Children of the Corn (1984)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Fritz Kiersch

Writers:

Stephen King (short story)
George Goldsmith (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 March 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

An adult nightmare.

Plot:

A boy preacher named Isaac goes to a town in Nebraska called Gatlin and gets all the children to murder every adult in town...

Plot Keywords:

Worship | Corn | Cult | Horror Movie Remade | Psychotic Child

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Peter Horton	...	Burton Stanton
Linda Hamilton	...	Vicky
R.G. Armstrong	...	Diehl
John Franklin	...	Isaac Chroner
Courtney Gains	...	Malachai
Robby Kiger	...	Job
Anne Marie McEvoy	...	Sarah (as AnneMarie McEvoy)
Julie Maddalena	...	Rachel
Jonas Marlowe	...	Joseph
John Philbin	...	Richard 'Amos' Deigan
Dan Snook	...	Boy
David Cowen	...	Dad
Suzy Southam	...	Mom
D.G. Johnson	...	Mr. Hansen
Patrick Boylan	...	Hansen's customer

Also Known As:

Stephen King's Children of the Corn

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Ryder Sound Services)

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Spain:18 | South Korea:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | USA:R (certificate number not listed) | Australia:R (2984) | Finland:K-18 (1985) | France:-12 | Iceland:(Banned) (original rating) | Iceland:16 (cut) | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Finland:K-16 (2000) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Angeles Entertainment Group

Trivia:

In the original ending of the story Linda Hamilton's character Vicki was killed by the children. She joined "the blue man" on a cross and had her eyes cut out.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Vicky gets carried away from the bedroom, the sandal on her left foot falls off. Later in the cornfields as she gets raised on the large crucifix, the sandal has appeared back on her foot.

Quotes:

Job: I wish Isaac never came here.
Sarah: But he's always been here, just like He Who Walks Behind The Rows.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Six Feet Under: Tears, Bones & Desire (#3.8)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Foot Stompin'

Another so-so film based on one of Stephen King's books

Stephen King is often cited to be the father of modern horror, and this view isn't wholly unfounded. King's stories have had a large impact upon the horror genre, and many of them are very good stories in their own right also. However, when it comes to translating King's words onto the screen; many filmmakers have proved that they are not up to the task. I haven't read the book, 'Children of the Corn', but I'm sure it's better than this movie. While the film isn't especially bad; it's hardly a tour de-force of horror cinema either, and like many Stephen King films; this one could have been a hell of a lot better. Actually, this story isn't one of King's better efforts; it follows a small town whose children murder their parents on the instructions of a mysterious preacher; a little kid calling himself Isaac. The story picks up three years after this terrible event when a young couple drive into town for some reason. They find the village completely devoid of adults and it isn't long until they discover what's happened and seek to put an end to it!

This film has missed several opportunities, the most glaring of which is the subterranean manifestation that dwells beneath the soil in the cornfields. We get several glimpses of this creature, but we never get to see it properly; and because of this, the monster is about as threatening as a bunch of little kids. Oh wait. Anyway, the film draws parallels with other evil kids films such as Village of the Damned in the way it plays out, but it never really gets out of first gear. While the atmosphere of the town is foreboding and well done on the whole, the plotting isn't very exciting and there's very few moments of real tension or suspense, which ensures the film isn't as engaging as it could have been. The cornfields and the corn that inhabits said field's makes for an unlikely horror prop, and some scenes within the fields are genuinely creepy. The kids themselves are rather well done also, with both of the main ones having good screen presence. If you were to pigeonhole King's films into 'good' and 'bad', this one would firmly be in the latter side. On it's own, however, it's not all that bad, and if you're a fan of King's work, you'll no doubt find something to like here. Or you might hate it for not living up to the book, one of the two.