Parents' Guide to

Children of the Corn

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Classic Stephen King horror, hardly popping.

Movie R 1984 92 minutes
Children of the Corn Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 14+

Based on 15 parent reviews

jcmcdowell
jcmcdowell Adult
May 3, 2021
age 15+

A Classic, But Not for the Entire Family

This is a very entertaining, gripping classic! I really liked it! I would say that there is a lot of violence, but there are a few exaggerations, too. The review says no sex, but there is some kissing near the beginning, but nothing worse than that. Also, there is 3/5 for language, but all there is is taking the Lord’s name in vain. Nothing worse there either. Also, I think kids younger than 17 are okay to see this. It’s nothing a mature 15-year-old can’t handle. Stephen King horror tales are always the best ones in the horror genre. It was weird, but well-made and startling, but not scary.
RhodaSC
RhodaSC Adult
April 17, 2020
age 18+

Wayy to violent

This movie is way too violent and definitely should not be seen by any young kids- definitely not till at least high school. Personally I think it’s an horrible too violent movie. The idea of kids murdering adults is just way too disturbing. That and the sacrifice/ blood cutting science is way too bloody as well as the kid who gets his throat cut. And alluding to still barely legal kids making out while being watched by other kids is just plain creepy. Any parent who lets a still child watch this honestly are horrible at parenting and should think twice before having more kids. I would stay far away from this...
See all 15 parent reviews

What's the Story?

A shocking tone is set from the start of CHILDREN OF THE CORN, as kids in the incredibly insular and religious farming town of Gatlin, Nebraska, methodically poison, bludgeon, slash, and kill their parents and take over. Three years later, a young doctor (Peter Horton) and his wife (Linda Hamilton) stumble across Gatlin's secret in the worst way, running over a mortally wounded boy trying to escape. Bloody religious icons on the victim lead the couple to investigate the desolate town. Eventually, they learn that all of the kids belong to a strict cult founded by Isaac (John Franklin), an influential boy preacher who forbids music and games and leads Christian-like worship of "He Who Walks Behind the Rows," a demonic entity that demands human sacrifice of anyone over 18.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (15 ):
Kids say (48 ):

With a chanting soundtrack and an effectively creepy sunlit vibe, this film does raise some shudders -- then wrecks the momentum with cheap gore and a feeble finale. Depending on what the low-budget special effects allow, He Who Walks Behind the Rows sometimes looks like a burrowing underground shape, a weird cloud, or a glowing cartoon. Far scarier are the juvenile actors, who really do a good job making the "children of the corn" a threatening tribe of youthful fanatics with farm-implement weapons.

Besides killer kids, Children of the Corn manipulates anxieties and stereotypes about the American heartland. Instead of Satanists, with their goat horns and red capes, this group is a caricature of ultra-conservative and Evangelical churches, resembling the Amish or Mennonites -- that is, before they transform into a child cult that crucifies victims on corn stalks.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Children of the Corn's ultimate message, that fire-and-brimstone fundamentalist Christianity (at least Hollywood's stereotype of it) has let the barn door open for a demonic force to enter and take over rural Gatlin, Nebraska. Those in religious households can check out the Bible passages that this movie uses to support its dire warning about false prophets. On the whole, is this movie favorable to faith or against it?

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