Sam Panico Children of the Corn started as a short story first published in Penthouse Magazine that was later collected in the 1978 book Night Shift. It's a story incredibly similar to Tom Tryon's novel (and the film) The Dark Secret of Harvest Home. You could also draw parallels to Narciso Ibáñez Serrador's Who Can Kill a Child? or Village of the Damned.Did you know that Children of the Corn was filmed once before? A short film called Disciples of the Crow was made in 1983 that's an abridged version of this story.This one was produced in 1984, with Gor and Tuff Turf director Fritz Kiersch at the helm. Burt and Vicky (Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton) are on their way to California when they drive through the cornfields of Nebraska and accidentally hit a young boy. However, when Burt exams the kid, it turns out that his throat had already been slit. Uh oh.As they examine the boy's suitcase, they discover a crucifix made of twisted corn husks. They head to the next town, Gatlin, to alert the authorities.They come across a mechanic who refuses them service. The truth is that he is the last adult in Gatlin. He's agreed to supply the children with services and fuel for his life, but the enforcer of the town, Malachai breaks the pact and murders him, angering their leader Isaac.When Burt and Vicky get to town, everything is out of date and there's a bad feeling in the air. Even worse, no one seems to be in town. They find a little girl named Sarah alone in a house, where Vicky stays while Burt explores. Malachai soon appears, capturing Vicky and taking her to be sacrificed in the cornfield.The only thing in town that's in shape is the church. Inside, Burt learn the truth of Gatlin - twelve years ago, everyone over nineteen was killed and the children took Biblical names after their murders.Now, they live under this religious order that demands that everyone over nineteen must be sacrificed. During a blood-drinking ritual, Burt starts to yell at the children. They chase him until another young boy named Job rescues him and they hide in a fallout shelter.Isaac and Malachai argue, with the older boy taking over and ordering his leader to be sacrificed. Isaac warns that this will anger their covenant with He Who Walks Behind the Rows and the children will be severely punished.That night, Burt goes to rescue Vicky and a horrible special effect devours Isaac. Seriously, this weird chroma key fuzz looks incredibly dated. Anyways, Burt fights to save his wife and a possessed Isaac reappears and breaks Malachai's neck.A storm appears as Burt, Vicky and the two children decide that they must destroy the cornfield with gasoline and fire. They escape the town, taking the kids with them, their marriage somehow saved and they even discuss adopting the kids (but not before a sneak attack by Ruth is foiled).This overly happy ending stands in marked contrast to the downbeat tone of the novel, where Vicky is sacrificed and Burt is killed by the creature in the cornfield. The creature punishes the town by lowering the sacrifice age to eighteen, so Malachi and the elders all walk into the cornfield to die as Ruth wishes that she could kill He Who Walks Behind the Rows.

Mark Turner When CHILDREN OF THE CORN was released I was working as a theater manager in Indianapolis. I had access to most movies coming out, was an avid fan of horror films and when I couldn't see them that way would rent them since this was the early age of the VCR. When I heard that a new movie was coming out based on a Stephen King novel I looked forward to it, expected to be chilled to the bone. The end result was entertaining but not quite that frightening.The story opens with a town in which all of the young people for reasons as yet unexplained kill off the adults. They do so at the behest of Isaac (John Franklin), a holy roller styled child preacher. Fast forward to several years later was young couple Burt and Vicky (Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton) are on their way to Burt's new job as a doctor. Driving through the fields of corn they hit a young boy standing in the middle of the road. Burt realizes he didn't die from the accident but from a slit throat so the couple go searching for help.They find themselves directed to the tiny town of Gatlin with its empty streets and corn stalk filled cars and stores. Eventually they come across two small children, our movie narrators, who don't tell them much. When the rest of the youth find them they capture Vicky and plan to offer her as a sacrifice. Will Peter be able to rescue her? Will he discover what is actually going on in this town? And will the evil that has been behind it all be revealed? Based on a short story the plot is fairly simple and the story here is as well. It involves a lot of moving from one place to another and listening to two factions in the town struggling with one another: Isaac the long term leader who has controlled it from the beginning and the devout follower Malachi (Courtney Gains) who thinks things haven't gone far enough. Their struggle is as menacing to watch as is the deaths they've perpetrated and now prepare for.The acting here is what one would expect from two pros like Horton and Hamilton. Both were well on their way to stardom when making this film, he on TV's THIRTYSOMETHING and she in the TERMINATOR films. What makes this movie stand out though is the performances of the young people involved. Franklin (although older than he looks) is the perfect fit for the character of Isaac. And Gaines looks like the local skateboard teen who could be trouble but in this case carrying a butcher knife and proving that he is.For being a horror film as well as one with an R rating there is very little in the way of blood or gore here and no nudity at all which makes one wonder why the MPAA would choose to pass this off with that rating. In the extras even the producers were stunned by the rating which was given without any explanation as to how to fix it. In any event, fans of the film and of Stephen King will want to pick this one up.That being said with a blu-ray edition out earlier why would anyone pick up this one? Two words: Arrow Video. Yes, I'm still singing their praises. The quality of the picture here is fantastic with a gorgeous transfer. The extras are very numerous and include a brand new audio commentary track with horror journalist Justin Beahm and CHILDREN OF THE CORN historian John Sullivan, an audio commentary track with director Fritz Kiersch, producer Terrence Kirby and actors Franklin and Gaines, HARVESTING HORROR: THE MAKING OF CHILDREN OF THE CORN a retrospective piece on the film full of interviews, AND THE CHILDREN SHALL LEAD THEM a brand new interview with actors Julie Maddalena and John Philbin, IT WAS THE EIGHTIES! an interview with Linda Hamilton, FIELED OF NIGHTMARES a brand new interview with writer George Goldsmith, RETURN TO GATLIN a brand new featurette revisiting the film's original Iowa locations, STEPHEN KING ON A SHOESTRING an interview with producer Donald Borchers, WELCOME TO GATLIN: THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF CHILDREN OF THE CORN an interview with production designer Craig Stearns and composer Jonathan Elias, CUT FROM THE CORNFIELD an interview with actor Rich Kleinberg on the infamous lost Blue Man scene, DISCIPLES OF THE CROW a 1983 short film adaptation of the original King story, a storyboard gallery, the original trailer and a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork. With all of these extras you can see why if you're a fan of the film you need to pick up this version for your shelf.

