs at the hands of a murderous mascot named Frendo. The horrifying two-minute preview reveals the killer clown employing an impressive arsenal of weapons against his teenage victims, including crossbows, sickles, chainsaws, and repurposed sports equipment in increasingly creative and brutal murder sequences. Based on Adam Cesare’s popular young adult horror novel, the film appears to lean heavily into both the rural setting and the killer clown iconography that has proven successful for the horror genre in recent years. The trailer shows director Eli Craig has crafted a visually striking slasher film that balances traditional horror elements with innovative kill scenes, positioning the adaptation as a must-watch for genre enthusiasts when it arrives in theaters on May 9, 2025, following its well-received premiere at South by Southwest earlier this month.

Clown in a Cornfield green band trailer introduces viewers to the horror film’s premise through protagonist Quinn (Katie Douglas), who moves with her father (Aaron Abrams) to the struggling town of Kettle Springs, a community divided following the closure of the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory. Soon after Quinn’s moving, the factory’s mascot, Frendo, emerges from the surrounding cornfields to begin a murderous purge. The creative team appears to have embraced the inherent creepiness of clowns, with Frendo’s permanently fixed grin and pork-pie hat creating an unsettling silhouette against the rural landscape.

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The adaptation of Clown in a Cornfield marks a significant milestone for author Adam Cesare, whose novel has spawned a successful trilogy with the most recent entry, The Church of Frendo, published last year. While the film industry has long mined literary horror for adaptations, young adult novels have rarely received the R-rated treatment suggested by this trailer’s graphic content. The screenplay, co-written by Craig and Carter Blanchard, appears to preserve the novel’s generational conflict themes while amplifying the visceral horror elements.

From Cornfield to Screen: How Eli Craig Brought Frendo to Life

The journey to bring Clown in a Cornfield to theaters began in 2020 when Temple Hill Entertainment, fresh off producing the successful horror film Smile, acquired the rights to Cesare’s novel before it had even hit bookshelves. The production company, known for both the Twilight and Maze Runner franchises, recognized the potential of combining the resurgent killer clown subgenre with contemporary themes of small-town American decline. Director Eli Craig, who established himself in the horror-comedy space with the cult favorite Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, signed on to helm the adaptation alongside screenwriter Carter Blanchard, whose previous credits include Independence Day: Resurgence.

Early reception from the film’s South by Southwest premiere has been overwhelmingly positive, with several critics highlighting it as one of the year’s standout horror releases thus far. The film’s May theatrical release through RLJE Films and Shudder positions it as a counter-programming alternative to early summer blockbusters, similar to the strategy that helped Smile become a surprise hit in 2022.

Are you watching Clown in a Cornfield in theaters? Are you excited about the movie? Let us know in the comments!