“Outlander!” An iconic ‘80s horror film, Children of the Corn is a chilling tale from Stephen King. Based on one of his short stories, a couple traveling cross-country stop at a small town called Gatlin where they discover a cult of children that have overthrown the adults and sacrificed them to their new god. Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton lead the cast, but there are no good performances here. However, the director does a good job at creating a creepy, atmospheric tone that’s full of suspense. And for the most part the terror is kept psychological, which is quite effective. While Children of the Corn is full of bad acting and cheesy effects, it ends up being the right mixture for an entertaining campy B-movie.
First time watching the infamous Children of the Corn and I did not expect for it to be this bad, wow! And Peter Horton’s Burt was a a$$ hole the whole movie. I really was hoping they hacked his ass up lol
Not my first time to watch this but definitely my last. I re-watched it only for the sake of nostalgia and .... yeesh, this thing was horrible. Stephen King is one of my favorite authors; unfortunately, not ONE of his novels has translated to the big screen adequately. I don't know if he can be faulted for that but it seems like if he had watched the screening of this.... I don't know. Maybe back in 1984 this was something but by today's standards, that "something" is "utterly ridiculous". The effects in the closing sequences were horribly lame but it wasn't just that that ruined this for me: it was the entire concept of a bunch of CHILDREN somehow overpowering a town full of adults, killing them all, and then living "happily ever after" by following the orders of some snotty johnny-come-lately telling them about some mysterious being that lives in the cornfields. "He Who Walks Behind the Rows".... that's the best they could come up with? Make no mistake: the short story written by King was a great story...but even it was far-fetched. And the attempt to morph the short story into an hour-and-a-half movie, well, it just failed miserably. I can't even give kudos to anyone here for acting chops, as it was all just BAD. Of course, the majority of the movie was about "children" and very few children are going to produce Oscar-worthy performances. No fear of that happening here, certainly. Even Linda Hamilton couldn't rescue this one. This was just awful.
Children are just the worst. The ending really blows an ok movie up until that point.
"write her a postcard from Seattle.. let's get the hell out of here! But seriously, this movie, adaptation or not, is for the most part a decent suspensful build up, and then it just all falls apart in the end quite unceremoniously.
Hard to believe Children Of The Corn become a series of movies from this. Pretty mediocre on every level.
I feel like, as with the majority of Kings work, there is the kernel of a great idea here. An open critique of oppressive organised religion and the small American towns it subsumes with it's message through fear and control. Only once the seeds of promise are sewn does King ramble and wonder off into the corn himself, proving the kids right and undermining the critical message and overall theme. To top it all off, the movie isn't great with some wobbly pacing and the most 80s dialogue imaginable. Am I glad I watched it? Sure, another horror "classic" crossed off the list, but it definitely doesn't warrant the luster and absurd amount of sequels it's spawned.
Starts off promising and creepy but ultimately becomes silly and rather bland.
A patronizing "Mr. know it all" doctor and his good-for-nothing wife are being stalked by a group of religious children. It started out pretty decent, I was loving the creepy mystery at the beginning but as soon as they do the exposition dump on our villains it terminates any scare to become B-movie material, which is fine but you need comedy in that case and I didn't find any. The sudden supernatural approach in the third act felt out of place and I wish it would of stuck to it's previous tone.
The corn field setting looks amazing and the score is so good it almost creates the illusion that the movie is good. Corny acting, corny villains, off-screen kills, ugly-looking special effects, terrible ending and Isaac (John Franklin) has one of the weirdest voices i've ever heard come out of a human being - so off-putting, would of been great if they actually used it to scare the viewer.
How in the corny hell did this get TEN sequels??
It's hard to overstate how hot shit Stephen King was in the 80's. In hindsight, this may have overinflated the movie properties that had his name on them.
This is the dumbest movie I’ve ever seen. Terrible acting, the dumbest story, the slowest action. Pure idiocy.
Very strong start but loses its steam really quick. It has great premise that doesn't reach its full potential. The characters mostly just meander and yell at each other with not so many exciting parts. Not to mention their laughable performances and that sudden supernatural change in the end. That said, I thought it's genuinely spooky and fun enough to watch. There's some pretty cool imagery and neat special effects that make this little film more enjoyable. Overall, it's entertaining and frustating at the same time.
I'm watching this for the first time (I wasnt born till 1990, so never saw it as a kid) and all I can think is how the main psycho preacher kid looks and sounds so much like Joffrey from Game of Thrones! Anyone else think that?!
"What is it with this corn?"
