392: Clown in a Cornfield (2025)

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Annihilating his face is so cornhub.com coded.

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And this is what this episode is all about, baby. We gotta butter your corn.

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Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hacker Splash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. You're totally safe here, okay? Trust me. If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack.

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A total joke, a waste of time, or a splash. Totally killer, pun intended.

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We believe horror is for everyone, and at such we're rating these movies with a perspective we've gained from our varying walks of life and the flavors of ear we fancy most. My name is Chris, I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast. This week I'm joined by the Superfly Space Guy Mac.

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I'm not crawling through a shitpipe.

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And the classic horror connoisseur, Chan.

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I'd ask you to join us, but it looks like you gotta go beat your meat.

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This week we're back in theaters to check out the adaptation of a novel that won the 2020 Bram Stoker Award for Best Young Adult Novel.

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And if you like creepy cornfields and true crime, consider supporting the show so you can hear our B-side at the end of this episode where we dive into some of the myths and legends of the Cornfield Ripper and some of the vicious murders that have taken place in cornfields throughout the US.

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Before Adam Caesar's novel even hit bookstores in 2020, the rights to bring Frendo the Clown to the big screen had already been purchased. The production was backed by a $70 million budget direction from Tucker and Dale vs. Evil's Eli Craig and a studio eager to bring a new masked villa to the Slasher Pantheon. The budget dwindled towards the end of production, though, and with no additional funding in sight, the team had to turn to a junkyard to finish its set for the final shoot. Ultimately, the film pressed on and was practically complete by the time Terrifier 3 even premiered a Fantastic Fest in September 2024, setting the stage and opening the door for another clown to introduce himself to horror audiences. The film follows a young newcomer to a rural Midwestern town on the verge of collapse, where economic ruin and local resentment have taken root. And as a town clings to the image of its once beloved mascot, tensions boil over and the figure known as Frendo returns to take center stage. Is Frendo the next iconic slasher? How faithful is this movie to the book? Is it even worth checking out in theaters? Well, folks, we've got all this and more, so buckle up, enjoy the ride, because this week we're talking about Clown in a Cornfield. What were you expecting going into this, guys?

SPEAKER_01 2:33

So I had varying expectations, right? I wasn't sure if this was going to go like super campy, like Happy Death Day, or if it was gonna really serious like It Follows. I just felt like it was gonna fit in one way or the other, but I my hopes were high. Not because of anything about this movie's production, but mostly because I did read the book, and so I was looking forward to seeing the adaptation and seeing because I knew what was possible. And I think seeing the trailer, it doesn't show too much, so it doesn't let on one way or the other if I was gonna be satisfied.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Yeah, I think it's interesting because I really had very little expectations going into this one. I know that it's based off of a book, a book that I have not read. So it's gonna be really interesting, even just to kind of go back and forth on like the perspectives of someone that is familiar with the book and someone that has has no idea what the book is. Like I didn't even know anything about this movie. I know that there is a cornfield, and I know that there's a clown, and I like clowns, and you know, I can get down with some creepy cornfields in some horror movies. So I know that it's gonna be a slasher, not sure how it's gonna go, right? That's like the expectation I was going into it with. I was reading about a lot of people really enjoying the book. I think you guys have both said that you really enjoyed the book, so we're gonna kind of see how this one goes. I did hear that it was gory, like I was hearing all kinds of things, so my expectations were really kind of wishwashy. I had no idea what to expect going into this one.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

For sure. Man, I saw this book for the first time on the shelf at Barnes and Noble on February 14th, 2024. And I remember that so specifically because that was a significant day for me for other reasons. But I remember the cover standing out to me, and with a title like Clown in a Cornfield, I was expecting a book that was just dumb bullshit. But the book is so much more than just dumb bullshit. It actually is really genuine, earnest, and heartfelt and really fun. And there's depth without it feeling like it needs to beat you over the head with depth. It just has an exceptionally well-written main character, and it's really easy to fall in love with that series of books. So I was ridiculously excited for this movie. Now, obviously, I tried to temper my expectations going into it because I know I love the book, and how many times do we really get adaptations that knock it out of the park? They're very few and far between, and rarely do they ever live up to the source material. So, even with that mindset, I honestly still hope that it would at least land one critical thing. It just had to do one thing for me to love this movie fiercely, and it had to be that sense of intensity and impact that makes the horror in the book feel so devastating. Man, but it didn't do that.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

Dang. Yeah, dang, didn't give you the intensity. I was wondering, but it is also interesting that you mentioned that one character that really stood out to you in the book. So I'm really curious to see if that character stands out to you in the film as well. So that hope maybe when we get into the spoiler zone, we can unpack that a little bit more when we get into things like characters. I'm really curious to see how that translates for you.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Yeah, I'm excited to get into this. This is gonna be one where I think I have some things to say that are spoiler-free and safe. Obviously, folks, if you are listening to this and this is your first time finding our podcast because you're curious about this movie, the first half of the episode is spoiler-free. Then we'll get into all the spoilers here in a bit. But the thing for me, and Mac, I don't know how you felt about this, and Sean, I'm even more curious knowing that you had no context for the book or the movie, period. The fact that it didn't do this one thing was a really hard pill to swallow. And it wasn't like one major thing has changed. This movie is really a summation of a lot of little changes, but at the same time, I managed to find myself entertained. I think there's a lot of humor in this movie that works. I think the kills had some flair. It didn't emotionally wreck me, and the book didn't emotionally wreck me either, but I also just didn't feel as much as I felt to reading the book. I didn't feel the anticipation or the dread. It was enjoyable enough to keep watching, but I walked away conflicted. And that's where I'm struggling here because I was frustrated by missed opportunities while still laughing at some genuinely funny moments.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

That I can a hundred percent understand because I think you're right about feeling. The book itself is able to give you a lot more, right? So you have more to work with in terms of like people's feelings, they're what they're thinking as they're going through things. So it's hard to go from that to the screen. You know, you have to lose a good bit of that. But I think even with that normal kind of amount of loss, there's more here. There's more here that didn't make it to the screen. So you end up with this kind of CW feeling where or WB for us folks who watched it back in the day, where it's not quite as funny as it could be. It's not quite as violent as it could be, it's not quite as deep as it could be. It's kind of somewhere washed over in the middle, cleaned up for more of a general audience, I think.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Yeah, it's interesting points that both of you are making, and it's gonna be really interesting just to see how this develops over the course of this conversation. Just two opposite ends of the spectrum. Is reading the book gonna ruin it for you? Is not reading the book gonna make it better? For me, it's just very interesting to think about. But two things that you both said that I resonate with. Mac, you're talking about like it's not as violent or maybe gory or whatever as it could be. It has that WBCW TVMA kind of feel in some areas, and some areas maybe not, right? There's some moments that it really shines through, and we'll get into that. But yes, I kind of resonate with that a little bit. We'll get into it. Chris, you said entertaining for even all the flaws that you've already recognized, but to be entertained still is an interesting way to describe that. Because I agree. I do think that this movie feels like your average run-of-the-mill slasher, right? Like it doesn't feel like it's any spectacular new thing that we haven't necessarily seen before, but it did feel like a classic slasher with like a modern touch to it at the same time, right? Like, yeah, it might be your average run-of-the-mill slasher, but sometimes that's okay. And I think in some areas the movie felt a little bit self-aware. I think acknowledging almost playing with some of the classic horror tropes in a way that I think appeals to some of us that you know are genre savvy and things like that. But at the same time, the attempt to balance the horror, the comedy, the social commentary, I think sometimes it leaves you really feeling these tonal shifts and not always in the best way.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

I 100% agree with you, Sean. There was a lot of shifting in that movie, and that's where I find it really difficult to sort through my feelings because there are times where I genuinely laughed out loud. There are some where I internally LOL'd. There were some moments where I was like, oh, okay, this seems promising, and then others where I'm like, I almost wish I didn't know what the potential was. And I feel like this movie for me lives in the shadow of an incredibly fun and well-written book. And I'm mad at myself for that. It's not a fair shake for the movie. I should have known better, but this film managed to surprise me in a couple of different ways, both good and bad. I think on the one hand, there are really clever stylistic touches that make Frendo coming to life look really cool. I was a big fan of the brutality that we get. There's also a couple of like really creative sequences that feel distinct from other modern slashers, and it captures the sentiment and the spirit of slashers while feeling distinct. And I respect that. But there are a lot of structural decisions that really leave me scratching my fucking head. And then this entire time of the movie, I'm like, oh, I really wish, I really wish this was in here. Because there are things that are absent in here that I feel like rob the experience and of really making it more cohesive as a story, and it reduces like the impact of the emotional weight and the overall payoff when you get into the third act of the movie. And I can appreciate when adaptations take risk. I don't want to sound like a movie can never do anything different from the book, but some of those risks made the story feel smaller. And that's where I'm struggling because it's not about fidelity to the book, it's about whether the choices made the film more intense, more cohesive, or more meaningful. And in a lot of the cases here in the movie, it just didn't do that for me.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

