Editor Sabrina Pitre on Balancing Horror and Humour in Eli Craig’s Clown in a Cornfield
Clown in a Cornfield. Photo courtesy of Shudder.
As a huge fan of Eli Craig's beloved film Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, I was ecstatic that he had a new horror comedy out this year. The moment I heard the title, Clown in a Cornfield, I knew it was going to be a fun time, and it certainly delivered the goods.
Based on Adam Cesare's 2020 novel of the same name, the film follows Quinn (played by Katie Douglas), who, along with her father (played by Aaron Abrams), moved to Kettle Springs, a town that once thrived but has now fallen on hard times. As conflict in the town arises between the different generations and tensions boil over, a frightening clown emerges from the cornfields, who believes that bloodshed is the only way for Kettle Springs to return to its former glory.
Featuring an outstanding performance by Douglas, absurdly gnarly kills, a charmingly goofy tone, and plenty of exciting surprises, Clown in a Cornfield is a self-aware slasher poised to become a Halloween classic.
Recently, REVERIE chatted with editor Sabrina Pitre about her work on Clown in a Cornfield.
Some spoilers ahead… proceed with caution.
Clown in a Cornfield theatrical poster.
The chance to work with Craig on Clown in a Cornfield really excited Pitre. “He did Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil and it’s a movie that I love so much, and I was like, ‘Are you serious. Yes, I will absolutely work with Eli,” she shares. “It was just one of those wonderful circumstances where the person lives up to your expectations and beyond. He was just a lovely person to work with. So generous, so collaborative, and so much fun. He made the whole thing such a blast. I would hands down work with him again anytime.” The title of the film also really grabbed her attention. “Clown in a Cornfield, that's a pretty rad title. I am a horror fan personally, so that is right up my alley.”
Clown in a Cornfield expertly balances comedy with horror. One minute, it will have you on the edge of your seat, conveying a frighteningly suspenseful atmosphere, and then it will hit you with a hilarious moment that will make you laugh out loud. As the editor, Pitre needs to assemble the footage together, receive feedback from test screenings, and fine-tune things to find that balance. “That comes down to allowing moments of sincerity, where everybody is definitely scared, the threat is very real, and keeping the clowns scary, but also giving you some relief when ultimately somebody dies in some funny way or there’s a little comment when they die,” states Pitre. “Part of what helped that was the personality that came through with some of the characters. They all had their moments. You had a chance to fall in love with them for a beat, and then they meet their end. I think it's striking a balance between all of those things. It's letting the characters build to a point where you are invested in them. As a result, when they are in these sticky situations, you can be afraid. But then you get the release of comedy afterwards… Generally, we didn’t try to take ourselves too seriously overall, and I think that helps people get on board as well, because it is kind of a ridiculous situation.”
Not taking themselves too seriously made their clowns quite memorable as well. “Usually with killer clowns, even though they have that clown side, which is supposed to be fun, they are not usually fun when they are a killer, but we definitely had a playful side to our clowns,” states Pitre. “For instance, when one of the clowns gets completely impaled by the pitchfork and is dying, and Janet [who is also dying] says, ‘I hate you, Quinn,’ and then the clown says, ‘Me too.’ It gives an opportunity to surprise the audience a little bit with a funny side to these clowns.” Additionally, finding comedy in unexpected moments is something Pitre really enjoyed about the film. “Eli wrote so much of it in, and the actors brought it in ways that were surprising at moments, too. It was cool finding little surprising pieces that we hadn’t actually intended to be funny, and I’m like ‘Oh, this is actually super funny.’”
One of the most challenging things about the movie was filming in the cornfield. “Eli was saying they were shooting in a real cornfield and every day a new part of it would be harvested because they were shooting in harvest season,” says Pitre. “They would be losing more and more of this cornfield that we needed to shoot in. Eventually, it came down to we had to construct a row of corn that you essentially have very limited proportions of. But the wonderful thing about corn, though, is you can easily get lost, and you don’t know what direction you’re looking in. We could easily turn it around and reuse it and have somebody go the other way.”
Pitre also has lots of experience in voice acting. While editing, she usually does a lot of temp voices, some of which appear in the movies she works on. In Clown in a Cornfield she provided the voice for the creepy clown that pops out of the Jack in the Box. “I can pull off some crazy laughs, so it kind of worked,” she smiles. "I was grateful that they kept it. It's nice as an editor to inject yourself a little bit into the movie."
Along with editing Clown in a Cornfield, Pitre also edited Final Destination Bloodlines, which also came out this year. Both movies were filmed in Canada. Clown in a Cornfield was shot in Manitoba (in and around Winnipeg), meanwhile Final Destination Bloodlines was shot in British Columbia (Vancouver and surrounding areas). “I am certainly a part of the film industry in Canada, so it is lovely to see things continuously come here and shoot here, and in the example of Clown in a Cornfield, I was able to work post here as well, which is always lovely,” shares Pitre. “Of course, there is always a sense of pride in seeing things shot here and stay here. I hope that continues. It’s also a great way to prove to the rest of the world that this is a great place to shoot movies, produce them, and post them, so I feel like every time we make a successful movie, it reinforces that idea a bit.”
Overall, fans of campy slashers and creepy clowns will fall in love with Clown in a Cornfield.
Clown in a Cornfield is now available to watch on streaming services.