Disciples of the Crow (1983)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

John Woodward

Writers:

Stephen King (short story)
John Woodward (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Short

Plot:

A couple passing through a small Oklahoma town discover that it has been taken over by a homicidal cult that worships a crow god--and that all the cult members are children. |

Plot Keywords:

Cult | Crow | Murder | Corn

Cast

Eleese Lester	...	Vicky
Gabriel Folse	...	Burt
Steven Young	...	Younger Billy
Martin Boozer	...	Preacher
Kathleen Alsobrook	...	Mother
Loren Bivens	...	Boyfriend
John Woodward	...	Older Billy
Harry Miller	...	Child
Shannon Morris	...	Child
George Mack	...	Child
Karry Hundley	...	Child
Kirsten Hammond	...	Child
Greg Hicks	...	Child

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Movie Connections:

Version of Children of the Corn (1984)

Children of the Corn: One Year Earlier

I rented this short film as a part of `Stephen King's Night Shift Collection.' Previously, I thought that there was only one volume in this `collection,' that being the one that contained student films of `The Boogeyman' and `The Woman in the Room,' neither of which I enjoyed. `Disciples of the Crow' is paired up with a short film made in 1987 called `The Night Waiter,' which doesn't seem to be a King story at all. But never mind that, as that is a review for another day. I wasn't sure what to expect with this film. Just by the title, I knew that the story was based on `Children of the Corn.' This movie had the unfortunate chance of being made one year before the actual `Children of the Corn' film (which I liked, but I know I am in the minority). It would have been lost in oblivion had it not 1) been adapted from a Stephen King story and 2) been found by Karl James Associates to cash in on the late-80's Stephen King craze.

Pushing aside thoughts of the film series and letting the film stand on its own, I must say they almost pulled it off. I won't bore you with details of the original story's plot, but I will say that I wouldn't get the short film so much had I not either read the story or watched the feature film. Perhaps for the sake of time, key elements of explanation are gone and no attempt is made to characterize any of the children (I know the King story didn't do this either, but since this short acts like it is about to do this with one character and then balks, it is worth mentioning). The good points are that John Woodward slowly and effectively builds suspense to the point of creating nervousness for the viewers and that the sunny, outdoor setting adds to the rural creepiness---it's pretty obvious why this King story was chosen by both these students and Hollywood. Sadly, the film is too short, ending immediately after the full shock is released. It was a good try, but it just barely misses. Zantara's score: 5 out of 10.