Children of the Corn Review

When it comes to Stephen King’s horror adaptations, the results have been incredibly varied. On the one hand, we have Carrie, Misery and The Shining; all great horror films that have become classics of the genre. Even recent adaptations of the Mist and 1408 have gained positive responses from critics and fans alike by obtaining the right mood and feel that the author intended.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is the terrible film that is The Lawnmower Man. In King’s defense, the story bears pretty much no recognition to the original tale and is essentially an adaptation in name only. Nonetheless, when watching a movie with King’s name on it, one should expect it to be better then that garbage.

Somewhere in the middle we have films that have gained mixed responses. Pet Sematary, for example, has a 50% fresh rate on Rottentomatoes.com from 18 reviews, with reviews ranging from Fred Topel calling it a “Great Stephen King movie”, to Gerry Shamray calling it “Another awful Stephen King adaptation”.

Children of the Corn is another film that could fit into this middle ground, as it has even less critical acceptance at 36% on Rottentomatoes from 22 reviews. Despite this, it was a financial success, earning $14 million off a $300,000 budget and spawning 6 sequels and a telemovie remake. Granted, the majority of these sequels were direct to DVD, but it still shows that there is a loyal audience that existed for this series and enjoyed the films, regardless of the overall critical opinion. And let’s face it, the critic’s consensus never meant that much to most horror fans anyway.

The story concerns a village that has been overtaken by children. The leader of these kids is a young boy named Isaac who acts as a religious leader towards the other children in the town. The boy claims to be able to communicate with an unknown force referred to as “He Who Walks Behind The Rows”. When a young married couple enters into the town (played by Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton) Isaac begins to dictate to the others how “The Man Behind The Rows” wants the couple to be dealt with.

The acting isn’t too bad, Linda Hamilton, being the most famous person here does her job relatively well, but Peter Horn I thought could do with being a bit less of a doofus. Then again, maybe that was how the character was written. John Franklin as Isaac does a pretty good job, with a creepy way of delivering his lines. Courtney Gains as Malachai, his second in command, was a bit more annoying. The way he spoke reminded me of Al Gore in South Park through his irritating whining.

But acting isn’t what this movie is about. The movie is meant to be creepy mindless entertainment, and it does a pretty good job. Then again, perhaps I’m just a man of simple pleasures. Dressing children up in adults clothing and getting them to speak all spooky-like is already going to do a somewhat decent job of entertaining me. Getting them to act violently towards each other and I’m totally there. The Children of the Corn is not the greatest Stephen King adaptation, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s a movie that you can put on late at night and just enjoy it for what it is.