So, so, so true. There are some disappointments as someone who has read the book and enjoyed it. That's going to happen with almost every single book that you watch. The last time I think about that for me was like The Martian. Watching The Martian after reading it, I loved that book while reading it. And so seeing it in theater, that was one of the few, I think, adaptations where I thought to myself, I'm satisfied with the adaptation that we got. I think the changes they had to make for the sake of runtime, I understand. When I get to this one though, it's different. I don't know why it's different, but it's a little bit different. The disappointments here, it's not that they change stuff. Sometimes you have to. You only have about 90 minutes to put it on screen. You know, I had whatever it was, like four hours to read the thing. You know, that's it's a very different kind of experience. But it's weird to me because the book is already written in a way that's very cinematic. When and when you're reading it, the dialogue is a good example of that. The action is described in such a way that would translate really well. You know, there's obviously a lot more that goes into this than I can even imagine as someone who's never made a film, let alone an adaptation. But there's some stuff that's lost here that just shouldn't have been, that would still work with the story they gave us on the screen. So it's strange that we kind of cut things out and spent more time in parts that we didn't need to linger in. It was felt it felt a bit strange there. But I will say, to my pleasant surprise here, we've we talked during our recent book club call about the kind of mental casting you do going into a movie. And I think there's one character here that was perfectly cast. The other ones, you know, 50-50 on whether or not they were, but I think there's one for me that I felt like he has now replaced whoever was in my head while reading the book.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Interesting. We love the dive into the characters. Side note from the movie, I was actually surprised when watching this in theaters. Like I went to go get popcorn and then I came back and like I could have sworn that I saw Al Pacino as some kind of like priest in an exorcist movie coming out, and it could be somebody that just looked like Al Pacino, but if that was Al Pacino that's coming out in a horror movie, man, that's some wild shit. And that's kind of surprising, I feel like, in and of itself.

SPEAKER_02 13:19

I think we're just right now in an age where we're eating real fucking good as horror fans.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Yeah. I mean, we got like Academy Award winners hopping on the horror train right now, which is really cool to see. But for me, I think some of the surprise, like not knowing anything about the movie. I mean, I guess if I just read the title, Clown in a Cornfield, I should kind of guess that it's gonna, there's gonna be a little bit of campiness to it, but I was kind of surprised at the amount of camp, and I just wasn't really expecting it, I guess, for some reason going into this movie. That could have been partly due to because I was reading some stuff about it and people were saying, like, oh, it's violent, it's gory, and stuff like that. And so I was just not expecting it, but there was a good amount of camp in it. I heard about the slashiness of it all, but just not the campiness. And I think the camp or the humor really picked up in the third act, I feel like. So it does feel like another tonal shift a little bit that I didn't feel in the first half of the movie as much. But I'll tell you, I think my biggest disappointment with this movie was actually its predictability. Because I feel like I had this shindig figured out before we even got to the third act. I think it it's like halfway through the movie, it basically was just given to you on a silver platter if you were paying attention.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

Exactly. And that's the fucking thing about it, Sean. Because there are two major components here that maybe if you are not someone who watches horror movies with a regularity, maybe if you're also someone who likes to go in and experience a movie but not like super deeply soak in everything about it, you may find the end to be shocking. Maybe maybe you do. Yeah, however, the fact that there are two critical things in this movie that are revealed in the third act that get signaled to you so early on and you can really feel it, it's not as apparent in the book. So I think the book allows you to really like immerse yourself in the sense of like what the fuck is going on here? Something's not right, but it's less obvious what's actually going on.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

I mean, the book would probably have an advantage on me specifically, because I often find myself like reading through a few pages, and then I'll like drift off and start thinking about something else while I'm reading those pages, and then I'll get to the end of a chapter and be like, I have no idea what I just read, so I could have missed a huge plot point. And if I choose to continue, then I'm really getting shocked. You know what I mean? Like that shit's coming out of left field. However, you know, if I go back and read it, maybe that's a different story, but I don't know. But it does happen. It does happen. I I think it's either the predictability for me though, or the use of CGI. I mean, come on, why the CGI?

SPEAKER_02 15:58

Yeah. In a movie that actually did a lot practically, and when you look into how it was made and really how they stretched their budget, which it feels like such a weird thing to say, right? You stretch $70 million of budget. But we've seen Damian Leone's spirit stretch budget, and we see this stretching budget in a very specific way. There are moments where it feels like there's digital blood that I was like, hmm, okay. It wasn't enough to even like really undo my sentiment on the overall aesthetic of the movie. I really love the way this movie looks, but yeah, I agree with you. There's some moments that's like, okay, this doesn't feel like it belongs.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

Yeah. But this movie does have some really great moments in it. Like visually, it has some pretty good moments. I feel like it really does deliver some creepy looking shots. I think it does build like a cool atmosphere, a creepy atmosphere. I think the atmosphere with the cornfields is perfect. There's a good amount of jump scares to really get the audience right. Like it's not like something that's really gonna be super frightening. It's a bit less frightening than I anticipated. But what I think this film did really well was the way the self-aware and campy approach added a comedic element without undermining the horror feel. And I think when you can balance that enough to give you just enough camp and just enough horror to make it a good campy horror, like segment, piece, movie, whatever, I think you gotta acknowledge it. It may not be the most frightening film, but I do like the balance there a little bit. I and I think that is something that I'll I'm always gonna appreciate.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

For sure. This movie leans heavily into comedy, and for the most part, it works. I think maybe if you find yourself to be a little bit of a curmudgeon, there might be a couple moments where you're like, eh, what is this? I think this movie is funny, even if the moments that are funny aren't super relatable to me. Because I think its humor is modern, I think it's quick, I think it's self-aware to an extent. I think it's absurd and campy in a way that feels genuinely entertaining, and it's clear that the filmmakers and Eli Craig, when you think about what he did with Tucker and Dale versus Evil, this is a very different movie, so don't let this movie live in that shadow. But it's clear that everybody had fun making this movie. I do wish there was some element of fear, because there's nothing in here that is even remotely scary.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

I think it's some jump scares.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

I think if you're fucking afraid of friend of the clown, I think if you're afraid of clown, sure. But I think even the jump scares are things that were like, okay, we've seen this.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

Yeah, for sure. But a lot of people are afraid of clowns, and a lot of people react to jump scares. So I think for the average viewer, it's got enough to like jump you around a little bit while you're watching it. Is it gonna really sit with you? And is it really gonna fester in your mind? Is it gonna keep you up at night? I don't think so. Unless you're like really afraid of clowns and probably don't even go to this movie.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Hey, lucky for me that I don't get scared by movies and I don't need them to be scary to love them.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

It's not super scary, though the book is also not super scary. And I think if you've read it and you know the beats of the story, you'd really have to have a really powerful jump scare in order to kind of shock anybody who has that context already. You kind of know what's going to happen and pretty much when it's going to happen. And so, yeah, going from that into watching this, I'm not worried about the antagonist in any way. I'm not really worried for the protagonists in any way. I'm not saying that you should change all the beats of a story when you translate it to film. Please don't. I enjoyed being able to know what's going on because I've read the book and I'm getting to see it on screen. It doesn't detract from the experience, but it's not an especially like spooky or creepy film that's going to like linger with you into your nightmares, at least for me.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

It doesn't. And that's why I also think it's unfair to compare this or even link this with the movies that are naturally gonna come up as part of the conversation here. It's a fucking clown horror movie. You know, you're already gonna hear about it.