I remember being terrified as a kid, and then the idea of this movie being a "great horror movie" stuck with me... until now. On my rewatch, I realized that I don't really care for this movie too much. Is this really a classic?
In preparation for an article I am writing on the remake for this site - https://www.thethings.com/author/lee-brown/ - I decided to rewatch the 1984 original adaptation of King's short story. It's not a very good film - even Linda Hamilton is bad in this one - but it does have that 80s horror feel to it, complete with spooky choral music, that makes it a nostalgic blast for anybody who first saw the film back in the day.
Kid VO is a huge mistake. Huge! Any time that voice popped in it felt like I was watching a special video made by first graders to thank the teachers or something. The worst!!
A classic with a motif that is often been adopted since - creepy kids that kill all their parents and try to live on their own; in away this was lastly depicted in American Horror Story: Hotel, with the School-Sidestroy-Arc.
That is definitely something to take into account; as is the fact, that over the time it has gained a certain cult status (it even inspired the name of the Band KoRn as well as one of their song titles "Children of the KoRn"), despite the really low budget this film was produced on.
It is that low budget that in the end invited so much negative criticism: The bad, really cheesy graphics effects, the rushed ending, the bad acting by some actors. Story-wise it is - on the other hand - really strong. It is mostly suspense, and less explicit graphics, it had an - for that time - inspired new idea, it paved the way for children as the evil creatures of horror movies; all points to take into consideration. And talking about bad actors: There are also really good ones, such as Linda Hamilton, who seems to be too good (and kind of untapped as she is capable of so much more) to be in this movie.
On the other hand, however, from a today's viewers standpoint, it has aged really badly. Comparing it to movies such as Orphan or Insidious, the kids are completely tame and not at all frightening, the dialogues are a bit dated and feel strange, and the suspense is - for today's standards - much less frightening and lean more towards the boring side of things.
So in the end I am torn between a high rating that deserves a cult classic that has inspired many other movies to come and the low rating of a dated movie that leans towards being a bit boring and cheesy. I still believe it is worth at least having seen it once. So I'll grade it with an average 3/5
Linda Hamilton is always a pleasure to look at right? Such a beautiful woman!
Anyway, children are freaking scary and disturbing when they are shouting bible verses....and it also helps when the child actors can do a decent job!
So, this one isn't all that bad and apparently it spawned, many, many sequels. Which I'm now wondering what they are all about. Are they about that weird special effect? Well I do think so!
The setting this film is creepy, which is always a plus for a horror film, the short story it is based on could've been used better, like use that ending! But still, I enjoyed myself! And that is what a film must set out to do right? Entertain us! I do think it was kinda brutal to see a kid get killed in a film. Haven't seen that yet, that much!
Will the sequels be worth a shot? I don't know maybe if I have the spare time? I do think they are gonna be terrible because I don't know how you can get more out of this. But I'll wonder....and just have to wait to find out!
"Send her a get well card from Seattle." amazing line to finish a movie with right?
Not the most effective horror movie, but it's such a great concept and there is some really great cinematography. A lot of comic book imagery really pops and sticks in your head, as does the great score. The male lead is such a douche, it's hard to sympathise. Same with the insufferable ginger antagonist, I just wanted him to die.
Children of the Corn is one of the better Stephen King movie adaptions. It doesn't, however, make it a classic...
I remember this movie fondly from youth. Hiding it so my parents wouldn't find out the rating and watched it with a couple of friends late one evening. Thankfully my parents didn't grow corn out on the fields because this did scare us quite a bit. Didn't quite get the same reaction out of me as an adult though...
It does have a creepy theme. Children spouting bible verses and killing everyone over the age of 18 is not really a pleasant thought. The feel of the entire movie is in fact creepy. All that damn corn, and the music, and those creepy children makes for a pretty creepy setting.
As most Stephen King stories, the ending is not up to par with the rest of the movie. The silliness takes over, and it all goes out into nothing. This is not the worst of the bunch by any means, but it still hasn't got a real ending...
If you are a fan of Stephen King this is a must watch. If you are looking for a scare, you are better off with something else...
Very silly plot, not very good acting and very very bad special effects make this one of the worst (horror) movies I've ever seen...
First of all: feels way too long! Story is not that thrilling.
Then: Why do Stephen King stories always have to get (bad) weird at the end? What's up with some weird red cloud and entity "eating" (and somehow turning into a rocket for Isaac)… and why would they leave the other children (who appear to be good now) in the barn and only save the two little ones?
Fail :(
Shout by VictoriaBlockedParent2019-09-09T01:20:26Z
Children of the Corn...iest horror movie I have ever seen.