Children Of The Corn (1984)
Children Of The Corn (1984)
Before Linda Hamilton was being chased by Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, she was driving through rural Nebraska with Peter Horton in a loose film adaptation of Stephen King's short story Children Of The Corn. She hadn't quite established herself as the badass action hero that we would know her as after Terminator 2 in 1991, but she was getting there. Children Of The Corn was released in March of 1984, and the first Terminator film was released in October of 1984, and those two successful films would really establish her as a badass actress that could simultaneously be hard and soft. But we are here to talk about Children Of The Corn, and not the kick ass, Linda Hamilton, though I will never miss a chance to praise her amazing presence in a film! Children of the corn follows the story of Burt and Vicky as they traverse the backroads of Nebraska on their way from on their way to Seattle, where burt will be starting a new job in a hospital. But after an accident where they hit a young boy with their car, they try get help, and while trying to get to Hemingford (which Stephen King fans should recognize as Hemingford Home in The Stand), they end up in the small town of Gatlin, where they find out the children under the leadership of Isaac and Malachi who take orders from "He Who Walks Behind The Rows", rise up and murder all of the adults, and establish an authoritative religious cult. Burt and Vicky begin to learn the horrible truth of Gatlin, as they meet two children named Job and Sarah, who try to help them as they find themselves as the "Outlander" "Interlopers" who must be sacrificed to "He WHo Walks Behind The Rows". Can Burt and Vicky survive with help from their newfound friends Job and Sarah, or will they end up as sacrifices to the god of the corn?
Children Of The Corn was directed by Fritz Kiersch, with a screenplay by George Goldsmith. King had originally written a screenplay for the film, but the filmmakers chose to reject his script in favour of Goldsmith's. King's screenplay focused more on Burt and Vicky, where as Goldsmith's was instead told through the voices of Job and Sarah. King's screenplay would later be the basis 2009 SyFy Channel remake of Children Of The Corn (which as they say is a story for another time). Children Of The Corn was distributed by New World Pictures in 1984, and though it was slagged off by the critics, it was a box office success, grossing $14.6 million, with a budget of $800,000.
Children Of The Corn stars Peter Horton as Burt Stanton, Linda Hamilton as Vicky Baxter, Robby Kiger as Job, and Anne Marie McEvoy as Sarah. The film pins them against John Franklin as Isaac Chroner (one of the creepiest kids I've seen in a film!), Courtney Gains as Malachi Boardman, Julie Maddalena as Rachel Colby, Jonas Marlow as Joseph, and John Philbin as Richard "Amos" Deigan (horror fans will recognize Philbin from films such as Return Of The Living Dead, Children Of The Corn would be his feature film debut). R.G. Armstrong played the part of Diehl or "The Old Man" as he is referred to, who is one of the few adults in the film, he runs the gas station and was allowed to live after the uprising of the children, because he was useful to them and served a purpose by supplying them with fuel.
Though Children Of The Corn was set in rural Nebraska, it was actually filmed in western Iowa (which is pretty accurately described as being flat with nothing but corn for as far as the eye can see. Children Of The Corn's filming locations help to create the tone and the mood of the film, and it feels authentic and believable. Though some of the special effects, definitely are dated, and show the film's lack of budget, I feel like they actually work for the film, even though they definitely look weak and compared to the rest of the film. When you watch the film to it's climax you will see what I mean, though like I said, to me the effects somehow work and don't detract from the overall film. Though the film has received mixed to negative reviews, I have always loved this film, and it has always been well loved by the fans. This film has become a part of our pop-culture, and even people who haven't seen it are familiar with elements of the film. Children Of The Corn has a whole series of sequels, though in my opinion after the second film in the series, the rest feel pointless and too far removed from the original story. There was also a remake to of the film as I mentioned, and the film has been referenced in countless other works, from South Park to Wreck-It Ralph, as well as in multiple music references to the film. So whether you agree with the critics or the fans, either way the 1984 film adaptation of Stephen king's Children of the corn is an classic film, and a part of our pop-culture.
