Adam Cesare’s YA horror novel Clown in a Cornfield comes to the big screen this Friday

Clown in a Cornfield. // image courtesy IFC Films

Author Adam Cesare’s Clown in a Cornfield series of YA horror novels spans three books–the 2020 original, the 2022 sequel Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives, and last year’s Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo–and this Friday, May 9, sees the release of the Eli Craig-directed adaptation.

As one might guess from the title and the series, Cesare’s novels and the film draw from slasher films, inverting tropes and expectations of the reader.

While the plot summary is bare bones, in which “A fading midwestern town is terrorized by Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success,” Cesare’s books and the upcoming film from the director of Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil manages to be funny and weird while delivering splatter in myriad devious ways.

We hopped on Zoom with author Adam Cesare to discuss his work and the film adaptation ahead of its release.

The Pitch: This movie is coming out essentially right on the heels of The Church of Frendo. Does it feel like you’re starting the journey all over again?

Adam Cesare: If you’re a reader, and you’re Stephen King guy, it feels a little Dark Tower-y. It feels a little like another turn of the wheel. It feels like that a bit because I just did my first book tour for Clown in a Cornfield 3. First Clown in a Cornfield came out in 2020. Not a lot of bookstores were happening then. Not a lot of bookstores even open, which is a miracle we have sequels, because word of mouth saved that book when people couldn’t go into bookstores to buy it.

And then Clown in a Cornfield 2 came out right when my daughter was born. So I couldn’t tour then just because of the responsibility of being a new dad. So Clown in a Cornfield 3 was really my first one. I’ve been writing and publishing for 15 years. So it was my first time having a book big enough with a publisher big enough to do a book tour. It was six or seven cities in eight days.

I just did so many meetings with people and talked so much about these characters in this book that now I’m a little bit Terry Quinn in The Stepfather. It’s like, “Who am I here?” I can’t talk about any of the later stuff that happens in the books. I gotta talk about book one again. But it’s cool. It feels really nice, not a woe is me thing. There was a lot more messed up in the world in 2020 than me little ol’ me not having a book launch, but it does feel like I get to have it now. It feels like another bite at the apple to talk about this story and these characters that I love very much, and in support of Eli’s amazing movie.

Eli Craig, Adam Cesare, and Frendo. // image courtesy IFC Films

I was excited that they were making this into a movie just in general, but the idea that it’s Eli Craig who is behind Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil is just incredible, plus it seems like they really respected you. You wrote in the afterward for The Church of Frendo that you’re in the parade scene.

Right between Kevin Durand and Will Sasso. I would’ve worn something that wasn’t so conspicuously, obviously me there, but I didn’t really realize they were gonna do that, so, but yeah–I tell Eli all the time, “Look, I’ve been a fan of you for 15 years. I was maybe first day.” I know that that movie had a really small, almost non-existent theatrical run, but really found its footing on DVD. I’d heard so much about it when it came out on DVD that I was at Best Buy on Tuesday, picking up my DVD.

Eli gets a little self-critical about it or kind of like wishy-washy. It’s like, “No man. There are plenty of people like me who were on there that were there on the first day,” ’cause that movie had incandescent buzz and it’s a classic, so to now be like, “Oh, he’s in my phone. I could text Eli,” it’s such a weird thing.

It’s a very odd fanboy-made-good kind of moment, and I’m just happy it’s a good movie. There are so many movies that are not good.

Like you, I’m just thrilled. I’d say it’s not only a good movie; it’s a movie that I really love. I’m so lucky that they’re having me as part of the promotional stuff. I get to talk to folks like you and come on here and really stump for this movie because it’s great, you know, and I want to be involved and tell people about it.

It’s crazy that I’m talking to you now because Ghost Game just hit Tubi this week. You wrote the movie with Jill Sixx, who is a local to us in Kansas City.

Yeah. I wish I were there for Panic Fest. I wish I were out in Kansas City for that, but I’m glad more people can see Ghost Game. I’m so lucky that I got to work with her. It is another person that I’m like, “Jill’s in my phone, too.” It’s really cool, really, really neat.

I’m having a good week. I don’t know if you saw, but I’m writing the novelization for the new Toxic Avenger movie–the Macon Blair Toxic Avenger. I’m glad that’s finally coming out because I’m having the best fanboy week ever, as it were.

Clown in a Cornfield hits theaters this Friday, May 9.