| | | | Children of the Corn
(1984) |
uring the 70's Stephen King became a household name writing some of the scariest novels ever. In 1976, the first of many hit movies based on his works hit the streets in the form of Brian DePalma's "Carrie."
Although all too often the cinematic versions bore little more than a passing resemblance to King's original work, for years to come, seldom did anything from the hands and mind of Stephen King, NOT get made into a movie. His short story Children of the Corn was no exception.
3 years ago, before the main events of the story happened, just after Sunday church services, all seems normal in the small town of Gatlin, Nebraska. Job(Robby Kiger) was the only boy in church that day, his sister was home sick, and all the others were in the corn field with the mysterious newcomer, Isaac (John Franklin).
Enjoying a milkshake at the local diner, Job takes notice of Isaac standing at the window giving his unspoken order to Malachai (Courtney Gains). After the teenage waitresses poison the coffee, Malachai and the other children slaughter all the adults in the place, including Job’s father. That day, Job’s sister Sarah (Anne Marie McEvoy) begins to draw strange pictures. As the credits that roll in, these pictures give impressions of the many horrors that are to follow.
In the present, newlyweds Burt (Peter Horton) and Vicky (Linda Hamilton) set off on the road to get to Burt’s new job and they take to the roads of Nebraska. One child tries to escape the little town of Gatlin, but finds his throat slashed at the hands of Malachai. Stumbling out on to the road he is mowed down by Burt and Vicky’s car. With a dead boy on their hands the two need to find a phone and Gatlin is the nearest town. A local mechanic (R. G. Armstrong), sternly warns them not to go, but, drawn in by some mysterious force they are unable to leave, which results in the children murdering the mechanic, who failed to keep the outsiders away.
Now Isaac, the leader of the children, orders that the outsiders be captured for sacrifice, to appease their god, ‘he who walks behind the rows’. After splitting up to look for help in the seemingly deserted town, Vicky is captured and tied to a cross. Now Burt, with the help of Sarah and Job, must save her and stop the mysterious evil that dwells in this town.
The first half of the movie is the part that is scary, it’s also where all the deaths take place (not including the deaths of the villains). It is a tad slow-paced, but it does help add to the suspense. The second half of the film frequently falls into the realm of silliness. The children no longer hide in the shadows and are now out in the open. We then get exposed to some silly speeches from Peter Horton, preaching about their misguided beliefs. The ending is, for many, disappointing.
A change of moood from the downbeat ending of the original novel to a more 'Hollywood' sappy ending leaves the viewer a tad let down...
 Don't forget that Children of the Corn is now available to order on Widescreen DVD using our special 80s Retro Assistant...
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Children of the Corn from the Stephen King collection of short stories, Night Shift, is now mostly forgotten amongst many people. It was never, by any means, a great movie, but it wasn’t terrible either. Perhaps one of the problems with this film is that movie goers didn’t know what to make of it, it wasn’t normal horror movie fair. It may have originally been intended to be rated PG, there is after all no particularly gory violence, nudity or foul language (although a movie which stars children killing people is not the sort of thing that would be exposed to younger audiences). Overall, Children of the Corn was a pretty good movie, and is at least worth a couple of bucks to rent. I considered it good enough to warrant buying it on DVD, and I suggest that if you are a horror movie completest that you buy this yourself.
Children of the Corn was a fairly creepy and suspenseful movie. The performances from the younger actors are quite good. Better than many other killer children movies out there, although the second half of the movie leaves something to be desired. 9 years after it was made the first Children of the Corn sequel was released followed by 5 others. A good, suspenseful thriller that is worth seeing at least once.
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The book on the dashboard of Burt and Vicky's car is Night Shift, the anthology where Children of the Corn can be found. 
In the original ending of the story Linda Hamilton's character Vicki was killed by the children. She joined "the blue man" on a cross and had her eyes cut out.
John Franklin (Isaac), is probably best known amongst general movie going audiences as Cousin It from the Addams Family. He also ironically made an appearance in 'Highway to Heaven'? -Thanks to Rich Chapman
'80s legend Courtney Gains, who played red-headed Malachi, among many roles, also co-starred in The 'Burbs as leiderhosen wearing Hans Klopek. -Thanks to intothesea13
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Find much more great trivia in the filmmaker's commentary on the Children of the Corn DVD.
Rediscover your favorites! If you like
Children of the Corn or 80's Horror classics, then be sure to
check out this list: ..... Lost Boys ..... Near Dark ..... Fright Night ..... Hellraiser ..... Shining ..... Poltergeist ..... Scanners ..... American Werewolf In London ..... Night of the Creeps ..... Nightmare on Elm Street ..... Paperhouse ..... One Dark Night ..... Re-Animator ..... Prom Night ..... Mausoleum ..... Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama .....[More]
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The production only cost about $1 million.
This was director Fritz Kiersch's directorial debut. He would go on to helm 80s classic "Tuff Turf".
Though real corn was used for most of filming, polyurethane corn had to be used for the more difficult action sequences.
As Burt, Sarah and Job are running back to the cornfield at the end of the movie, watch when they pass through the town. As they pass by the City Hall building there is a wide panning shot that clearly shows the words "Cassady and Whiting Block" at the top of the building. Whiting Iowa is where they filmed this scene and most of the mainstreet scenes. It is also where the famous yellow base flag pole is. -Thanks to John S.
In the scene where R.G. Armstrong's character Diehl investigates a noise inside the gas station and hears the sound of the hood of the truck falling, there is a goof. As he walks to the truck, keep an eye on the windshield. You can see the production crew's boom mic quite visible in the reflection! -Thanks to John S.
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|  |  |  | | Children of the Corn
Locations |
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Filmed at Hornick, Salix, Sioux City and Whiting in Iowa, USA
There was a school in Hornick used. The house is in Salix and still standing. [Thanks to Kate]
Actually the house used in this movie is in Hornick, not Salix. It is still standing . The main street used in Whiting is nearly the same today as is was in the movie. [Thanks to Rod Anderson]
Many Whiting school students were extras. The town of Whiting was used quite a bit. The scene around the flagpole and the related chase scene is Main Street, Whiting, the driving scenes early in the movie are just outside the town. The scenes out in the corn field with the crosses are just outside of Hornick, as is the house where they find the two little kids. Salix and Hornick are the locations of the church, school, the gas station where the old man was, and the inside of the cafe. Sergeant Bluff is where the hotel shown at the very beginning is. In some scenes, especially the chase scene with Peter Horton parts of two towns are used. Peter will be running down a Whiting street and when he goes around a corner he is suddenly in Salix. [Thanks to Rod Anderson]
Can you help? Do you know any of the Iowa filming locations used for Children of the Corn? [Please send them in]
|  | | | | ![[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced]](16_9.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette |
| | | | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette |
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The atmospheric and interesting original Score was written by Jonathan Elias and appears to be his first full-on assignment as a composer.
It was originally only available on vinyl LP soundtrack in the USA only and is now sadly very rare. Use our special search feature to try to locate copies. Track listing [Our thanks to Anthony Bleasdale for this info]:
Side 1
1. Main Title
2. Barn Run
3. Dream Music
4. Murder
5. The Arrival
6. Chase Theme
7. The Invasion
8. Burning The Cornfield
Side 2
1. Vicky's Dream
2. Attack of The Children
3. Fighting Back
4. Deal's Haunting
5. Exploring
6. The Cornfield
7. Isaac vs. Malaki
8. The Resolution
9. End Titles
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Soundtrack Available:
Used Vinyl LP / Tape
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