Children of the Corn

R

Released Mar 9, 1984

1h 33m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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List

39%

33 Reviews

Tomatometer

40%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

As physician Burt Stanton (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend, Vicky (Linda Hamilton), drive across the Midwest to his new job, their trip comes to a sudden halt when they encounter the body of a murdered boy in the road. In trying to contact the authorities, Burt and Vicky wander into a small town populated only by children, followers of sinister young preacher Isaac Chroner (John Franklin). Soon the couple is fleeing the youthful fanatics, who want to sacrifice them to their demonic deity.

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Critics Consensus

Children of the Corn's strong premise and beginning gets shucked away for a kiddie thriller that runs in circles.

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Thom G

The premise of Children of the Corn held promise, and the film's atmosphere occasionally succeeds in evoking some sort of mystery. Everything else is remarkably... bad!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/15/24

Full Review

Audience Member

40 years later and this is regarded as the only good installment in a spawn of many sequels based on the short story by Stephen King The franchise is one of the longest running in horror history but none of them have been able to match this one as far as quality Directed by Fritz Kiersch Linda Hamilton as Vicky and Peter Horton as Burton are a couple driving out of town for an internship But they get lost accidentally running over a small child on the road After making a wrong turn they end up somewhere else In the small deserted town of Gatlin there's barely anything left The adults are absent and the only remaining inhabitants are the kids given that chilling opening But they're not so innocent as they revel in bloodshed to appease their supposed god Their leader is Issac who asks for absolution punishing all those who reject his teachings All the kids he treats as his disciples mainly Malachai as his second in command since the corn in their fields are failing They use religion as a band aid in this small town that isn't flourishing so it's more organized religion rewriting scripture A rejection of Christianity is ever present in this like a form of devil worshiping as it is Vicky and Burton become the latest victims for these kids to sacrifice and they have to evade them every chance they get The kids are creepy as hell no doubt but Issac really steals every scene he's in, John Franklin oozes with such devilish energy being that he’s one of those actors that actually looks way older than he does given he has a growth hormone deficiency He's one of those villains you love to hate but relish in his slimy ness Courtney Gains is very good as Malachai being in a power struggle trying to teach the true word of this cult These child actors are really giving it their all even in the smallest of scenes, sure it’s over the top but a lot of fun Although structurally this is all over the place It's also got the typical Stephen King tropes from religious nuts to overacting to an unexplained psychic to the of course disappointing resolution I got my fair share of scares and chills The ending though was strange But this remains another one of my favorite Stephen King adaptations by Kiersch leading to 11 sequels but not as good as this one

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/09/24

Full Review

Howard H

Linda Hamilton holds together a bunch of children and her co-star long enough to endure the 93 minute run time.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/24

Full Review

Teddy B

Either incredibly campy and stupid or incredibly creepy and controversial, 'Children of the Corn' can't manage to expand a creative idea into a fully fleshed out feature film.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/23/23

Full Review

William Joseph B

Entertaining low-budget 80's slasher movie.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/15/23

Full Review

Blu B

It's ok enough all around. It really drags and nothing much happens after the first 5 minutes which is actually solid and the best part. Than it just settles into a meandering pattern where nothing happens for the next 50 minutes that's important and man is this really where most of the problem is. It jumps aorund between Burt & Vicky and the kids and never really makes them work together or really form a cohseive story or seize the momentum the first 5 minutes promised. It feels like stuff just happens along with just questionable moments including the hammed in final jump scare and a dozen other moments of questionable character decisions like why he doesn't just kill Malicki and leaves him alive multiple times. Issac is solid and the best thing in this. It's a shame he isn't the main focus or has more interaction with the main characters. The concept is original and kind of interesting along with the setting being memorable. Special effects aren't bad either but some are better than others. This needed to have a tighter script because there really isn't any suspense in this and it gets really boring in the middle. The ending does save it though there isn't much explanation for anything in this and I think it's trying to be commentary on the pitfalls of blind faith and religion but there just isn't enough of a tight script or well fleshed out characters to make it work. Nothing really is standout about the direction either. This could be remade with a tighter script and better direction. I can see why it's got a cult following for its unique ideas but as a film it's just ok. Skip this. Despite how unique it is there are better horror films out there from this time and in general.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/06/23

Full Review

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Fritz Kiersch

Director

Peter Horton

Burton Stanton

Linda Hamilton

Vicky

R. G. Armstrong

Diehl

John Franklin

Isaac Chroner

Courtney Gains

Malachai

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Children of the Corn: Trailer 1

1:20

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Descends into some hokey territory that feels quite a ways off from the original story, but the earlier chunks of the narrative manage to honor the source material and its commentaries on organized religion.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 20, 2023

Full Review

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

Well-directed if stolid...

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 2, 2023

Full Review

Stephanie Archer

Film Inquiry

With today’s growing political environment and in its current form, the original is a terrifying depiction of real life, a timeless film that continually retains its relevance.

Oct 1, 2022

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Despite very much being a movie of its time, there is something about director Fritz Kiersch’s folk horror feature from 1984 that I still find enjoyable.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 19, 2022

Full Review

Alan Jones

Starburst

Tepid special effects and a really jarring twist ending go somewhat to ruin one's generally positive feelings for the overall film.

Aug 2, 2022

Full Review

Anton Bitel

BFI

This corn-fed, sometimes corny study of outlandish religious zealotry taps into urban anxieties about the Bible Belt, before restoring adult order after a Halloween of kiddy chaos.

Oct 21, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

As physician Burt Stanton (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend, Vicky (Linda Hamilton), drive across the Midwest to his new job, their trip comes to a sudden halt when they encounter the body of a murdered boy in the road. In trying to contact the authorities, Burt and Vicky wander into a small town populated only by children, followers of sinister young preacher Isaac Chroner (John Franklin). Soon the couple is fleeing the youthful fanatics, who want to sacrifice them to their demonic deity.

Director: Fritz Kiersch
Producer: Earl A. Glick, Mark Lipson
Screenwriter: George Goldsmith, Stephen King
Distributor: Embassy Pictures, Starmaker Video, Image Entertainment Inc., New World Pictures, Anchor Bay Entertainment
Production Co: Hal Roach Studios Inc.
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 9, 1984, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 1, 2016
Runtime: 1h 33m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.85:1)

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