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Otago Daily Times

Splatter that splits the sides

Photo: Shauna Townley/IFC Films/TNS Director: Eli Craig Cast: Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Kevin Durand, Will Sasso Rating: (R16) ★★★+ REVIEWED BY AMASIO JUTEL Despite the very silly title, Clown in a Cornfield (Reading) has the feel of a Texas Chainsaw slasher paired with the slapstick sentiment of Terrifier's ridiculously costumed clowns who, without fail, wear size 100, squeaky clown shoes at every killing. A fire in Kettle Spring's maple syrup factory has relegated it to "flyover country" and the town's older residents suspect a group of troublesome teens are guilty of the arson. A masked killer dressed as "Frendo", the maple syrup mascot, has it in for the teens, who've cried wolf too many times for anyone to believe their story. Clown in a Cornfield is a solid entrant into the revitalised contemporary horror/slasher canon of equal parts fright and laughter — think Terrifier and Heart Eyes. Like Texas Chainsaw, highly aesthetic, filmic quality is not lost on the director — like the sunrise-orange horizon shots that scream Days of Heaven. The film is formally innovative (marking its singularity from the first title card) and cinematically creative (maybe my favourite was the long "oner" camera shot kill sequence), but where the film particularly shines is its narrative sophistication — even the "mean girl blonde" has some solid characterisation as a creepypasta horror YouTube director. Although slightly sanitised for an R16 rating, the horror and kill sequences are ferocious and fun. And while the speechifying villain felt extraneous, the formalist flair, narrative excellence, and slapstick humour packed into the short, sweet runtime means one can hardly complain.