Clown in a Cornfield’s Director on Making Meaningful (but Still Gruesome) Horror Movies

The name Eli Craig Couldn’t ring a bell immediately, but all the genre fans know it Tucker & dale against evil– Craigs 2010 Horror Comedy About a few good old boys who are accidentally captured as a murderer, in a film that is great fun with every cabin-in-the-woods slasher trope that you can imagine. Craig’s youngest candidate for cult classic status is about to come to the cinemas: Clown in a corn fieldA bloody story in a small town in the middle west, which is terrorized by … see title.

IO9 had the chance of weaving the surprisingly deep topics under all their splashes with Craig about clowns, Cornfields, comedy and why he preferred horror stories.

Cheryl Eddy, IO9: Clown in a corn field Has a few funny one -part (and a funny title), but it’s really easier than subversive. How did you approach to find the right tone while you steer it in a less comedy-forward direction than your previous films?

Eli Craig: I always try to surprise people, I think, and it starts with the title – the reversal and surprising people. This film contains these emotional elements that are deeper than the title suggests, but the tone of the film also suggests. I love to make films that take depths and don’t take themselves seriously at the same time. The title fascinated me; I had made a film with the title Little evil With a clown and a corn field. And I thought it was time to put together these two elements.

This film is a comedy, but it is really a horror action for me. I broke out the comedy moments and took them away from the horror and the action so that they stand almost alone so that they do not run together. And it was a conscious decision because I really love action films and don’t want people to always consider me the really funny horror type. But I think they could still think of me [that way] A little bit, so we’ll see.

IO9: Clowns are a popular basic horror food, but Clown in a corn field‘S Frendo also has an additional level of being a corporate mascot. How did you bring both elements together to create the figure we see in the film?

Craig: I love the background story that Frendo is this company mascot, which the seller of Baypen Maissirup was for boiler feathers in the 1930s and 40s and 1950s. We wanted to design a clown that was a kind of happy-go-lucky, but over the years it had become scary. There is only this metaphor for America for me. This film is very American. It is based on this small town in Missouri, which had a boom time because of its maize syrup company in the 40s and 50s and has now become decay.

We wanted the clown somehow imitated it. And the anger that loses so much from so much economic needs is built into the dark grin of the clown. This is a film about this generation gap, and part of the anger that comes from Frendo in the direction of the younger generation is really obvious.

IO9: I wanted to ask her about the generation gap that we see in the film. You have already mentioned that it was important that the film killed more than just a clown killer that killed people. Why was it important to you to ensure that there is a basis?

Craig: For me, I’m always looking for something that is deeper. I am strangely a thoughtful, deep person. Also with Tucker & daleMaybe one of 10 people goes: “Oh wow, this is really a film about classism and social stratification.” I love absurdity with deep topics. I have always loved a kind of existential philosophy and theater of the absurd. And if I could combine them and have a really funny, entertaining film that you can look at twice, and think: “Wait a minute, this film is actually about things that are deeper than on the surface” – that’s always my goal.

IO9: The film has a kind of old technical topic -the children who make YouTube videos is a hobby that the older people in the city do not understand. There is also a constant lack of WLAN or cell service, which is the main character to drive a shammer, etc. Was the Rotary phone scene a real reaction?

Craig: Yes, it really was. In this film I always thought about how to start the old against the new, and that the older generation did not really know how to use new technologies, and the younger generation did not know how to use older technology. All of these are things that I came up with when we moved.

As for the reaction to the phone, I only found out that much of it – I had written something about it, but found out how it would be organic that day. How would you just feel it natural and not like a joke? Because for me I want all my jokes to play as a very real reaction and don’t like that someone had to say a funny line in a script.

When Cassandra Potenza, who plays Janet, and Katie Douglas, who plays Quinn, ran there, I said: “Just try to work with the phone. Just try to find out how to call this thing.” And you have the point for it, so there is a little improvisation and a little expectation that you won’t find it out. So it only gets very natural and real.

IO9: We talked about clowns. But corn fields also have a long and famous story in horror. In your opinion, what is the individual creepiest on a corn field? And what is the biggest challenge associated with films in you?

Craig: Well, the creepiest on a corn field is that you grow up bigger than your head. And you can get lost in a corn field within about 30 seconds. The first time when I scene a scene, just a night, shot Little evil In a corn field I had a crew member who went to the toilet and never came back. They just got lost there. And I learned a lot – that a corn stock looks like someone else.

So if we run through the corn, we could simply run back and forth through the same piece of corn as long as it doesn’t look like it was damaged. And we would go through, damage a section of the corn, then put this row down and run through a different section. And the most difficult part of dealing with everything – well, several things. One thing is that corn is actually somehow sharp. It has these sanding edges. When the actors run through the full sprint, they struggle with their hands and small corn can come into their eyes and the bowls and things. So there is a joke where [Verity Marks’ character] Ronnie says: “Ow, this corn hurts!” It is something I wrote because people shoot as “ow, this corn hurts!”

I just wanted to use it in a kind of funny way. And it is muddy and there is weather; Sometimes it was like minus 10 or 20 degrees because we shot in Winnipeg. So there is everything and bugs – it’s rough out there!

People sometimes see Hollywood as this group of prima donnas that are suitable like outside. But everyone in this film was so difficult because it is four in the morning, there are minus 10 degrees, they have cuts all over the body from running through corn. And when they run through the dirt that fills the soles of their boots; You can’t even get a traction because all the mud is on the bottom of your shoes. So everyone was just so hard. You would be surprised.

IO9: The Clown in a corn field Book your film two sequels – would you consider making a continuation film?

Craig: Before I even turned it, I read the second book and found a draw from this film that [went] In the second book. And when someone has written three really good books and has a series and I just love Adam Cesare as an author, it is exciting to think about what could come next.

IO9: Great, maybe a crossover with Tucker and Dale?

Craig: I know-Tucker & dale against clown in a corn field. [Laughs] I think there are many options. I knew I had to get my career out of the comedy horror world to make more films. Hopefully this will let people see that I am more capable than just one thing. And then maybe I can do Tucker & Dale 2. We will see.

IO9: I hope that happens!

Craig: I think maybe it will be my first feature film and my last feature film. Tucker & Dale 2And we’ll all shoot – I will be an old man in which the stock “Action!” goes! And Tucker and Dale [will both be] Old men continue. [Laughs.] Or earlier, you know who knows – if this film works well, it will help me make more films. So look at it!

Clown in a corn field beat the cinemas on May 9th.

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