Quinn (Katie Douglas) and her father (Aaron Abrams) have moved to the small town of Kettle Springs, famous for its corn syrup and yearly founder’s day celebrations. There also happens to be a serial killer dressed as the local icon Frendo the Clown, mascot for the Baypen syrup company. Making new friends (who are known for making prank videos, much to the annoyance of the locals), Quinn is drawn to the son of the town’s leader (Kevin Durand, chomping the scenery like a less evil Elon Musk), but his affections could be elsewhere. While the rest of the town celebrates, the group find themselves in the middle of a bloodbath.

Director Eli Craig (Tucker and Dale vs Evil) blends the scares with humour that, while not as laugh-out-loud as his previous cult hit (one highlight has the Gen Z-ers not knowing how to work a rotary phone), keeps things amusing enough to make it worth recommending. It’s suitably gory, too, without going too far into nasty territory. Craig’s film (from a script co-written with Carter Blanchard and from the novel by Ghost Game’s Adam Cesare) embraces genre clichés, such as the ‘grown-ups’ of the town expressing an intolerance to the teens, and knowingly toys with our expectations but without playing the meta card. Packed with sharp dialogue and impressive performances (Douglas being particularly good), this one doesn’t clown around.