Children of the Corn (1984 film)

Children of the Corn
Original 1984 theatrical poster
Directed by	Fritz Kiersch
Produced by	Donald P. Borchers Terence Kirby
Written by	George Goldsmith
Based on	Children of the Corn by Stephen King
Starring	Peter Horton Linda Hamilton R. G. Armstrong John Franklin Courtney Gains
Music by	Jonathan Elias
Cinematography	Raoul Lomas
Editing by	Harry Keramidas
Distributed by	New World Pictures
Release date(s)	March 9, 1984 (1984-03-09) (USA)
Running time	92 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$800,000

Children of the Corn (also known as Stephen King's Children of the Corn) is a 1984 horror film based upon the 1977 short story of the same name by Stephen King. Directed by Fritz Kiersch, the film stars Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton. Set in the fictitious rural town of Gatlin, Nebraska, the film tells the story of a demonic entity referred to as "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" which entices the children of the town to ritualistically murder all the adults to ensure a successful corn harvest, and a couple driving cross-country that get caught up in it. King wrote the original draft of the screenplay, which focused more on the characters of Burt and Vicky and depicted more backstory on the uprising of the children in Gatlin. This script was disregarded in favor of George Goldsmith's screenplay, which featured more violence and a more conventional narrative structure. Filming took place mainly in Iowa, but also California. Seven sequels and a television remake have been produced.

Plot

In the fictional town of Gatlin, Nebraska, Job tells the story of how the town became a safe haven for a group of young cultists. The economy of the town is mostly agricultural, and the town is surrounded by vast cornfields. One particular year the corn crop fails and the people of Gatlin turn to prayer in an attempt to ensure a successful harvest. A mysterious boy preacher, Isaac Chroner (John Franklin), arrives and takes all the children of Gatlin into a cornfield to speak to them about the prophecies of a demon called "He Who Walks Behind The Rows". Isaac, through his lieutenant Malachai (Courtney Gains), leads the children of the town in a revolution, brutally killing all of the adults in the town. Over the ensuing years, the children take any adults passing through as sacrifices.

Several years later, Burt (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend Vicky (Linda Hamilton) pass through Nebraska while driving cross-country to Burt's new job as a physician in Seattle, Washington. They are traveling in their car and hit a small boy out on the highway. This boy was one of the Gatlin children who tried to escape the iron hand of the death cult. The couple place his body in the trunk. They encounter an old mechanic, who is little to no help, as the children of Gatlin have employed him to lead all adults passing through to the town, but they betray him and kill him anyway. Burt and Vicky finally end up in Gatlin, after searching for several hours for a phone.

A struggle ensues between the couple, "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" and the children as the couple are violently chase them through the city. Burt and Vicky rescue Job and his little sister Sarah, who do not wish to be part of the cult. Vicky is captured by Malachai, and she is prepared as a sacrifice before they track down and capture Burt and the children.

However, Malachai and the others have grown tired of Isaac's arrogance. Assuming command over the children, Malachai orders Isaac to be sacrificed in Vicky's place. Night soon falls and Burt enters the cornfield to rescue Vicky. The sacrifice soon begins and Isaac is seemingly devoured by He Who Walks Behind The Rows. Burt arrives and battles Malachai, convincing the children that their minds have been poisoned and their humanity sacrificed in the name of their god. As Malachai tries to regain control of the children, Isaac's re-animated corpse (apparently possessed by He Who Walks Behind The Rows) appears and kills Malachai, breaking his neck.

Soon, a terrible storm gathers over the cornfield and Burt and Vicky gather the children inside a barn to shield them from the wrath of the dark entity. As the storm intensifies all around them, While filling the irrigation pumps with gasohol fuel, Burt is attacked by He Who Walks Behind The Rows. However, Burt is able to spray the fields with the flammable liquid and lights a Molotov cocktail, tossing it into the field, burning it and ultimately destroying the demon.

Burt, Vicky, Job and Sarah survive and are able to leave Gatlin as the cornfields burn. As Burt takes a seat in his car and is about to start it, a teenage girl who is a member of the cult jumps out at him from the back seat and attempts to stab him. Burt knocks her out with the passenger door, and the four walk off into the distance to parts unknown.

Cast

• Peter Horton as Burt Stanton
• Linda Hamilton as Vicky Baxter
• R.G. Armstrong as Diehl ("The Old Man")
• John Franklin as Isaac Chroner
• Courtney Gains as Malachai Boardman
• John Philbin as Richard 'Amos' Deigan
• Robby Kiger as Job bop
• Anne Marie McEvoy as Sarah

Reception

The film received two thumbs down from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on At The Movies. Both found the film extremely distasteful.^[1] It currently rates as 'Rotten' on the website Rotten Tomatoes with 39% of 23 critics finding it good. The film was a financial success though, taking in over $14 million at the US box office.^[2]

Television remake

In June 2008 it was confirmed that Donald P. Borchers would begin writing and directing a TV remake of the first film, which would premiere on the Syfy channel. Production began in August, filming in Davenport, Iowa, however, it was moved to Lost Nation, Iowa.(TJC)

The cast included David Anders, Kandyse McClure, Preston Bailey, Daniel Newman and Alexa Nikolas. The movie aired on September 26, 2009, and the DVD was released on October 6, 2009 by Anchor Bay.^[3] The television remake closely follows the original storyline present in the short story, and not that of the original film.

Sequels

• Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice
• Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest
• Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering
• Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror
• Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return

References

1. ^ Review on At The Movies
2. ^ Children of the Corn (1984)
3. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003850085^{[dead link]}

External links

• Children of the Corn at the Internet Movie Database
• Children of the Corn at AllRovi
• Children of the Corn at Rotten Tomatoes
• Entire film at Google Video
• ChildrenoftheCornMovie.com