SPEAKER_03 19:48

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 19:49

This is nothing to do with Pennywise, it's not supernatural. Forget it. We're in the age of Art the Clown. This has nothing to do with Terrifier, doesn't even come close to the same spirit as terrifier right now. Some other movies that you may be reminded of or get a spirit of, Children of the Corn, your next scream. I think from a very Nitian specific humor perspective, Hell of a Summer. I think that is it. I can see that. And I think overall this movie does enough different from the book to stake its own identity. Like this is Clown in the Cornfield, Clown in the Cornfield, the novel, this is Clown in the Cornfield, the movie. But I don't know that I really love that. I think it swings and misses in a few different ways. It dares to be different from the source material, but it sought some of the wrong things for me to focus on when carving out its own identity. And we're gonna do a bonus episode where we actually discuss the book itself. For anybody who has read it and wants to dive deeper into probably what Mac and I might feel here. But this movie as it is tries to blend tradition and conflict, but the setup offers more thematic potential than it can really capitalize on. And that's just it it's like a hollow shell. It's like a husk with no corn in it.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

A hollow husk. A hollow husk, yeah. I it's interesting because obviously I don't have that perspective, right? Like I can't give it any points for differing from the book or daring to be different. I just know this movie, and I think with this movie, the storyline and the overall movie, I think it definitely follows a very familiar setup. It's not like we're reinventing the wheel here. It's a very familiar slasher kind of feel. You know, you take out summer camp or suburb, insert small town farm life, and cornfield, right? But it is a slasher. And overall, like when I'm watching a slasher, I'm not really looking for some insane shit in a slasher, right? Like I want to see some action, I want to see some great shots, some great kills, some great lines, some good, funny, campy one liners, things like that. We're here to have fun and react to a couple. That jump scares along the way for the most part, right? There can be some more serious slashers, right? And that can be a little bit gritty and like cringy and like intense and brutal. But overall, if you're looking to have a good time and you want to, and you usually that's going to be a slasher for a horror movie, unless it's a straight horror comedy.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

I think that's the place where they could have stood out, though, is the horror comedy aspect of it. Because while you're reading it, you know, you have a lot of time. The author himself has a lot of time to spend on giving you the emotions of the characters, the thoughts that are going through their heads. That doesn't come out in the dialogue. And when you're writing a film, you don't have all that time necessarily. So you have to do it through expressions, through acting, and through dialogue. And I think they really could have leaned into that here to set it apart from the book by making the comedy just in your face, by making it wittier, making the characters have a really solid back and forth that play well off of each other. You know, that whole kind of like feeling of Tucker and Dale we've talked about, like it's good because of the way it's written and the way that it's acted. And here I feel like there was that missed opportunity to say, no, we're not the book. Of course we're not the book. However, everyone involved here has a lot of skill and has shown that previously. Let's do it all together in this one. And it kind of feels like they didn't really pull as a team to achieve that. Like we got to good enough, but we didn't get to see all of them shine in the way that we know that they could. Fair. Fair.

SPEAKER_02 23:22

And you know, was it any more true, Mac, than the ending of this movie?

SPEAKER_01 23:27

Oh my gosh. So many thoughts on the ending, especially the way that it was written, you know, in the novel. But the ending here, it's good in ways and it's bad in ways, just like most movie endings here. It's painful as someone who's read it because you know what was possible. You know an ending that you were delivered, including comedic timing, surprises, and even an epilogue that would have done really well mid or post-credits. Yeah. And so it was like stuff that was like handed to them, like, hey, just do these things and you'll nail it. But nothing. And they were no, they were like, nah. None of that. No, no, no. We don't need to we don't need to do all that at all. Yeah. So it's strange because it's like, I know the ending we could have gotten, and I know it would have worked really well on film, and I know I I literally played it out in my head as I read it. And so it's strange, it's just a strange choice to deprive yourself of all that. Maybe it's a budgetary thing, maybe it was a creative thing. Who knows what led to that not happening? But the ending we get instead on film is merely okay. It makes sense, I guess, for the rest of the film that we're given, but it doesn't really excel.

SPEAKER_00 24:31

Yeah, I mean, I agree. It didn't hit any of the points that you just said would make like a really good ending, right? Like the ending's super predictable, I would say, at least for me. Maybe not every viewer is gonna feel the same way. You might differ, and that's okay. But nothing really surprised me about the way this movie ended. It doesn't try to really pull anything on you. I feel like there's no post-credit scene. I think it's pretty straightforward. And sometimes that's okay, and sometimes that's just kind of like uh anticlimactic in a way, or just kind of fizzles out, and you feel like you were like maybe getting on this roller coaster, and then the drop was like not what you thought it was gonna be, ended up being kind of like a little kiddie ride.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

Wow, anticlimactic kitty ride. I think about this old rickety roller coaster in Disney World that looks like it could be fun, but really it's just the mild ride that you do where that you do ride with children. Yeah, man, this ending for me took the bite out of the movie. The third act does as an overall, like there is some intense violence in this big book that could have translated to film quite nicely. And I understand having to scale back some of this for budget. I don't think it's possible to real I don't think it's possible to realistically expect that level here on screen, especially when you're independently funded, there's no way to get more funds if you're running down. I get that. Fair, but while this movie manages to bring some thematic things full circle, sure, the overall feeling I have is just incomplete. It's a puzzle that finishes with a couple pieces missing, narrative threads that don't get tied off neatly. It feels like I just use cheat codes to like get to the max career in The Sims, just have like this household story end before I move on to the next one. And I just didn't get to enjoy it. I didn't get to enjoy the moment. And legitimately, when we get to this point where like we have some semblance of resolution and you walk away at a certain point of this, I was like, what the fuck? Like it just felt rushed. And the ending doesn't derail the movie, but it left me wanting so much more.

SPEAKER_03 26:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:38

Especially knowing if this does get a sequel, what the next source material is, and what it has to live up to or work through.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:46

It's just I the math is not mathing for me.

SPEAKER_00 26:49

Is this the movie that like we want to have that little bait at the end, you know? Is this the movie that we want to see that?

SPEAKER_02 26:56

I think it needed more room to breathe at the end. I think the movie, quite frankly, should have been a little bit longer or started. I think the story should have started and picked up past like they're they're already moved in to Kettle Springs, and it's like her first day of school. I think there's time that we got at the beginning of this movie that breathed out. And listen, like there's some beats that you gotta hit, and I get it. We have to build up who these people are. Give me less teenager. Character development more third act, let the fucking third act and the ending breathe. If I could have lived in that space a little bit more, I would have watched a longer version of Clown in a Cornfield, 100%. But that's how great I think the fucking story is.

SPEAKER_00 27:39

I can feel that. I mean, in essence, the story is actually pretty good. You know what I mean? The story is actually intriguing. It's just like some of the things that they delivered in the film just maybe doesn't always live up to the story.

SPEAKER_02 27:51

It really doesn't. But hey, I can't wait to see how all of this translates to our ratings. Now, before we actually get there, Sean, how would you describe the gore score?

SPEAKER_00 28:00

Man, can I just say that I actually expected just a little bit more from this movie in the gore department? Everything I was reading about this movie was saying that this was a movie that was like filled with gory kills. And yeah, like there were some good kills. We're gonna talk about them in just a minute. But when you throw in the use of CGI that they kind of threw into that, and they there was practical effects being used for sure, but and I'll always appreciate that, but there was something about the CGI that was used. Chris, you said you mentioned the blood that didn't always look great, things like that, right? You can feel it, right? You can feel the lack of the lack of the impact of the practical effects with the gore and the blood. And I also would say there were moments with some of these kills, and again, we're gonna get into kills in a second, so I can't dive too deep, but to really land with this gore score is that even with the kills that we get and we get a good amount of kills, I wanted a little bit more out of those kills. Like I wanted to see a little bit more of those kills, I wanted to see a little bit more of the gore, I wanted to see a little bit more of the practical effects. And I think because of that, this movie maybe stays in the medium gore score territory in my book.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

And what about the animal report?

SPEAKER_01 29:15

Unfortunately, we are not all good in the hood. These cobs of corn are not safe because of the animals.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

And sometimes it really be the animals in your own house. Now, let's go ahead and get into our ratings. Clown in a cornfield 2025. Was it a hack or was it a slash?

SPEAKER_00 29:33

I mean, I'll go first because I haven't read the book. So it's gonna be interesting to see. And I could be wrong, but I kind of have a feeling. I actually thought that Chris, even though liking the book and it not maybe hitting all the points of the book, that you still might end up liking this one because you are the slasher enthusiast. So I'm curious to see where your rating lands at the end of all this. But I think overall, this movie isn't perfect, right? I think it is set in a perfect backdrop, though, or a perfect setting for this type of movie. Who doesn't love a slasher set in a small town filled with cornfields, old barn houses, and an evil clown? Like that right there is the makings for some great horror. But this movie I think does something that can be rare in some horror movies, some slasher movies. And I'm curious to see how this goes for you two as well, because I think it gives us a protagonist that brings some emotional depth to the character. I think, I think it allows you to feel maybe invested in something or someone along the way a little bit, which is sometimes refreshing in some of these types of movies, right? Because oftentimes, at least for me, when I watch some of these slasher movies, I'm not really invested in a lot of the characters, right? But I think with all the blood, the satire, the small town paranoia, is this teenage slasher filled with killer clowns and social stabs delivering something substantial, or is it really just clowning around? You know what I mean? It's a tough one because I feel like this movie is far from flawless. But overall, I think this movie gives you pretty much everything you probably really want in a slasher, right? Like you're getting a good backdrop, good setting, good atmosphere. You get some jump scares, you've got a couple of great characters mixed in there, you got some kills, right? Some of them are creative, we like that. The film looks great, right? It has a solid soundtrack. I think, I think it is a good that has a great protagonist to match up against a pretty good-looking killer in my book. And I had a good time watching the movie, despite the flaws. I don't think it's anything crazy. Definitely not as wild as some of the reviews I saw ahead of watching this movie, but I think it's still like a solid entertaining slasher nonetheless. And you mentioned that earlier, Chris. Like it was entertaining. And I think it is still an entertaining slasher. So it might just be a solid three out of five, 2.5, 3 out of 5. I don't know. You can call this, again, your average run-of-the-mill slasher, and that's all right. But for me, I think you can still wind me up, Jack, because I'm down to clown because this corn fed carnage is still a slash in my book.

