Clown in a Cornfield is one of my favorite movies of the year so far. The film is most definitely a slasher horror film but it’s also a film that’s loaded with tons of humor and heart, while also exploring themes such as trauma and generational conflict and how it can literally divide a town and cause chaos between teenagers and elders.
Although Katie Douglas‘ Quinn Maybrook is undeniably the star of it all, Vincent Muller portrays one of the most fascinating characters in the story – Ruston “Rust” Vance. He’s an awkward and shy kid but one that’s also extremely skilled with weapons and has a no-nonsense attitude.
I had the wonderful opportunity to recently sit down with Muller to discuss his role in the film and what it was like to be in a movie this big.
Muller’s First Big Role:
Watching Muller’s excellent performance unfold in the film, one would easily think that Muller has been doing movies for a long time, but in all actuality, it’s his first one following some minor roles in TV shows such as Riverdale.
“It was a very cool experience. It was my first movie. I’ve done TV shows and stuff but this was my first time on a major feature-length film, and also traveling away for work. We shot in Winnipeg which was really fun. It was a very surreal experience for me because it was over a month of shooting and it was very meaningful to me in a lot of ways.”
Real-Estate To Acting:
Not only is Muller a big up-and-coming actor, but he also works as a real-estate agent which had me very curious to see if any of his skills from that field of work carried over into his performance here.
“No, actually, probably not, because I hadn’t been doing real-estate before doing this movie. I think it’s probably vice-versa. I think I gained confidence and the ability to work with people… It’s been a long process from shooting. We shot back in October of 2023. It’s been a while.”
Time on Set:
Sometimes as an actor, you’ll read a script and you know you’re going to be filming a movie in the near future, but oftentimes it doesn’t end up feeling truly real until you’re physically there on set with the cast and the crew. I asked Muller if he felt this way – the feeling of “this is really happening” – and this is what he had to say.
“Yeah, absolutely. Just shooting this in particular was… yeah… you read the script and you don’t really… and also reading the book… I didn’t really know how they were going to go with it – there’s a lot of different avenues they could’ve gone. There’s a scene in particular that I really enjoyed doing, in a shed and it’s with a large part of the main cast… that took a few days to shoot and we were in a bit of a rush but when it’s 4AM and you’re on your eighth coffee and there’s blood and screaming and smoke, atmosphere, the yelling and everything, you get to a point where you really feel like you’re in it.”
Conclusion:
Talking to Vincent Muller for Clown in a Cornfield was a delightful experience and he was a joy to have a conversation with. When I brought up my hopes to see him return in a possible sequel, he said it was something they were “all hoping for.” Let’s hope for the best.
