Children of the Corn (1984) Reviews

• Sarah Connor - Vs - Satan

  bigbenjr482005-01-01

  Certainly one of the better adaptations of a Stephen King tale, Children Of The Corn, for me, was a goosebump film. But all the more chilling was an unseen, Evil Force who a group of murderous children happily calls "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" (Rows, meaning rows of corn in a corn-field) The image you get of this "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" character is simply Satan with a new nick-name. And why old Lucifer has chosen to possess a billion ears of corn in Nebraska {instead of the John Deere tractor sitting alongside of it} is beyond me. Whatever the reason, the fact that he's somewhere within that cornfield gave me the chills throughout this film. More chills than watching these children go on a killing rampage throughout the small town. Anyone over the age of 17 was quickly laid to rest at the beginning of the film, and any kid about to turn 18 happily sacrificed themselves to "He Who Walks Behind The Rows". The film stars Peter Horton and Linda (Terminator 1 and 2's) Hamilton. By accident, they enter this small town and become the towns only two grown-ups. Once spotted, they are quickly labeled "Outlanders" and are pursued throughout the remainder of the film until they are finally caught, bound and prepared for sacrifice. I love this film. Its had a special place in my heart for years. There is not a boring moment in this film that would put you to sleep. There are many jolts, winces and frights. And even though the "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" fella never shows his face, you will definitely feel it's presence. Trust me. Just knowing that he's somewhere in the midst of that cornfield will be enough to creep you out. I give this gem a 9/10

• "Outlander!"

  Backlash0072001-11-09

  Children of the Corn is a classic example of a movie that was much more frightening when I was a kid. Now I suppose it pales in comparison to the better horror flicks I've seen. It's still not a bad genre flick and I recommend seeing it. Children of the Corn has its moments. Isaac and Malachai are still creepy looking cats (both played effectively by John Franklin and Courtney Gains). The musical score with the children chanting is an eerie effect too. The café scene and the accidental hit and run are the standouts of the movie, it's pretty grisly stuff. The rest is a bit mediocre. Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton are pretty good as the young couple trying to escape the murderous children. And an appearance by R.G. Armstrong is never a bad thing. The movie is a "loose" adaption of a Stephen King short story, but the sequels are just absolutely King rapes. So do not bother with those.

• Pretty atmospheric.

  HumanoidOfFlesh2001-12-29

  After reading some negative comments on this film it seems to me that many of those reviewers hate horror movies.If you don't like horror,then leave this genre alone!!!Go back and watch some Hollywood big-budget trash!!"Children of the Corn" is an enjoyable horror film with a few creepy scenes and some good shocks.The acting is decent enough,and the atmosphere of an isolated town(Gatlin)is well-captured.I've seen the first four parts of this series and they are not really bad(want some crap-check out "Witchcraft" series)Enough said-try this one if you enjoy watching horror movies.Very atmospheric score too!

• A wonderfully awful horror film

  GusF2015-11-29

  Based on the 1977 short story of the same name by Stephen King, this is a wonderfully awful horror film. I have no idea how closely it sticks to the story since I never read it or any of King's work for that matter but the script is horrendously written with more plot holes than you can shake a stick at. The only even remotely clever bits such as the depiction of the mob mentality engendered by cults are taken from either much better works or, unfortunately, real life incidents. The film takes a dash of "Village of the Damned" (1960) and a pinch of "The Wicker Man" (1973) to come up with a storyline concerning evil children who sacrifice people to ensure a good corn harvest. Now, I like corn as much as the next guy but this approach seems a little excessive to me. Isaac is basically an older version of Damien from "The Omen" (1976) crossed with Wesley Crusher and the film's score is a poor man's version of that film's. It's essentially a rehash of earlier horror classics. Unlike "The Wicker Man", however, this film actually attempts to make the relevant crop frightening in a few scenes. Amazingly, it doesn't work very well. The director Fritz Kiersch is hardly Richard Attenborough or Kenneth Branagh but he's no Ed Wood or Tommy Wiseau either. Some shots are downright or at least borderline competent. The plot concerns the lovely little town of Gatlin, Nebraska which is ruled by Isaac and the other followers of He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Three years earlier, Isaac, clearly a very persuasive guy, convinced the rest of the town's children to ritually murder their parents and every other adult in town (bar one mechanic). The town has been occupied only by the cultists since then and no one has noticed in the meantime. Isaac even used his powers of persuasion to convince cartographers to take Gatlin off the maps, apparently. John Franklin's performance as Isaac could not be described as good but, by God (or should I say by He Who Walks Behind the Rows?), it is entertaining. He steals all of his scenes and makes the film far more entertaining than it would been otherwise. My favourite line is "Question not my judgement, Malachai. I am the giver of his word." His delivery and contemptuous expression are simply hilarious. It's a great verbal bitch-slap. Linda Hamilton and Peter Horton play the hapless interlopers / outlanders Burt and Vicki who wind up in Gatlin while on the way to Seattle. Hamilton and Horton are actually good actors who deservedly went on to bigger and better things: the "Terminator" franchise and "Beauty and the Beast" (1987) for her and "thirtysomething" for him. On the bright side, they keep the film from being even more terrible. On the less bright side, they keep the film from being even more unintentionally hilarious. The two of them have good chemistry even though their characters express little affection for each other until the end of the film. However, every time that Vicki yelled "Burt!," I mentally added "Ernie!" The only other actor in the film who gives a genuinely decent performance is R.G. Armstrong as Diehl, the aforementioned mechanic. Courtney Gains, whose career peaked the next year with his one line role in "Back to the Future", is awful as Isaac's disloyal second-in-command Malachai but he is not quite as hilariously awful as Franklin. But, hey, he at least put everything into it! The same is true of most of the other child actors, none of whom went on to great success. Incidentally, "Back to the Future" is my favourite film of all time. This film did not threaten that status. I mentioned a few of the plot holes already but this is one of the biggest. In the early part of the film, Burt and Vicki exhibit genius level intelligence when they run over a child named Joseph who turned out to be already dead, having had his throat slit. It just wasn't his day. They then decide that it is a good idea to bungle his corpse into the boot of their car and look for help. Right...Did it not occur to them that if they were stopped by the police and they found the body, it might look just a tad suspicious? No one with half a brain would believe that he had been killed by someone else and they were on their way to the authorities. Besides which, wrapping him in a blanket and shoving him into the boot would destroy any and all forensic evidence that may exist. He is never removed from the boot, meaning that he is left there to rot. Very conscientious! Another notable one is that the cultists kill Diehl, admittedly without Isaac's permission, for no reason whatsoever as he seems just as willing to abide by the condition that he tells no one of their existence as he was before. Furthermore, Job describes the brutal murder of his father which took place within several feet of him in a very calm fashion. One would think that this would traumatise a child but he and his sister Sarah take their parents' deaths and all the other horrific events in Gatlin in their stride. They actually giggle at the end, amused by the fact that Burt and Vicki kiss. Oh, and Sarah has the unexplained ability to predict the future through her drawings. Sure, why not? When He Who Walks Behind the Rows manifests, he is killed by a comparatively small explosion caused by a Molotov cocktail. One would also think that a demon from the fiery depths of Hell would be made of sterner stuff but apparently not. Overall, this is a great "so bad, it's good" film. It may not be down there with "Plan 9 from Outer Space", "Troll 2" or "The Room" but it's still pretty far down there.

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

  The_Void2005-06-09

  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.