SPEAKER_01 32:18

Oh, so many thoughts and so little time, but I'll try to keep it succinct here. You know, I had, as we've mentioned, some high expectations because I did really enjoy the book. You know, if the author's listening, we I really enjoyed the book, just letting you know. Okay, I'm looking forward to part two and part three. That being said, going into this, it didn't actually have to nail everything for me in order for it to be a success. The tone needed to be there, the plot needed to be there. You know, they could change it. They could make some small changes here. I was expecting the characters to be renamed, and thankfully we didn't really have to worry about that. But the things that they did change, some of them are okay. The stuff that they removed for no reason was really disappointing because I think without them, it is kind of a middle-of-the-road, okie dokie everyday kind of a slasher. And it deserves to be more than that. On its own, if you haven't read the book, you watch this, I think you're gonna enjoy yourself. But if you have, you know that this can go deeper, it can be more satirical, it can be more interesting in many parts. So yeah, I think it's that whole like capacity for me that really gets in the way. And so, did I enjoy myself watching it? Yes. I had a good time. Do I think most people will, especially if they haven't read the book? Absolutely. But it's missing something for me. It's the heart I think that the book has that this movie doesn't have. And so because of that, it's a hack.

SPEAKER_02 33:37

Well, well, well, no pressure. See, okay, here's the fucking thing here, guys. I'm struggling with this movie, and even as early as right before this recording, I was still struggling with where I wanted to rank this because I really wanted to love it, especially because the book meant so much to me. I really enjoyed it. And I'm not to say that the book is the best thing I've ever written, but by and large, it's just consistent and quality, and I had fun with it. I knew that the going in, right, that the adaptations are rarely one-to-one. So I lowered my expectations in the hope that if the movie could just do that one core thing I mentioned right, something like many the intensity or preserving the emotional stakes, it could still be a win. But then it didn't do that, it didn't quite get there. And the one thing it needed to do right for me to love it felt like such an empty moment in the movie. It felt like, oh wait, hold on, we're not done here. We're supposed to linger in this, we're supposed to wait in this, we're supposed to feel more of this. And I'm not even talking really just about spiritually, and I'm not talking about just loyalty to the source material. I'm talking about the overall intensity and the impact. It has enough charm though, and enough humor and enough creative kills to just barely make it over the line. What this movie has going in its favor is a cast that clearly cares what it's doing, a cast that clearly cares about what it's doing, a director who really loves the idea of the story and really wants to bring it to life in a special way, and it has great bones to build on with Adam Caesar's book. Yeah, there's change, there's a lot of it for better and for worse. And I think many folks who love the book are gonna be either conflicted about this one like I am, if not outright disappointed. Or, I mean, I mentioned earlier, I've also heard of some folks who are just like, yeah, okay, this feels fucking great. I do think if you just want to enjoy a fun slasher, this has plenty up its sleeve. Sean, as you said, I am the slasher enthusiast. So I think it's that part of me and not the person who just loves the book. Specifically because I do tend to love slashers and have fun with these things. That part of me feels like I owe this movie another watch. It's probably gonna end up being discussed in our year-end recap. I'm certain of it. I don't know if it'll hold on to the rating that it's getting tonight, but for now it barely ekes out as a slash just by the skin of its clown painted teeth.

SPEAKER_00 36:08

I had a feeling it was gonna go this way, but I wasn't sure which way you were gonna swing. And look.

SPEAKER_02 36:12

I need you to know that when I walked out of the theater, I said sorry to Allie so many times. Like she's like she was laughing, it wasn't like she was having a terrible time, but I was like, wow, this is not the movie that I sold it could have been. Because I think she saw how excited I was about this movie because of how excited I get about the book.

SPEAKER_00 36:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

And that's a bummer. Like when I walked out of the theater, I felt disappointed. And that's a hard pill to swallow. That is a lot. But hey, for now, Clown in a cornfield 2025 has earned one hack and two slashes. And friends, if you haven't seen it yet, this is your moment. You can proceed with caution, because we're gonna get into spoilers in just a few minutes. You can see this movie in theaters, or you can go check out the book. We can drop some link in our channels to where you can find it. But right after our break, we're gonna be diving deep into that spoiler zone, really assessing the critical changes and what could have been, and also getting into our favorite kills. Let's see.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

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SPEAKER_02 38:25

Welcome back, folks. You're now entering the spoiler zone for Clown in a Cornfield from Coin 25, now showing in theaters, which has earned one hack and two slashes. Now, before we get into the specifics of our ratings, Sean, let's go through those kills.

SPEAKER_00 38:39

Yes, I forgot. We're talking about clown in a cornfield, not clown in a cornhole. We would probably actually have a lot more kills if we were able to know exactly how many teenagers have been killed by this angry generational mob of killer clown boomers. But we do have 16 on-screen kills to get into. And while I may not enjoy the gore and the effects in this movie as much as I would have liked to, it certainly wasn't clowning around with the kills. Well, I guess maybe it was because it did deliver some creative and fun kills. So I gotta know. I gotta know which one of these kills really shucked your corn.

SPEAKER_01 39:20

I think the kill that actually surprised me was Matt's kill, because this is something that like really caught me off guard for some reason. And it also reminds me a little bit of another clown movie, just gonna say it, you know, the clowns be killing people with saws. But yeah, for whatever reason, like I was not expecting it and it was effective. We and we got the like the little plop of the head going into you know the other thing. And yeah, it worked. And for them to have a kill that I wasn't expecting, that was solid.

SPEAKER_02 39:48

Yeah, okay. It wasn't what you're expecting because again, those differences from the book. That was a good one. And listen, for all my Halloween resurrection church A Busta stands, it reminded me of Halloween Resurrection with Katie Sakhoff's head getting cut off and then rolling down to the bottom of the stairs.

SPEAKER_00 40:07

Great moment. It is a good one.

SPEAKER_02 40:09

Yeah, I'm gonna go with one that I actually am torn on because of again, we'll talk later in the characters. Janet is so different in this movie than she was in the book, and even her death is different.

SPEAKER_00 40:22

Interesting. However, worse for better or for different for different, I think. I think all right.

SPEAKER_02 40:28

And this it's one of those things where like we'll have to see how the sequel or the third movie plays out with the rest of the story of Kettle Springs. I think we'll have to see how it plays out because if we stick to that kind of material, I'm concerned. So it would be for the worse, but if we really do some new original different things that just kind of capture the spirit of it, then maybe it's okay. However, the pitchfork impalement A 10 out of 10. We love a pitchfork moment. Classic tool that we needed in a cornfield, you know? It's also a great moment where the comedy shines. I love that this movie leans into comedy, it makes it more fun, but it was the fact that with her dying breath, she tells Quinn she hates her, and then the friendo says, Me too. It was so good.

SPEAKER_00 41:17

It was amazing. Yeah, it's a great kill, but it's also just followed by that moment that almost makes it like one of the better scenes as well in this movie. It's super good, it's super good. I think there's some fun ones, and then there's a little bit more like serious ones that I think it's an interesting dynamic. I I think the cold open, right? The cold open kill or kills, because I think that it was just a great way to start the film. And a good cold open is a good cold open, you know what I mean? Because Jessica's boyfriend walking through the cornfield in the middle of the night looking for Jessica. I don't even know what his name is, I just know Jessica. The fake jump scare leading to reveal that Jessica was like killed or coughing up blood or whatever, and then he gets impaled by this. I don't think it was a pitchfork, I think it was like a rod or a stick or something, but he gets lifted up. It's the way that he's like lifted up into the air, and we get that shot with the scarecrow behind it in the moonlight, and it just that set the tone for the movie right there. When that scene ended, I was like, okay, let's fucking go.

SPEAKER_02 42:25

Yeah, okay. That whole opening moment, I want to talk more about it later, but I was a little like I don't know that we're shot in the movie different than the book. Okay, like I'm open to it, but like uh okay. But first moment, literally the first moment, but it was okay. And what happens in the book is still mentioned, like it's still canon in the movie, so it's not so bad. But this was one of those changes that I actually really liked. I don't know that I like the removal of getting to see what the cold open was in the book, but the addition of this is a good thing. It was a great death for sure.

