Hey hey hey there! Sasha Slaughter here with you for yet another DEH post. And continuing with our Stephen King tribute, today I'll be reviewing a little movie titled "Children of the Corn". Ever heard of it? Yes? No? Well I'll tell you a little about it. And I will say, and this is kind of embarrassing seeing as how I'm totally into horror, it wasn't until today that I've seen the original Children of the Corn. Damn you Syfy and your stupid remakes!!
But I'm new school, what can I say? Children of the Corn was based upon a 1977 short story by King. Set in the town of rural Gatlin, Nebraska, the film tells the tale of a demonic power referred to as "He who walks behind the rows". The entity entices the children of the town to ritualistically murder all of the adults to ensure a successful corn harvest. So let me tell you a little more about it.
A little boy named Job tells the story of a sleepy town named Gatlin. The town is mostly agricultural and is surrounded by vast cornfields. One particular year, the corn crop fails and the people of Gatlin turn to prayer in hopes to revive their crops. A mysterious boy preacher, Isaac Chroner, arrives and takes the children to the cornfield and speaks to them about the prophecies of "He who walks behind the rows". Isaac's second in command named Malachai, leads the towns children in a brutal slaying of all adults and any adults who happen to pass through the town.
Burt and Vicky are on their way to Seattle when they get lost and find themselves in Gatlin. They are traveling in their car when Burt hits a little boy that stumbled onto the road. He later discovers that the boys throat had been slit. He takes the boys body and puts it in his trunk and drives on. They search the town for a phone, and quickly realize that something isn't right. The children find the couple and chase them through the city. Burt and Vicky end up in a house where they find Sarah, Jobs' little sister. Burt decides to leave Vicky and try to find a phone. Soon after, the children find Vicky hiding in the house and kidnap her to sacrifice later that night.
Meanwhile, Malachai is getting tired of Isaac's arrogance, he decides to take command and orders Isaac to be sacrificed in Vicky's place. Night falls and Job and Sarah tell Burt that Vicky is in the clearing of the cornfield. He goes after her and finds the sacrifice of Isaac taking place. In the midst of the chaos, he finds Vicky and rescues her. He tells her to run while he explains to the children that their minds have been poisoned by a false god. Malachai attempts to kill Burt but is then killed by Isaac, who has been possessed by "He who walks behind the rows". Vicky and Burt run back to the barn where the other children are hiding and soon realize that in order to stop the demon they have to...
Ohhh nooo! What do they have to do??? Well I suggest you watch Children of the Corn and find out. I've only seen the remakes of this, and this was the first time I've seen the original. I must say, it was a decent film. Yeah, the special effects and what not are better in the newer versions, but who cares?? It's a classic baby! I do wanna know one thing...where the hell did they get some of those actors playing the children?? I mean yeesh! Some of them was ugly! haha.
And Isaac really got on my nerves. The sound of his voice was like fingernails on a chalk board. And he pretty much looked like a 40 year old trapped in a 12 year olds body. But maybe it was supposed to be like that? I don't know. But it for made the movie creepier. Like I said, the special effects weren't great..."He who walks behind the rows" thing was really weird looking...I don't even know what it was supposed to look like. But it was 1984 afterall...sooo.
But it doesn't matter, like I said, it is a total classic! There were definitely some disturbing parts. Take the diner scene for instance, totally creepy. Everyone was hanging out after church and then all of the sudden BAM, kids start coming out of the woodwork and killing people. And I will say also that little Isaac and his enforcer Malachai were malevolent little pricks! I'd be scared of them. *Shivers*. Overall I'd give Children of the Corn a 3.5 out of 5. I was excited to see the original, but not too thrilled with the acting or the special effects. I loves me some SK, but this movie was a little on the cheez-whiz side, ya know? But it's still a great movie, and I'd probably watch it again.
So know you know how I feel about that, now you can go on over and see what Zane's got going on in his weird part of the world. But be careful, he just may moon you. Thanks for stopping by Dead End Horror.