classicsoncall I couldn't help thinking that the Stephen King short story and this film on which it was based, was inspired by a 1961, Rod Serling Twilight Zone episode titled 'It's a Good Life'. In that one, Billy Mumy portrays a boy a few years younger than Isaac (John Franklin) in this picture, who condemns an Ohio community by sheer force of mind and will. Instead of killing his opposition though, he telepathically transports them into what he calls a corn field, which one never gets to see in the story. Stephen King probably would have liked the kid.Well I know there will be some horror movie fans who will consider this film a top notch Stephen King adaptation, but when I plug it into my IMDb list of movies based on works by the horror master, it comes in dead last out of nineteen movies I've seen so far (as I write this). You can check it out in my list of Stephen King flicks I've watched and reviewed. This felt like a made for TV movie more than anything else, and it never seemed credible to me why Burt (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend Vicky (Linda Hamilton) decided to hang around the drought afflicted town of Gatlin, Nebraska, except for the fact that Horton ran down a kid in the middle of the road, who for all intents and purposes was already dead with a slashed throat. They eventually run across a kid cult led by a creepy leader called Isaac, and a henchman who he later suffers a falling out with. The actor Courtney Gains was perfectly cast as a psychotic looking killer who for comparison purposes was Mick Jagger ugly times two. When the time came for Burt to tangle with Malachai one on one, you'd have to conclude that their battle was done pro-wrestling style, that is, most of Burt's punches missed by a mile.Well I've read more than my share of novels and stories by Stephen King, and some of the movie adaptations of his work are outstanding ('The Shawshank Redemption', 'The Shining'), while others plumb the depths ('The Dark Half', 'Sometimes They Come Back'). As I mentioned earlier, this one sets the bar in the wrong direction, but if you just have to, go ahead and see it. But don't be surprised by such things as the size and shape of the blood stain on Burt's shirt change from scene to scene after he gets stabbed by a corn obsessed delinquent.

Rainey Dawn These are some of the brattiest and most terrifying "creepy kids" ever on film. IDK who is worse: Malachi or Issac? Issac is the (evil) reverend that started it all but it is Malachi that has the strongest lust for blood - murder or umm sacrifices "to He Who Walks Behind The Rows"" and will even defy Issac to kill.This film is a classic horror in it's own right. It's a part of the 60's through 80's horror classics that many of us grew up with. The film is downright terrifying at times. It's a supernatural horror film that has stood the test of time - quite a good one if you ask me.I've never read Stephen King's novel (technically short story) but even if I did I could not compare the film to the book - it's unfair. They have to make some changes sometimes in order to translate things to the screen and for time allotment. There are various reasons for the changes from book to film - so it's never fair to compare the two I don't think. Even when I read a book then see a film I rate the film as Hollywood entertainment and the book as a good or bad book separately.9/10