SPEAKER_00 43:01

So that's like a serious one, but Tucker's was kind of fun too. That was a more fun one because honestly, what the fuck is he gonna do with a super soaker? One, I know he thought it was just his friends fucking with them, but like a super soaker, man. And the amount of like Philly fake outs that we got in that scene was just great, right? Like, I think we're expecting the jump scare to be here when it ended up being there. You gotta love the whole setup. I think all the way to the end with the strategically placed plastic on the floor, luring Tucker to check the closet, the fake jump scare with the Jack in the Box toy, the closet door closing, and still not getting the scare right away, but like waiting for the reveal in the mirror before getting before getting you with the kill. And then the kill was good, right? But it was the build up to that with the super soaker and the fake outs and all the things like that really drew it out that that was kind of a fun kill that was different than the more serious tone that kind of I don't know, you had fun with it, you know what I mean? And so tonal shifts, but still fun. Fun.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

I 100% agree with you. Tucker's death was really interesting again because Tucker as a character is different, but I just remember the sense of dread watching this movie because I liked this version of Tucker so much more than I liked the book's version of Tucker. It was someone who I found like super endearing. The more this movie lived in that kind of moment, I was into it. I liked the way that we were exploring it. The only other one that really stood out to me was Ronnie's death. Because holy shit, that chainsaw so sudden and it was so jarring.

SPEAKER_03 44:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:37

Again, a different thing from the book. Now I'm gonna be annoying and I'm gonna keep saying it because I think this is one of those plus one. This is like a great thing that is different from the book. This is a score for the movie, and also it's so fun to explore in the book. I think everybody needs to read this thing.

SPEAKER_00 44:52

I'm definitely gonna read it at some point here down the road. So it'll be interesting when that happens. But yeah, getting chainsawed like that is definitely brutal. It's definitely brutal. I think we could have benefited a lot from a really great blood splatter on the clown face shot, you know what I mean, as the chainsaw was going in. You know, that would have been really cool. I also really enjoyed Sheriff Frendo's kill, right? Like that dude getting cattle prodded in the mouth. That was good. I even like the visual. I couldn't 100% tell practical CGI-ish there. I think maybe there was a mixture of both, but I did love the look of the mouth just like jarred open with the cattle prod and the little bit of like blue electric going in there and just fucking annihilating his face. That was a pretty good kill.

SPEAKER_02 45:40

Annihilating his face is so cornhub.com coded.

SPEAKER_00 45:44

And this is what this episode is all about, baby. We gotta butter your corn.

SPEAKER_01 45:54

That kill was a good example, though. I think that the movie adding something in a good way to what the book had. So this is one of those, it doesn't really spoil anything, but like the methodology they use here is way more interesting and way more fun to look at, especially because this whole cattle prod thing is kind of a new addition anyway. So yeah, make use of it if you're gonna throw something in there like that. I liked it. I think there's another one here though. You mentioned the chainsaw, but there's a big chainsaw explosion that I don't know that we've really talked about too much, and that's the vehicular manslaughter of it all. And at the very end, that final double tap that we needed to do, the chainsaw friend of the clown. What exactly happened to that dude? Because it seems like maybe it's the chainsaw's fault that he splattered on the windshield, maybe it's the cars, the car wasn't moving that fast, but the combination, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:43

You know, it's giving he erupted.

SPEAKER_00 46:46

He erupted. I mean, I liked the windshield wipers with the blood. That part I did like.

SPEAKER_02 46:52

Yeah, it was almost like the monkey level of blood and the explosions. I'm thinking about when that woman jumped into the pool that had been electrified. I think that's one of the ones that stand out. Also, ready or not, the spontaneous combustion. That level of blood and violence was although like cheeky and funny in the moment that we got it, it was one of those that just reminded me of insert any other horror movie here.

SPEAKER_00 47:19

Yeah. But visually is where I think this movie stands out a lot because even from like something of just liking the look of Fendo the Clown and like just the different Fendo, you know, masks and things that we got to see. I like the look of Frendo the Clown. I gotta say, I do. I like the look of the clown. It's not too silly, it's not too scary, it's like this good blend there. But even deeper visually, I think for me, like the cinematography, maybe is what first stood out to me in this movie from that very first scene, the cold open all the way till we till the end. I think this movie is one, it's shot in a rural setting, which always helps with these types of movies because it feels isolated but still familiar enough, right? And you know, we get those eerie cornfield shots, the looming shadows, the foggy nights, right? Like this really it's creating some great and spooky atmosphere. And what this movie did, it gives you like a lot of those really quick shots that just look great. Whether you're getting like impaled and raised up into the air in the dark, moonlight scarecrow, whether you're getting cattle prodded in the mouth, whether you're getting those moments where you're getting chased through a cornfield and you can't really see what's going on, and someone pops up and it's scary, like you know, it's suspenseful, right? I think this movie did a lot with the camera work, and I think it got some really great shots and it stood out to me.

SPEAKER_02 48:43

100%. I echo uh absolutely every bit of that. I only also want to add the fucking lighting and the way they filmed the scenes in the cornfield. Listen, you got a clown, you got a cornfield, you're 90% of the way there. Holy shit, it looked good. And I loved, okay, filming on location in Canada of all places. I felt like this was Midwest as fuck. So great location scouting, great execution. I think filming this with obviously the warmth of the fire when we have the party outside of the barn, and when we think about we think we think about even their little bonfire in the beginning of the movie. There's so many moments in this where you step into a scene and you feel like you're actually there because of how well it's brought to life on screen.

SPEAKER_01 49:31

They brought some really good stuff to life, especially like the town and the Maybook's house. I think the house in the movie is so much crappier than the one we get in the book. Like they really kind of point out, you know, they're settling to live here. And that wasn't as strong in the novel. And I think it's better. It was a good change that they made here because like when they go through that house, it just looks it looks old, it looks ate up. Good job there. The town, you know, it's solid, I think, for what I was expecting. I had a picture in mind, and they pretty much delivered. When we get to like the parade scene here, it really did capture like this is a tiny little small town. Yeah, these floats look a little bit too nice for how small of a town it is. I think they could have made them look crappier and it would have seemed really, you know, really down home style. But I think the set that they were able to use, whether it was on location or not, like whatever they did there to capture the places from the novel, I think for the most part worked well.

SPEAKER_00 50:26

Yeah, I think the setting, the visuals, the cinematography, the lighting, we're talking about all the looks, and I think there's some other stuff, including some of the scenes in this movie, that I think man, there's some stuff that I kind of really resonated with, and maybe not for the best reasons, but man, there was the beer run scene that I thought was pretty fucking funny. I mean, I don't know about anybody else. I'm just gonna admit it, I'm okay to do that. I've done a couple beer runs in my days when I was a young teenager in high school. Man, we've had fun, we've ran in there and done the distraction and ran out with a 30 rack. We've done it, we've done it.

SPEAKER_02 51:01

It was fun, and it I am not surprised, and I've also never done it. I thought it was hilarious in the movie, but now I need a whole B-side that's just John's beer run stories. Tales from the beer runs.

SPEAKER_00 51:15

All the delinquent shit that I've done over the years as a B-sides is now D-sides because it's John's delinquency. It just brought me back to those days, and for better or for worse, you know, it's a memory that's instilled in me from childhood. And so, like, when I can remember something like that and have a laugh or bring a smile to my face, I think that's pretty cool. So, even aside from the great visuals we get, it still kind of resonates with you and maybe some of the experiences that you've had growing up.

SPEAKER_02 51:44

I agree with you. I mean, I'm just thinking about the comedy in that scene, and it actually reminds me of my favorite scene in the movie, which was, I think, spoiled in the trailer. And I wish we didn't get it in the trailer, and that's the cornfield chase. So it has this big Scooby-Doo energy. We have ginger collapsing, and they go through this bit back and forth trying to figure out if it's a prank. All of a sudden, there's no pulse. They realize that the hand they've been throwing around, they realize the head that they've been throwing around actually has real blood and it's not corn syrup, which is such a great spin. Obviously, the corn syrup of it all is from the book, but to have it executed in a movie where corn syrup is often fake blood, it's just fucking hysterical to me.

SPEAKER_00 52:35

It's so good.

SPEAKER_02 52:36

Yeah, but we get this entire scene where this is the chaos, and it's also the worst part of the movie for me, but we'll get there. This is the chaos, and then the girls are running through the cornfield, and all of a sudden you got Frendo putting his hand over Quinn's mouth after as they're all hushing each other. That kind of tension, that kind of tension and final girl chase with a whole group of them also in a cornfield. That's the shit we all came to the theater for. We came here for a clown, we came here for a cornfield. Let's do it.

