Children of the Corn (1984 -1995) The also-ran horror franchise that keeps on motoring (Review)

Stephen King must be the most adapted author in horror: there are over 60 direct efforts to bring his work to the big screen. The number of movies that those 60 have inspired or the sequels they have spawned, his influence is indisputable. One of the weirder is the Children of the Corn, a movie whose reputation far outstrips its position in the wider horror cannon – whether, by reference or parody, everybody knows about the ‘Corn even if you haven’t watched any of the 11 movies. Thankfully, Arrow Video’s new boxset release doesn’t include all of them as there is a rebooted series and a good few TV movies among that number. What it does include is the first three that stretched from 1984 to 1995.

When you think of 1980s horror, the rural lo-fi prospect the ’84 original offered is worlds away from the vision of that decade – this is not excessively maximalist nor is it drenched in effects and gore. Fritz Kiersch’s franchise debut and his own directorial debut feel more analogous to the 70s. It isn’t until the 90s Dimension produced sequels that the mythology of “he who walks behind the rows” is built and the horror heightened to something more in line with the style of the time, complete with lavish effects and ideas that left Stephen King’s original short story for dust.

Linda Hamilton and Peter Burton are a young couple heading across America when they should happen to drive through Gatlin, Nebraska, where the kids have killed near enough all of the adults on the word of a mythic religious figure referred to only as he who walks behind the rows. When Hamilton (Vicky) and Burton (Burt) arrive, the town is empty with the kids led by the preacher-like Isaac (John Franklin) and his muscle Malachai (Courtney Gains). Between the two of them, they scream for the capture of the unbelievers and outlanders as their capture will surely be looked upon favourably. Of course, there are holdouts, kids who don’t believe the same things as those affected by the philosophy of the single-minded murder cult and it’s those who help Hamilton and Burton into a climactic face-off in the corns.

Shot on a budget of around $800,000, much of that money was surely spent on ensuring the Iowan town of Sioux City could be suitably quiet for the Children of the Corn to feel this authentically sparse. That and the explosive climax that is over much too abruptly. The emptiness is something to behold, however, you could lay claim that this debut also feels very post-horror. Any events which evoke fear or provoke tension have long passed before the protagonists even roll into town. A theory that is given more credence with most of the movie outside of the opening diner scene revolving around POV shots from the corn, kids looks menacing and gangs of kids with blades running after Peter Burton. And, honest talk, there’s only so many times a 15-year-old in a suit can say “seize them” before it becomes hilarious.

I’m going to go on record and state outright that I don’t think Children of the Corn as a franchise is particularly noteworthy, its prolonged longevity stems from the fact that its concept stands out in a genre space that can become very samey, especially when discussing franchises. That all being said, I am about to offer up what could very easily be an unpopular opinion. I believe Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice satisfies in ways that the ’84 original fails.

Of course, II probably bites off more than it can chew and lacks stand out characters, still it offers more about He who walks behind the rows than a murder cult and one use of ‘demon voice’. Furthermore, it shows them enact their murderous fury rather than just its after-effects – giving presence to the actual corn with kills by grain asphyxiation, a house flattening and even one by a combine harvester. There is a lot to like here. Whatever way you look at it, there is more to attach to here, even if the substory of tainted corn and its cover-up and the native American folklore leave an impression of padding to reach a length suitable for cinema screens. These are all very short movies, after all.

In part II, the Final Sacrifice, director David Price brings what is possibly the most direct sequel you can manage with 7 years of separation. As the film opens, there is an open acknowledgement that the kids of Gatlin murdered all the adults with the neighbouring town busing them all in to rehome. A few know what went down but most are shockingly oblivious, it wouldn’t make for much of a sequel now, otherwise. And to the surprise of no one, the same thing happens again with the kids following Micah (Ryan Bollman) into a campaign of bloody wrath. The protagonists this time are a bickering and estranged father and son duo from New York, Terence Knox (as outcast journalist, Garrett) and Paul Scherrer (as his son, Danny) the latter of whom falls for the ‘hot girl in town’ Christie Clark (Lacey).

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed part II, unfortunately, the same cannot be extended to the next and last Children of the Corn movie in this set, III: the urban harvest. If part 2 was too busy, part 3 is hectic and, honestly, a little self-sabotaging. The reason for this is that the previous mythology and Screaming Mad George as the special effects coordinator don’t really jive together. The previous two are at their best when he who walks behind the rows is sulking unseen as his moniker suggests, quietly manipulating with a little bit of possession here and there. My issue with any Screaming Mad George effects-driven sequel is that the mythology is overlooked and instead they throw money into gore and creature gags that don’t marry well with any concept. There are two such occasions that I’ll highlight: the first is the most over-the-top decapitation I have ever seen – no human has that much spine as they’d have to be about 20 feet tall. And the other gives a tentacle-like appearance to he who walks in the rows with it absolutely wrecking shop in the gore laden climax. Impressive they both are but they help turn the urban harvest into nothing other than a confusing mess.

Honestly, director James D.R. Hickox didn’t need any help in turning this into a confusing mess. The plot follows adoptive brothers Eli (Joshua Cerny) and Joshua (Ron Melendez) from Nebraska to Chicago. Eli, the younger of the two, is the body possessed by he who walks behind the rows and so he is thoroughly unimpressed by modernity and it is through him that all the horror passes, and Joshua, on the other hand, assimilates into city living. That causes conflict between the two brothers, and that is just one brand the movie involves. Eli also has a conflict with his new adopted parents, one of who he manipulates with the prospects of wonder corn (which sets up sequels only for further sequels to largely ignore it), conflict with all his classmates, conflict with the carer who set him up in his new home, and conflict with the headmaster of his new school. This is less Children of the Corn and more Eli of the Corn. Short story even shorter, Eli is like a subway sandwich shop in a city – you are never more than 30 seconds walk away from the closest branch. It is too much.

There is an audience for what The Urban Harvest is offering, it’s just that audience is more of a Screaming Mad George audience, a 1980s uber-gore sort of audience. Which is not the sort of prospect that the previous two titles in the franchise dealt with. Which begs the question, if this isn’t all that engaged with the Children of the Corn beyond the most basic of notions, why is it a children of the corn movie to begin with? And sadly this is a tale as old as cinema itself, sometimes certain movies can only be financed if they have an attachment to an established and bankable franchise – this is true even within horror. Sometimes, scripts are forced into franchises they share little or no connection with just to get financing. Urban Harvest is a mess, albeit a mess with amazing practical effects.

Let’s not sugarcoat things, Children of the Corn is not one of the upper echelon horror franchises – on the contrary, it is one of the also-rans. That’s not to say that there aren’t great moments and ideas scattered throughout, and it has been running for 11 movies so it undoubtedly has its fans it is just unfortunate that this boxset didn’t make me one. That all being said, Arrow Video have done incredible work putting this set together. First off, the prints included are excellent, with the first also including a 4K print, there are also multiple cuts of each movie to boot too. The extras are stonkingly generous with countless new featurettes, director’s commentaries and interviews, the extras must surely last numerous times longer than the movies they are supplementing. It has been a long time, years since I experienced a blu-ray release so exhaustive and lavish.

THANKS FOR READING ROBS’S REVIEW OF CHILDREN OF THE CORN

Reportedly drummer Dave Rowntree still finds this film unwatchable; Graham and Ewan are a little more generous. That said, the film’s main asset is the one director Matthew Longfellow barely seems to notice: it depicts the band on the verge of releasing Modern Life is Rubbish, an album which saved them from one-hit wonder status and set the agenda for the next decade of British rock music.

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