BLU-RAY REVIEW: Who’s babysitting the ‘Children of the Corn’?

Stephen King’s cinematic adaptations have typically been hit or miss. There’s the uber-creepiness of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, the scary brilliance of Carrie and the devilishly good performance by Colm Feore in Storm of the Century. Who can forget The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me?

But for every diamond, there’s a rough spot. Let’s not get into The Tommyknockers. Did you have to bring up The Langoliers? OK, Maximum Overdrive is horrible.

So where does Children of the Corn land in the pantheon of King’s flicks? After watching Image Entertainment’s recently released Blu-ray of the film, I’d have to place it right in the middle. It’s nowhere near the brilliance of Kubrick’s output, but it holds one’s attention and definitely achieves a demented eeriness quotient.

Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton play Burt and Vicky, a young couple making their way across the picturesque cornfields of Nebraska. Like any great horror movie, they run into some car trouble and need to rely on the kindness of strangers. But their woes are not the typical occurrences, like running out of gas or an engine problem. Instead, they meet up with the ‘Children of the Corn’ head on … literally.

One of the young members from a crazed cult that lives in the cornfields tries to escape the murderous clan. Before he can run away, his throat is slit and he stumbles into the path of Burt’s car. With a dead boy on the pavement and strangers lurking nearby, it’s up to Burt and Vicky to find help among the residents of Gatlin, a small town taken hostage by the corn cult.

At the head of this religious society are Isaac (John Franklin) and Malachai (Courtney Gains), two great villains. Isaac is the leader, a short dictator with an evident Napoleon complex. His spitfire personality motivates most of the killing in the movie. Malachai, on the other hand, is his stiff, dispensing much of the carnage.

Burt and Vicky need to save the day and try to salvage some innocent children along the way.

The movie features cheesy special effects, so-so acting, a rather ridiculous plot and one-note characters. Still, it plays like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone, or a segment of King’s own Creepshow series. Isaac and Malachai are so twisted that they actually feel believable, like outcasts from Lord of the Flies. Not much if learned in terms of why this cult exists and what the filmmakers are trying to convey. It’s all taken as pure horror, sans the allegory.

Hamilton and Horton try their best with the unlikely hero-heroine roles, but the movie’s most interesting sections are found with the children. Robby Kriger plays Job, one of the good kids who watches the onslaught from the outside, offering up an unnecessary voiceover that is dropped halfway through the film.

The script by George Goldsmith is serviceable and economical; Fritz Kiersch’s directing is simple and effective.

For a fun scare, it doesn’t hurt to sit for 92 minutes with these demented children. They won’t make you think, but they may make you jump.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Stephen King’s Children of the Corn

• 1984

• Directed by Fritz Kiersch

• Written by George Goldsmith; based on a short story by King

• Starring Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, John Franklin, Courtney Gains and Robby Kiger

• Running time: 92 minutes

• Rated R

• Rating:

• Recently released through Image Entertainment’s Midnight Madness Series