Clown In A Cornfield is a very fun teen slasher, but at its core, it also deals with deeper themes of what can happen when people feel overlooked or forgotten. As the big screen adaptation of Adam Cesare’s hit book series prepares to hit theaters this weekend, we sat down with Clown In A Cornfield director Eli Craig and stars Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand.
Katie Douglas plays protagonist Quinn, a city girl who has just moved to the tiny town with her father, played by Aaron Abrams. Douglas said, “I think I really liked Quinn just because her character arc is very traditional. A new girl comes to town, and then chaos unfolds. But it's so much deeper than that. The story’s about kids who are just left to their own devices and bored in this small town, so they end up getting into mischief and making internet videos, just like a lot of kids do today. I really just loved how she's just trying to fit in so badly, and then just the worst possible thing happens. I just thought she was funny and she was kind of a badass, but she also was really awkward and normal and shy, and she felt like a real teenage girl.”
When you’re fighting off a killer clown and running through fields of corn, Douglas says certain things are bound to happen: “I do remember one corn incident that had us laughing at the end of the day. It wasn't a big deal, but I think when you're running through a cornfield so much, there's a fat chance you're going to get a stick of corn in the eye, and obviously I did then. That was the one moment I had to be like, ‘Okay, give me a second.’”
In the midst of corn stalks in the eye and humor infused with horror, director Eli Craig shared, “The thing that was so cool about this group is that even though we were always pressed for time as you are in these kinds of things, we were so ambitious with what we were trying to do and the time we had. It was amazing that nobody really broke ever. I don't remember a point where people were like, ‘Oh God, my God, I can't do this.’ Whatever emotion people were feeling, there are moments where I see it in the film, the literal reaction that you know is the person, not the character, almost.”
Speaking of the humor in the film, which is no surprise from the director of cult horror comedy Tucker & Dale vs.Evil, Craig explains there was plenty of real life humor on set without ever breaking character: “Aaron Abrams has a great moment when Frendo comes from behind him in the doctor's office. He turns and sees Frendo, and he goes, ‘Oh.’ You can tell it's kind of him, and he's just going, ‘Oh God.’ It's real, but he doesn't break character. I'd say that was true for everybody. It's just whatever they were feeling, they pushed into the character, and it really worked.”
Kevin Durand plays another dad (and local oligarch) in the town of Kettle Springs. Durand shared he has an ongoing tradition of video calling his parents from the set, “I do this to my mom and dad all the time whenever I'm playing something that's a little different, which is pretty much every job,” he explains. “I called them as Blob (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and my mother wouldn't stop crying of laughter because she said I looked exactly like my father.”
When it comes to their own personal worst versions of Frendo, Douglas reveals peeling off the mask to find “Somebody really close to you turning out to be the villain. It would be so crazy if you were sleeping next to the villain the entire time, that would be the most scary, gutting thing.”
Director Eli Craig let us in on Entomophobia with his answer: “For me, it would be if you took the mask off and it was like some kind of weird insect face. I think insects are so weird when you get a close-up picture of any kind of bug, really. How could this be of the earth? How does this exist alongside us? If they were this big, if Frendo had some kind of a beetle face or a stink bug, stink bug Frendo is my worst.”
Durand's worst version of Frendo is possibly the worst of all: “The first thing I thought was I'd be so sad if the mask was pulled off and it was my beautiful dog that loves me so much. That would really suck. I'd be like, ‘What? I didn't know it'd end up like this.'”
Agreed, Kevin. Agreed.
Clown In A Cornfield is in theaters May 9. Watch our full interview below.
