In the three decades since the kids in Scream sat around explaining the rules of slasher movies, the genre has been deconstructed to the point where it can feel like there isn’t a whole lot left to subvert or satirize. And while some filmmakers are still finding fresh ways to reinvent it—most recently Jt Mollner’s Strange Darling and Chris Nash’s In a Violent Nature—there’s also a lot to be said for not getting too cute about this stuff. Eli Craig’s Clown in a Cornfield works precisely because it plays things straight, offering a nod and a wink to the genre’s rules while adhering to them in order to deliver a simple, satisfying slasher.

Based on Adam Cesare’s 2020 young-adult horror novel, the film begins with Quinn (Katie Douglas) and her father, Dr. Maybrook (Aaron Abrams), moving to Kettle Springs, Missouri. She quickly...