SPEAKER_00 53:10

Oh, that is such a good scene. And you were highlighting the head rolling and the corn syrup, and I was like, Yeah, that's a great scene, but also the scene where they're in the cornfield and they're covering each other's mouth and Frendo comes around.

SPEAKER_02 53:23

Like, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

Fuck, man.

SPEAKER_02 53:25

I want to hear people's reactions to that scene who didn't see the trailer at all and just got to experience the joy. It's not something that I'm mad about and I still didn't enjoy in the theater, but when I saw it and felt it in real time, I was just thinking, man, this would have been even better if I didn't know about it.

SPEAKER_01 53:44

True. It's a good example of them showing that the people doing this are also living their fullest clown lives. They're really leaning into the fact that they're dressed up as creepy clowns. And that was just a great display of that, that they like got in there and joined in on that fun. I loved it. I think my one of the moments from the novel, though, I called out during our book club call didn't exactly translate very well. It we dropped about 50% of how good of a moment it was. But even still on film, Cole and Rust revealing their true selves, their passion, past passions for each other there. I still think it's one of the best moments of the novel. And even though it's weakened here in the movie, it's in the midst of all the chaos, whereas in the novel, it's a little bit different. So I think it's still kind of played well. I wish they would have done it the original way, but I think if you're gonna do it at all, you know, I'm okay with this depiction of it like happening when everything is crazy and it's blowing up.

SPEAKER_02 54:39

Yeah. Sean, I need to know, as someone who had no idea that Russ and Cole were gonna be a thing when you walked into the theater, how did this play out for you?

SPEAKER_00 54:48

Honestly, I didn't guess it for sure. Like it wasn't something that I thought was gonna happen because I think that they did throw in a piece of dialogue in there where they mentioned a reason why Cole doesn't sleep with the girls or whatever, and it was more so of like a protecting kind of thing, and so that kind of threw you off to this side here and didn't allow you to see that reveal coming. But I don't know, like I haven't read the book, so like I don't know how it translates to the film for better or for worse. I don't know. I think it was something I didn't see coming, and so because of that, it was kind of refreshing. I appreciated because I was like, Oh, okay, this is an angle that I did not think of. And so, as predictable the movie was, because the predictability for me came from figuring out what the fuck this town was all about. That was the predictable part for me, but not that.

SPEAKER_02 55:40

Yeah, it's interesting because in the book Quinn and Cole never kiss, there's just like this okay, they're getting to know each other. You could read the subtext of it and think it's like tension and flirting, but there's no physical kiss, so I think they built up the potential of the reveal better here in the movie. Because then by throwing Cole into the situation with Quinn, it's like okay, all right, I get it. But I don't love the ultimate reveal of it. It's funny, like, yeah, the girls were like, Oh, I see what's going on here, but I don't know. I just feel like it wasn't as fulfilling as it was in the book. Because in the book, it's unfortunate there's a culmination uh of all this shit that they go through, and like, yes, this is what brings them together, and like, fuck it, yeah, okay, I'm not gonna be afraid of who I am. I'm gonna live here and be in this. And listen, they're still great. I think the actors of Cole and Rust in this movie, I think they did such a great job bringing these two characters together, and I love them on screen together. Yeah, I just would have maybe ditched the frustrating argument back and forth in the shed. That specific.

SPEAKER_00 56:48

Gotcha. Gotcha. Interesting. Okay, hey, what are you gonna do? I do think, oh my god, one of the most hilarious moments in this movie though was the way that they could not work a rotary phone. The literally way they couldn't figure out to dial the numbers 91 fucking one on that rotary phone was fucking pure gold.

SPEAKER_02 57:09

I need to know from people who are younger than us, would you really not be able to figure it out? Because I do think it's funny for sure. Just like I thought it was funny in I think it's a little over the top, but yeah. Yeah, just like I thought it was funny in Hell of a Summer, where he's like, the line's dead, or the line's been cut. Oh, I've always wanted to say that. That was funny as fuck. I just wonder, you know, I just it made me curious. I'm like, okay, am I laughing at this and thinking this is unrealistic when in fact people probably can't actually do this? But I don't know. I just I want to know from my own curiosity.

SPEAKER_01 57:42

It's a good question. I've got to assume that this is the case, right? Like, I think, you know, even our generation was on the line of whether or not they were truly familiar with using it. True.

SPEAKER_00 57:50

You had to have like a grandma or a grandpa that maybe still had those in their homes. Like my grandparents on my mom's side still had those phones in their house, and so like I did actually dial on those phones.

SPEAKER_02 58:02

Yeah. I had them in my house as a kid, and I also watched a shit ton of old movies, so I've seen that action so many times that I feel like I wouldn't really struggle with it. But also that too. I'm significantly older than these characters, and that's fine. Okay, but I want to go back to we're thinking about some of the funny moments, right? Obviously, we had the beer run, which we talked about. Fucking a grandma is insane, that is hilarious. Happy Mother's Day to you guys.

SPEAKER_00 58:30

Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_02 58:32

But I also want to go back then to the opening scene because I didn't get to really get into it enough. The clown shoes honking.

SPEAKER_00 58:41

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 58:42

So fucking good. That was something that I wasn't expecting. I I went through this whole book never imagining what the sounds would be like. And the fact that we get squeaky ass like honking shoes is hysterical.

SPEAKER_00 58:55

That was great. I actually forgot about that part until you just brought it up again. That was fucking hilarious. Yeah. I mean, even the and this is maybe not funny, but it's interesting, even the little videos that they were making for social media, those little clips were surprisingly good little clips, little click little kill clips. Say that five times fast.

SPEAKER_02 59:19

Yeah, no, I agree with you. It reminded me of how I enjoyed the found footage segment of Until Dawn. Seriously. I'm like, okay, this is interesting. I can get behind this because I think in the book it's more of like a prank channel, and this is still a prank child channel with the angle and the bents on Frendo being a mass murderer. So it's it's an escalation and elevation of something that's already there, and I really, really enjoyed that. But I really gotta know how y'all felt about the logistics of the ending of this movie because for me, this was the most underwhelming part.

SPEAKER_00 59:54

It was hit or miss the whole generational feud thing. There were some funny jokes in there, but overall, I think you could take the generational feud out of the movie and still have the founders day tradition of killing people, and it didn't have to be about generational bullshit. Like it wasn't that impactful for me if that's what we're if that's what we're talking about, that piece of the monologue. Like that was it right there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:24

Oh boy, it's just it's tough because part of what they added kind of counteracts something that they decided to try to keep from the novel in terms of the motivation of these characters. There's an entire major scene and character that they removed from the novel that lead a little bit into like the start of all this. And so they had to change the start.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:46

They had to go back and reassess how does this well, you know, at least for the first novel, how does this really happen in the context of this story? Right? They had to like think through it more, I guess, and that yeah, it suffers a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:59

Well, here's the thing, Mac, and I think this is one of the few things that's okay for us to share about the book because it still is canon in the movie. The book opens with Cole's sister dying, and maybe that makes the motive more apparent. Maybe. But I also it was mentioned, yeah. No, for sure it was mentioned. But instead of opening the film with that, we chose to give Frendo more screen time and then also plant the seed of tradition as if it's a fucking purge.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:30

It did have purge.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:31

There's some regularity there, and I think that is something that I struggle with in this movie because it also added an additional layer where it's Arthur Hill behind the factory burning down.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:42

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:42

And so the fact that we do that and we remove Victoria from like the main part of the motive here, and then we add the complexity of Founders Day, it muddies the water, and it's like you can't choose which direction you want to follow here.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:59

The novel's also way more explicit about its like political ideas here, and or at least the ideas of its characters and the motivations they have there. So this whole generational feud makes way more sense when you're reading it. There's little hints left along the way that are not little as they're introduced, they like they're pretty much on the nose with modern like current events and stuff. So it was weird to have that entire aspect like ripped from the film, where it's not a political commentary, pretty much in any way, unless you have to look for it, I guess. So that was strange because that clarifies, I think, a lot of what you disliked about that monologue, a lot of what probably most people didn't really attach to, because there were supposed to be more. And it was supposed to be more in the nose, really. It was supposed to get you. But this is again being like washed and cleaned up for a more general audience.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:50

When we get the reveal in the book about Arthur Hill, I was like, wow, holy shit. When we get the reveal here in the movie, I'm like, eh, you little grumpy gills, you little grumpy gills. I'm so sorry you don't like your son very much. It's as if and I mentioned this in our chat as we've been live streaming this. It's as if the children of the corn grew up, realized they didn't want to die when they all became adults at the same time, and then grew up to kill their children. That's what this movie feels like. It just felt like, ah, we're gonna ride the wave and then all fucking, let's slip back into our murderous habits.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:24

