A young couple is trapped in a remote town where a dangerous religious cult of children believes that everyone over age 18 must be killed.A young couple is trapped in a remote town where a dangerous religious cult of children believes that everyone over age 18 must be killed.A young couple is trapped in a remote town where a dangerous religious cult of children believes that everyone over age 18 must be killed.
- Awards
- 1 win & 4 nominations
Anne Marie McEvoy
- Sarah
- (as AnneMarie McEvoy)
Mitch Carter
- Radio Preacher
- (voice)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOn the dashboard of Burt and Vicki's car is a copy of "Night Shift," the Stephen King short story collection in which "Children of the Corn" originally appeared.
- GoofsIn the beginning of the film, the children kill the adults. This is followed by the opening credits. When the credits end, we are introduced to Burt and Vicki at their motel and told it's three years later. When Burt and Vicki arrive in Gatlin and encounter the children, none of them seem to have aged four years.
- Alternate versionsThe director's initial cut was much longer than the version that eventually made it to theaters and video. Among the missing footage:
- A longer prologue where several other adults are killed on-camera, most noticeably a police deputy at the local police station whose throat is slashed and then stabbed in the chest, and a farmer who is hacked to death outside his barn by a group of pick-ax wielding teen kids.
- A scene between Sarah and Job's parents before the slaughter. They talk over the breakfast table about Sarah's drawings of the upcoming massacre and how they think something awful is about to happen.
- A scene where Isaac prays to He Who Walks Behind The Rows only to receive a horrific vision of his impending fate.
- ConnectionsEdited into Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995)
- SoundtracksSchool is Out
Performed by Linda Hamilton (uncredited)
Courtesy of Frank Guida / Rockmasters/ International Network
Featured review
Another so-so film based on one of Stephen King's books
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.
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.
helpful•4225
- The_Void
- Jun 8, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Stephen King's Children of the Corn
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $800,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $14,568,989
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,042,821
- Mar 11, 1984
- Gross worldwide
- $14,568,989
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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