I personally have always loved this film, and if you haven't yet seen it, I highly recommend checking it out. I feel because of it being a recognizable part of our pop-culture, that Children Of The Corn is a must see film. The casting was also really well done, and even though the screenplay differs greatly from how Stephen King envisioned it, the writing is still really well done. Over all, though the film can seem slow going at times and the mundane and boring setting of the flat midwestern small town surrounded by endless cornfields, I feel like those things help to build the mood of the film, and I think that makes the terror of it even stronger. I find the wide open skies of the midwest, terrifying, I feel like there is no escape when you can see for miles in every direction, and I feel like I will be swallowed by the sky. When dealing with a monster who lives in the corn, and all you can see for as far as the eye can see in every direction is corn, I find that thought absolutely terrifying. I think that this is an amazing film, and if you come across a copy of it, I recommend picking it up. This is a film that should definitely be a part of every film collector's library.
Children Of The Corn was directed by Fritz Kiersch, with a screenplay by George Goldsmith. King had originally written a screenplay for the film, but the filmmakers chose to reject his script in favour of Goldsmith's. King's screenplay focused more on Burt and Vicky, where as Goldsmith's was instead told through the voices of Job and Sarah. King's screenplay would later be the basis 2009 SyFy Channel remake of Children Of The Corn (which as they say is a story for another time). Children Of The Corn was distributed by New World Pictures in 1984, and though it was slagged off by the critics, it was a box office success, grossing $14.6 million, with a budget of $800,000.
Children Of The Corn stars Peter Horton as Burt Stanton, Linda Hamilton as Vicky Baxter, Robby Kiger as Job, and Anne Marie McEvoy as Sarah. The film pins them against John Franklin as Isaac Chroner (one of the creepiest kids I've seen in a film!), Courtney Gains as Malachi Boardman, Julie Maddalena as Rachel Colby, Jonas Marlow as Joseph, and John Philbin as Richard "Amos" Deigan (horror fans will recognize Philbin from films such as Return Of The Living Dead, Children Of The Corn would be his feature film debut). R.G. Armstrong played the part of Diehl or "The Old Man" as he is referred to, who is one of the few adults in the film, he runs the gas station and was allowed to live after the uprising of the children, because he was useful to them and served a purpose by supplying them with fuel.
Though Children Of The Corn was set in rural Nebraska, it was actually filmed in western Iowa (which is pretty accurately described as being flat with nothing but corn for as far as the eye can see. Children Of The Corn's filming locations help to create the tone and the mood of the film, and it feels authentic and believable. Though some of the special effects, definitely are dated, and show the film's lack of budget, I feel like they actually work for the film, even though they definitely look weak and compared to the rest of the film. When you watch the film to it's climax you will see what I mean, though like I said, to me the effects somehow work and don't detract from the overall film. Though the film has received mixed to negative reviews, I have always loved this film, and it has always been well loved by the fans. This film has become a part of our pop-culture, and even people who haven't seen it are familiar with elements of the film. Children Of The Corn has a whole series of sequels, though in my opinion after the second film in the series, the rest feel pointless and too far removed from the original story. There was also a remake to of the film as I mentioned, and the film has been referenced in countless other works, from South Park to Wreck-It Ralph, as well as in multiple music references to the film. So whether you agree with the critics or the fans, either way the 1984 film adaptation of Stephen king's Children of the corn is an classic film, and a part of our pop-culture.
I personally have always loved this film, and if you haven't yet seen it, I highly recommend checking it out. I feel because of it being a recognizable part of our pop-culture, that Children Of The Corn is a must see film. The casting was also really well done, and even though the screenplay differs greatly from how Stephen King envisioned it, the writing is still really well done. Over all, though the film can seem slow going at times and the mundane and boring setting of the flat midwestern small town surrounded by endless cornfields, I feel like those things help to build the mood of the film, and I think that makes the terror of it even stronger. I find the wide open skies of the midwest, terrifying, I feel like there is no escape when you can see for miles in every direction, and I feel like I will be swallowed by the sky. When dealing with a monster who lives in the corn, and all you can see for as far as the eye can see in every direction is corn, I find that thought absolutely terrifying. I think that this is an amazing film, and if you come across a copy of it, I recommend picking it up. This is a film that should definitely be a part of every film collector's library.
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