In essence, it's kind of true, but they're also like, all right, like basically what we're doing is we're just offing the younger generation that we don't like, and we're like, okay, but this select few people from the generation, hey, you're on the ends, man. Like you can grow up to be just like us one day.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:43

Parents of the corn. And again, that is the exact component that I was mentioning, Sean. When we get the cornfield massacre, that big Founders Day party. Yeah, that should have had a substantially higher body count, and they really narrowed the froc the focus here.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:00

I was literally gearing down, like my feet planted, my phone was out, like I put my popcorn aside, I was focused. I wasn't even gonna look while I was typing because I gotta get this fucking kill count together. So I'm like, this scene hit, and I actually expected there to be like quite a few more kills. Like I was gonna be like, fuck, I'm gonna have to do like one-word, like long hair scythe, you know what I mean, and just do that down. But no, it wasn't overwhelming. Like I thought they could have done way more there.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:29

I would like to go back though to something that Chris mentioned, and I think you as well, Sean, and that is the accent on Mr. Hill. What is that? And why is that? And where are we exactly that is the accent that he gets? And the sheriff, to be fair, as well. They seem kind of mixed up in terms of where this is set. Everyone just played their own role.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:49

It's not giving Minnesota, it's not giving Missouri, it's not giving Midwest, it's giving down south.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:56

Maybe, maybe, but yeah, definitely everyone had like their own voice. You know, I mean, it didn't sound like everyone was from the same town for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:05

Yeah, and it's I think part of the reason it also kind of upset me was because I was already upset about the casting. It wasn't explicitly stated when you're reading this book, imagine these people, right? That would be weird. But each of us chooses what that person looks like in our brain if we generate images in our brain while we read. Chris has mentioned she does not, and that's okay, but we still kind of had an idea of who was gonna play who. I think there's one person that they nailed the casting on. Who is it? That's the dad. Really, really? Dr. Maybrook, to be fair. No, they nailed the casting on him, and his portrayal of that character is fantastic. He's a little bit too protective in the movie. He needs to be a little bit more open and allowing his daughter to have like her own life experiences. That part was like, okay, I get it, but it's also probably a little bit more realistic to be that way than it is in the novel, depending on the relationship, though. But no, just his mannerisms, his goofiness, that was spot on. Everyone.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:00

Else though, everyone else is not great, huh? I think though, like I didn't have a problem with Dr. Maybrook as a character on his own, but I also I wasn't a hundred percent bought into the chemistry between him and Quinn. That dynamic didn't feel right for me.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:18

Yeah, it's odd because I like Katie Douglas as Quinn. I like Dr. Maybrook. And I Dr. Maybrook his actually a change from the book. His attitude and his dynamic and the way he engages with Twin, he the way he engages with Quinn is different. It's just not entirely different. Their relationship is more strained here than it is in the novel. But I think my problem with the chemistry between them, because I do agree with you, Sean. I think it's that I don't like that Quinn feels snobbier and more bratty in the movie than she does in the book. And it's not that it's a decision to be played that way, it's just the dynamic between them creates this result, right? She's here reaching about the Wi-Fi and the cell phone service. It's just that kind of thing where it feels just okay, we're really just focused on the wrong parts of this entire thing. And Quinn as a character is such a great final girl. She's so tough, she's so badass, but it doesn't line up with me that this girl who's bitching about Wi-Fi is the same girl who can handle her fucking shit and then also gets that fucking sick baton at the end. It's like I struggle because again, if this is a franchise, this franchise is riding on her shoulders, and I have no lack of faith in Katie Douglas, but it just makes me really fucking curious with the way that they've decided to take Quinn.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:49

Yeah, I mean they could also fuck up and just cast a new Quinn. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 1:07:53

Better not. No.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:54

I think she That shit that shit happens all the time, though.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:58

Honestly, okay. For as much as I didn't like the direction they took Quinn, I think she played it perfectly.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:03

Yeah. I do agree. Like the braddiness came out more with the dynamic with the dad, and the dynamic with the dad didn't always feel right. But other than that, for me, I did really enjoy Quinn as the protagonist, as like the final girl as a character in general. I think there was like there was, I think, a little bit of emotional depth behind her character. There was some empathy that I could really get behind, right? And I think there were some badass moments, right? And I I also think of that really great and fun line towards the end when they're trying to get out or in the stick shift or whatever, and she's like, when your fucking dad tries to teach you to drive stick, you fucking say yes. And man, that was just really fun. But yeah, no, I don't know. There's there are ups and downs, but overall, Quinn was actually a protagonist or final girl that I've actually really enjoyed, and I haven't really enjoyed like a final girl or whoever in a long time, I feel like.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:08

Yeah, I don't know that she's up there with Sienna for me, but she's great. She's great.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:14

There's a couple other characters that I think aside from her were like, yeah, you're not wrong in in who's acting that part, and but you're kind of wrong in like how you wrote them, I think. You know, the sheriff we've mentioned, Sheriff Dunn, the casting is a bit strange. I based on the description of the novel, imagine somebody more like Clancy Brown playing this type of sheriff. But Will Sasso is great, love him, so I was excited to see what he would do here. Again, hampered with that horrible like southern twang that we had to tack on. Don't know why. He didn't need it. I think this is more of an op area than really anything else. And so I think that was like a weight on his shoulders while he was trying to play this character that we just didn't need. He also was just a bit too goofy. They wrote him as a really goofy character when he's not a goofy character. He's supposed to be ominous. Again, this is all based on the novel, so I can complain all I want to, and it's invalid if you know if you haven't read it. But I think when you look through all the other ones, some of the changes they make, like you mentioned, Chris, are not bad. Tucker is one of them where this character is more likable and there are higher stakes because you tend to enjoy them more. Matt, I think I cared about less in the movie for some reason than I did in the novel. He just kind of played that that side part where it's kind of like, all right, well, you know, killer in the movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:29

He's gonna be, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:30

Yeah, you know, he'll be there whenever it happens. Ronnie, though, I think should have been, oh gosh, I don't even know how to say it, but a much stronger character. I think they just didn't take advantage of the possibilities for Ronnie.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:44

Yeah, we didn't get the possibilities for Ronnie. We also didn't get them for Janet. I am very disappointed with the direction that we took Janet, especially because of how critical the lore of her family becomes the later you get in this franchise. And that's why I'm concerned. Again, if they decide to new do new and different things, and that's just not something that we adopt in subsequent movies, if there are any, then okay, sure. But damn, I just think about and I can't wait to get into this bonus episode with you, Mac. And I know we're gonna have Chel join us for that as well. I just think about the power and the confidence that radiates from Janet, and not that this actress doesn't do that, but even the way that she is dispatched, it feels like it robs her character of something very helpful that she does in the book.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:34

Yeah, they took her from 3D to 2D really quick and left her there for the entire film. And there is that moment that could have happened where her character would have taken a drastic change and you'd feel completely different about her that they just missed. They just didn't do that. And that yeah, that is unfortunate.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:50

I do want to get into Fendo if we feel like we're ready for this conversation, because one of the big questions that has come up is Frendo the new slasher icon? Is Frendo the new clown in town? Is Frendo the scariest? No, absolutely fucking not.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:05

No, not even close, not even close. One, yeah. I mean, one, it's like, I don't know, maybe you get a different feeling from the book, but like in this, it's fun, it's a fun slasher, but overall, it's too messy. There's just too many people in that clown outfit, man. Like, I just don't I don't know about it.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:23

Okay. Art had a fucking intense first movie and had his icon conversation really starting with Terrifier 2, and then I feel like was cemented for me between two and three. But Frendo, oh man, Fendo's great. I like Frendo. I like the look. I like the look. The more again, the more you get into this franchise, it's going to be intense, but absolutely fucking not. Frendo can be a franchise-worthy figure, but this movie doesn't do enough to make him a franchise-worthy slasher for me. Because it's the same premise as Ghostface, in a way. You think about iconic killers like Ghostface, the idea of multiple people wearing the mask works because each killer leaves a memorable mark. Where in this movie it's just uh up for grabs, anybody can fucking wear it. Okay, let's go. And the whole fucking town was wearing it. Exactly. We're not gonna get into a super deep discussion on you know the logistics of who is wearing the mask. But imagine just anyone you disagreed with politically doing that, and then you basically just have a purge movie. You know what I mean? Imagine if everyone in your life who is resistant to change in any way wore a friendo mask. Frendo is resistance to change, and that's really where it comes off, right? He's a mascot more than a menace, which is great. Frendo still looks rad, flashy costume, very little behind it. It just doesn't get there for me.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:52

Yeah, I'm with you there. I don't think Fendo stands alone as an icon. I think it's good imagery for sure, but I don't think it's like up there with Michael Myers. There's just no way it's another creepy clown. We have plenty of creepy clowns, and unless we were to get some kind of unique signature for kills, perhaps. I don't think the attitude alone is enough to carry out. Let me tell you this.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:16

I'm gonna put it this way I would get a cob gobbler tattoo before I got a friendo tattoo. And I love it.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:22

Man, that's so weird. I was like, okay, that seems like such a fun tattoo.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:25

Are we gonna get matching tattoos, Sean?

