EXCLUSIVE: RLJE Films and Shudder have snapped up U.S. rights to Clown in a Cornfield, a new horror thriller from Eli Craig, who directed the cult horror comedy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. Produced by Temple Hill, the team behind Paramount’s Smile films, pic will get a wide release via RLJE on May 9, 2025.
Based on the Bram Stoker Award-winning horror novel by Adam Cesare, Clown in a Cornfield follows Quinn (Douglas) and her father (Abrams), who have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time. Welcome to Kettle Springs. The real fun starts when Frendo the clown comes out to play.
Katie Douglas (Ginny & Georgia), Carson MacCormac (Shazam!), Aaron Abrams (Hannibal), Will Sasso (The Three Stooges), and Kevin Durand (Abigail) star. Carter Blanchard and Craig adapted the screenplay. Producers included Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, and John Fischer for Temple Hill and Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis and Terry Dougas for Rhea Films. Exec producers are Jean-Luc De Fanti, Max Work and Kostas Tsoukalas for Rhea Films, Petersen Harris and George Berman for Temple Hill, Dave Bishop and George Hamilton for Protagonist Pictures, Daniel Bekerman for Scythia Films Inc., Myron John Tataryn for Thundersnow Pictures, and Carter Blanchard. The film is a Rhea Films Production as well as a Temple Hill Production and was financed by Hercules Film Fund.
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HarperCollins published Cesare’s novel in 2020, with the franchise’s second book, Clown in a Cornfield II: Frendo Lives, debuting in 2022. Clown in a Cornfield III: The Church of Frendo was unveiled in August of this year and has since become a USA Today Bestseller.
Stated RLJE’s Chief Acquisition Officer Mark Ward, “Adam Cesare’s ‘Clown’ series has been on my radar for some time now, and we are pumped to bring Eli Craig’s harrowing, savage, heart-pounding adaptation to the big screen in 2025.”
Said Craig, “I’m thrilled to partner with RLJE and Shudder to release this insanely fun, action, horror, comedy where we always wanted it to be seen — in theaters! As always in my movies, there’s a deeper theme about the collision of perspectives and ideals that leads to utter mayhem. It was fun in this one however, to let the horror thrills take the lead while the comedic absurdity that I can’t help but see in life, brings a bit of levity.”
RLJE is one of three brands under the AMC Networks Films Group, headed up by Scott Shooman, along with IFC Films and Shudder. In recent years, Shudder has found success with an increased number of theatrical releases in partnership with RLJE and IFC Films, which served as the theatrical distribution arms of the horror streamer. Notable examples include Late Night with the Devil, starring David Dastmalchian, In a Violent Nature (IFC/Shudder), and Nicolas Cage’s Arcadian (RLJE/Shudder), to name just a few.
Ward repped RLJE Films and Shudder in the deal, with Hal Sadoff and Lina Marrone repping the filmmakers.
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