Children of the Corn - 1984

So, I remember watching this film when I was a little girl and it scared the bejesus out of me and then again right after I found out my family was moving to the midwest. Yes... I am that idiot. Even though this movie is older it has stood the test of time as far as the level of blood and gore and the story. It has gone on to spawn 9 sequels, the most recent being released in 2017. The story itself is pretty disturbing, all the children in the town of Gatlin, Nebraska rise up and kill the adults of the town. The first kill scene within the first 10 minutes of the movie is brutal and gory, but very well done to really make everything flow together and make you understand just what is going on.

This movie is a great horror staple as well as part of your collection if you are a Stephen King fan.

An interesting factoid, on the dash of Burt’s car, is a copy of “Night Shift”, the book in which “Children of the Corn” appears in. This is one of my favorite Stephen King adaptations, mainly for the cast. Even all these years later Isaac and Malachai still give me the creeps and I am in my late 30’s now. Part of it was how wonderfully the characters were done. They stuck with you even after the credits roll or they have for me all these years later. Burt and Vicky were genuinely likable characters. And the children ranged from those you wanted to protect to those you wanted to run from..

The plot is pretty straight forward. There is this little town in Nebraska named Gatlin. A typical midwestern town where the common good-bye “See ya in church on Sunday?” is used often. So we have this beautiful sleepy little town, and due to a bad crop or whatever, a group of child cultists ends up living in the town, led by one of the creepiest children I have even seen. Well. in the first 10 minutes of the film, you have the most gruesome mass murder scene I think I have seen in any horror film from the ’80s. Almost the entire adult population of the town is murdered and the children are left to raise and govern themselves. Enter Burt and Vicky driving cross country and end up in Gatlin, let’s just say… things don’t go well for their visit.

So let’s talk about the cast that makes this film so wonderful. First up. Let’s talk about Isaac, played by the delightful John Franklin. This was actually Franklin’s first film and his film resume isn’t that full

Though he does play Cousin Itt in the 1991 and 1993 “Addams Family films. He also takes back up the mantle of Isaac in the 1999 straight to video sixth installment of the series“Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return”. I think one of the biggest things that makes Isaac scary to me even to this day is his look. Dressed all in black with pale skin. When you first see him it is easy to think about how adorable he is. However, once you get a good look at those beautiful dark eyes, and the way a simple movement of his face can take him from adorable to menacing in a fraction of a second. Isaac is the leader of the cult. He is their preacher and the one who guides them. He makes the rules according to his interpretation of the bible. He is small of stature and frame, which is why he has the ruthless and brutal Malachai at his side. Franklin’s most recent work has been in the 2015 TV series “Hell’s Kitty”. I am curious to see what, if any, films he adds to his resume in the future.

Next up is Malachai, the one ginger it would be easy to believe has no soul. Played by the very talented Courtney Gains. Malachai is one of the older children in the group with bright red hair, he stands out in every scene he is in. His face always wearing a sneer or frown. He is Isaac’s right hand and enforcer.

He is almost at zealot level with his belief in what Isaac preaches and will punish anyone he feels is violating the rules set down by Isaac. This was his first film as well, though he did go on to have a role in another one of my favorite movies the 1989 Tom Hanks comedy “The ‘Burbs”. He has done quite a bit of TV work in his career with credits on series like “Seinfeld”, “E.R’”, and “Legend”. His most recent works include the 2016 film “The Bronx Bull” and many films in post-production. One of the best things about Courtney’s portrayal of Malachai is the sheer brutality that he represents. There is no soft side to him, It is all hard and scary. Isaac can have kindness in his face. That is not a thing for Malachai, he is that character that you see on the street and you cross to the other side.

Our next character is Burt, the doctor just trying to make it to Seattle on time. He is played by well known television actor Peter Horton. Peter started his career in the late 70’s on the series “Eight is Enough”.

His portrayal of the impatient doctor is, to me, spot on. He is just trying to get to Seattle with his girlfriend to start his job on time. He is a likable character, though sometimes annoying. He also can be short-tempered with the situation, not really grasping it for what it is. After he was our good doctor, he landed a role in the super-popular tv series “Thirtysomething”. As well as many other tv series and a few more films. He is also listed as a producer of the wildly popular TV series “Grey’s Anatomy”. Here is hoping he continues to share his talents with us in the future.

Our last cast members endeared herself to fans the world over as John Conner’s mother, Sarah, in the “Terminator” series of films. I am speaking, of course, of the beautiful and talented, Linda Hamilton. She plays Vicky, Burt’s girlfriend, and in some ways, his more playful and sensitive side.

She is also the one that seems to have the worst luck in the world. Linda’s Vicky is a great character mainly because she is likable, she is that woman we all wanna hang out with. She has an easy laugh and smile. Hamilton is not only known for playing Vicky and Sarah Connor. She has a slew of strong women on her film resume. It is always positive when an actress brings their own strength and independence to a character. There were far too many female characters in 80’s horror that were the simpering, “oh please rescue me” kind of women. Vicky has her moments of terror and weakness, but she is not over the top, like some of the women in 90’s horror, that seem to be unable to do anything for themselves. The nice this is there seems to be a cyclic effect on women in horror. It seems as though we are coming back to the stronger, more independent heroines that make our genre wonderful.

As I have said before, this is a staple for your horror collection, Stephen King fan or not. There is blood and violence, but, there is a story too. The best part is it was a different kind of story, involving children, not being the victims… but the aggressors. There is no real nudity in the movie. There is a quick make-out scene at the beginning of the film, that is really the extent of the nudity or sexuality. There is far more violence and blood than anything else. But it isn’t mindless, it actually makes sense to the story, which is something King has always been able to do in his books and his films as well. There is blood, and gore, but it drives the story, it isn’t just there for shock value. Something that anyone that has even been through the midwest knows is that driving on long stretches of road surrounded by cornfields, is VERY unnerving. The silence is insane and it just looks like a sea of corn. I recommend if you do have to travel through that stretch of country, roll your windows up, stay on the highway, and don’t stop in ANY small towns.

1 of 5 - There is a make-out scene and that is about the extent of the adult material

3 of 5 - I put this middle of the road because there are a fair amount of deaths, but it is not over the top for the cast size.

3 of 5 - I put this middle of the road because by today's standards it is pretty tame but by 80's standards, it is pretty gory.

3 of 5 - Issac and Malachai themselves bumped this up to a two for me. The last is for the jump scares, the great use of the cornfields as a creepy character almost all it's own.