SPEAKER_00 1:14:28

That should be the matching tattoo.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:30

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:31

But I mean, we kind of do have a matching tattoo already.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:34

Yeah, kind of. It's like same, same.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:35

Same thing, same thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:36

Okay, but you're right, Mac. The look of Frendo is great, and it's clear there's a lot of consideration and a lot of love and thought that went into both the character and then the symbol. And I really want I want to read you a quote from Eli Craig, the director. And he talks about just the philosophy and like the headspace and what they wanted to achieve with Frendo and the way that he was portrayed on screen. And really just about being in clowns. Corn is an American crop, and cornfields are iconically American, and so are clowns. Clowns were embraced by Americana in the 30s, and as we were developing the clown, we were looking at pictures of Lon Cheney from the movie A Thousand Faces of clowns and the little top hats they used to wear. There's something so sad about those happy faces. The duality of a clown is like the duality of America. It's hopeful, and yet it's falling to pieces at the same time, and it's angry. There is so much anger hidden between this plasticky facade of happiness. And I fucking think about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:37

This is why people don't like clowns. Yeah. This is why people don't like clowns, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:41

But I fucking love that, and that's why I think the getup, the look of Frendo, maybe the look of Frendo could be iconic, but I think the execution of the many who wear it, and I think on principle, it's just not it's just not there for me.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:56

I'm with you. I am with you. But I will say there was a line in this movie where they're like, this town is stuck in the 90s, and the one thing that was true about that was some of these fucking haircuts because Cole's haircut was like the perfect, like I don't know if it was 17 magazine or whatever the fuck these like teeny boppers were on back in the 90s. That hair was too perfect, it was like the part and everything, it was hilarious. I think Matt even too had hair like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:24

I'm thinking about the magazine J14 because it was just for teens.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:30

Yep, yep. Oh, that's probably it right there. You got like some Jonathan Taylor Thomas on there, you know. That was the vibe back in the day.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:38

Mm-hmm. You know, for as as great as that 90s hair was, it really just takes me back to the fact that we inserted this scene in the beginning of the movie and planted ourselves in the 90s. And again, while I love the comedy that we get in this moment, while I love the kill that we get in this moment, while I love the giggling from Frendo, I still wish we could have gotten some justice for Victoria. I think losing that scene in the movie to then add this like Founders Day tradition at the beginning, I think it completely erodes and muddies Arthur's motive for this entire thing. It again, it pulls the punch, it softens the bite, it kicks out the fucking chair from under you.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:26

It's interesting because for me, like I'm thinking about maybe the yeah, like the worst part. I feel like it's kind of like that, right? Like, I feel like the generational rant that went on I could do without in this movie. Maybe the way the book depicts it, the way you're telling me about the book and how it changed it, you know, the approach in the movie and all of that. Maybe it's gonna be different when I finally read the book. But as it stands right now with the movie, the whole monologue about the generational bullshit, I don't even think was needed in the movie. I don't think it benefited. I'm fine with the purginess of Founders Day and all of that. I'm actually fine with that. That's totally fine. I'd still have fun. I just think we could do without that. That's probably one of the worst things in the movie if it's not the little touches of CGI that I just could not get behind.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:16

Yeah. Damn, man. Now I'm just thinking about it even more. And I'm thinking about his rant at the end and then how he just drives away. What the fuck? Okay, again, this is the anti-climatic. It's like, okay, they're really confident at this point that everything's just over. Motherfucker, he could have turned that car right back around, drove right back in, and ran you over. Like, why are you so insistent that everything's just okay right now? But then again, the generational gap, the divide there versus like the Founders Day tradition. I think the thing that really disappoints me about this and why it's the worst part of the movie is because in some way her death should have been the breaking point. And yeah, sure, he might say that it was, but it doesn't matter because it's clear that there are many breaking points for this town, and it's just a town with fucked up history, and not truly how grief can really just like sew and fucking divide a family, and then on top of the generational gap, it's like she could have been the one thing holding them together still, and then they're done. Their fucking love died with her.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:18

But there's good stuff here as well, even though I had hacked this film earlier. There is a lot of good to enjoy, and I think you've mentioned, you know, previously the biggest one for me, which is the way it looks. You know, the set here looks good, the town looks good, the cornfields are a lot of fun. The wardrobe of the clowns is really solid. You know, the look of Frendo, I think, works very well. You read the book, you imagine something in your mind, you go into the film, you see this clown, you go, Yes, there he is. That's Fendo. I like it. So yeah, I think you know, you got to give it props for having solid lighting, for having solid colors, for coming together visually on screen, because even the physical book is very bold. Like when you're looking at the cover of the book, it is very bold, which is fun. It's really dark black, really bright red, and the clown image is on each of the three novels. It's a beauty to look at. So, yeah, you need to give us some vivid colors on screen if you're gonna do that. And they did. So, yeah, you know, full credit where credit's due because they made this thing look good.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:21

They really did, and that's why I think I I owe it to the property, the IP, the brand, to just rewatch it, to give it a shot, to see how it hits as a slasher without having the weight of anticipation for this book resting upon my shoulders. Because reactive because we are in all reality, the comedy and the kills give it rewatch value. I wish it was more brutal for sure, but I think this movie has potential, and I think I need to give it a fair shake without the context of the novel. And honestly, I want to see a sequel, but I'm worried. And I'm worried because the second book deals with some themes of like conspiracy, misinformation, paranoia, and the scale could work on screen, but only if the foundation is strong. And this movie didn't deliver the level of horror or devastation to build a successful foundation in my eyes that the sequel would need to build upon. So if they keep pulling punches, it's gonna feel hollow, and that's what concerns me.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:22

Have they confirmed they're doing more because there's more to the books, or this is we don't know yet.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:26

No, so this the rights to adapt the first book were purchased before the book even released.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:33

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:34

There hasn't been official confirmation as of the day that we're recording this. There has not been official confirmation that there are going to definitively be more movies. I think everybody's hoping for it, but gotcha, gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:45

Yeah, I don't know. I guess we'll see if that day comes, but I can definitely see myself revisiting the movie. I will say I might, I'm not in any rush to, so I might actually get to the book before I do a re-watch. Then I can do the watch, read, and watch and see, and then maybe that'll add to the conversation and the end of year recap conversations and see if we both flip or not. I don't know. We'll see. But that would be great. I do want to re-watch it, but I also want to read it.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:14

I want to read it more. I want to read the second and third books. You know, after we talked about the book during our little book club call, it was a lot of fun. And people gave their tiered rankings, and this was not the top. And we all thoroughly enjoyed it. And this was not necessarily their number one out of the three books. And that to me was intriguing. That means there's more good to be had. So I'm intrigued by those. For the movie itself, I watched this the day after we talked about it for like an hour, hour and a half or something, right? So again, expectations were, of course, very high. I was still in that world in my mind. I want to see it again. Like Chris said, separate from that mentality. I want to watch it at home specifically and where I can hit pause whenever I need to and kind of soak it in a little bit more. Because it's again, it's short. So you need to kind of take your time with it, I think, to get the most out of it. I still think it's an enjoyable watch, right? I don't think it's a bad movie. It's just that I got to be Binx tonight and I got to be, I got to complain about an adaptation and have feelings about it. And I'm going to soak that in for a minute. But I do want to do it again, and I want to see if I'm a little bit more forgiving next time.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:18

Well, that remains to be seen. Will Mac and I flip, will Sean end up hacking this movie after reading what could have been in the book? We'll find out. But for now, there you have it, folks. Clown in a cornfield hazard one hack and two slashes. Now we've certainly had a robust discussion here, but it doesn't end here by any means.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:37

If you want to find out what's really in those creepy cornfields and go further than this episode, consider supporting the show by visiting patreon.com slash hackerslash. This is where you can enjoy even more of the show, including bonus content with early access, extended episodes with our B-sides, movie nominations, and live shows.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:57

If you want to be our Fendo, leave us a five-star review wherever you get your podcasts. This helps us continue to deliver great content for all you horror fiends out there.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:05

We'll see you next time, folks, and remember never fuck with friendo.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:09

And stay away from old people. I mean, old clowns that want to kill you.