CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD

A group of teens find themselves under siege by killer clowns in a tiny Midwestern town.

Moving from Philadelphia to tiny Kettle Springs, Missouri, wasn’t high school senior Quinn Maybrook’s idea of a fresh start after her mother’s death. After the town’s only doctor abruptly quit, Quinn’s ER doctor father, Glenn, took over his practice, a deal that included the deed to his rickety old house right next to a cornfield and the shuttered Baypen corn syrup factory, complete with a creepy mural of Frendo the clown, who also serves as the town mascot. Quinn notes the town’s dated feel and the palpable tension between teens and adults, which is especially stark at Kettle Springs High. Quinn meets cool kids Cole Hill, whose father owns Baypen, and Janet Murray, who loves to stir things up. When Quinn joins them at a party in a remote cornfield, the fun turns to terror: A murderous army of Frendos armed with crossbows crashes the party. Cesare’s twisty prose and believable, easy-to-root-for characters makes this blood-drenched tale of extreme societal unrest disturbingly plausible. Dark humor peppers this clever homage to retro-horror classics, and Cesare barely lets up on the gas once the bloodletting begins. Most main characters, except Janet, who is described as generically Asian, seem to be white.

A pulse-pounding thrill ride for retro-horror fans who are not faint of heart (or stomach).