Children of the Corn **½ (1984, Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R G Armstrong, John Franklin, Courtney Gains) – Classic Movie Review 5850

Director Fritz Kiersch is a typically intense and bloodthirsty 1984 horror thriller film version of Stephen King’s short story, first published in the March 1977 issue of Penthouse and later collected in King’s 1978 collection Night Shift.

Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton star as youngish pair Burt and Vicky, who, after a car accident, are trapped in a remote, apparently deserted mid-America rural town and stumble across a dangerous religious cult of youngsters who believe everyone over the age of 18 must be killed and practise human sacrifices. Can they get out alive?

The movie is horrific, horrible and improbable, but directed by Kiersch with just enough of a little flashy vigour to make it interesting and a popular hit.

John Franklin plays a boy preacher named Isaac, who reappears in Children of the Corn 666. He has arrived in the Nebraska town of Gatlin and got all the children to murder every adult.

Also in the cast are R G Armstrong as Diehl, Courtney Gains as Malachai, Robby Kiger, Anne Marie McEvoy, Julie Maddalena, Jonas Marlowe, John Philbin, Dan Snook, David Cowen, Suzy Southam, Eric Freeman and D G Johnson.

The screenplay is by George Goldsmith, it is shot by Raoul Lomas, produced by Donald P Borchers and Terence Kirby, scored by Jonathan Elias and designed by Craig Stearns.

There are seven sequels so far: Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1993), Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995), Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996), Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) and Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return (1999), Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001), and Children of the Corn: Genesis (2011). A TV film remake, also titled Children of the Corn, was released in 2009.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5850

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