Gatlin Babies: Children of the Corn (1984)

Children of the Corn (1984)
Rating: ***1/2
Starring: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton and R.G. Armstrong

If you read my buddy's Blogger of the Month's post, you know that God (or at least one of my gods) wears glasses, has a nasally sounding voice and has a heart of a small kid...sitting on his desk. In case you don't get it, I'm a big Stephen King Fan and probably own most of his books. I started reading him since I was in grade school and still follows him til' this day.

Now, I know King don't do slasher stories but apparently some directors, including zombie maestro George A. Romero with his 1993 film adaptation of King's "The Dark Half", refuse to accept that and adapted some of his books and shorts into multitudes of slash and dice fright flicks, but none of them may have gone through the same popularity and recognition as the crop known as Children of The Corn (1984).

While not entirely the first of it's kind, Children of the Corn (1984) struck gold when it combines taboos of killer children and religious zealotry; opening on one Sunday morning in Gatlin, Nebraska, a group of church goers step into to a malt shop only to be ambushed by the diner's young patrons and staffs, apparently under the influence of a mysterious child preacher known as Isaac and his second in command, Malachi. Soon, the rest of the townsfolk over the age of 18 are killed off, as well as any passing adults who enter their haven.

Some years alter, Burt (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend Vicky (Linda Hamilton) are driving cross-country through Nebraska, heading towards Seattle for Burt's new job as a physician. Along the way, they hit a wounded boy who appears to be attacked beforehand. Out of panic, they drive deeper into the town of Gaitlin to find help, only to see themselves unable to escape and prowled upon by the young and murderous cultists, as well as a demonic deity only known as "He Who Walks Behind The Rows".

With films such as The Horrible House on The Hill (1974) and Bloody Birthday (1981), Children of the Corn (1984) is one of the many killer kid slashers made during the golden age of its kin, though in here, while the slasher cliches are present, the bigger impact on what made this title a cult success is its stronger emphasis on religious horror.

Perhaps more religious than the Stephen King short, the movie tackles the nature of fundamentalism and influence, as it twists the idea of young cult members, showing how easy it is to control a weak will and how one small idea can lead to disastrous results. Though supernatural elements are used to back up the statement through a cheaply portrayed yet thematically intimidating pagan deity, there's no denying the intangible nature of the thought, which makes this film such an interesting watch.

Adult roles here are minimal and, frankly, very average in your standard horror movie manner; though they're chummier to each other compared to King's short, Horton and Hamilton's characters soon fall into a more standard toughened hero and damsel in distress characters commonly found in monster flicks. The child casting in Children of the Corn (1984), though, sets its sights on John Franklin as the squeaky-voiced child preacher from hell and his warmongering lieutenant, Malachai, courtesy of Courtney Gains who don his role with much sick sense of slaughter and blood lust. A slight deviation from the original prose is the inclusion of two tykes, Job and Sarah, who are there to side with our heroes through their time of need, acting as their insight to the cult's doings. Playing them were Robby Kiger and Anne Marie McEvoy, with much adorable child acting to go along a script made for their character to serve as a hopeful and more good-natured outlook within the story, in contrast to the army of kids with scythes and sickles, their monstrous number making them intimidating around a vicinity that's hardly populated.

The slasher elements in this film are also an odd cone compared to the rest of any titles coming out from that year; though majority solely focuses on bodycount and cheese, Children of the Corn (1984) instead lays work on the creep factor, wondrously backed-up by a haunting soundtrack sang by kids ala The Omen (1976) and numerous stalking scenes taking place in a very isolated looking town. Aside from the kills coming from the notorious opening scene, the bodycount, admittedly, lacks actual bloodletting as the rest follows are either done offscreen or quickly.

Though later sequels shifted towards a more stalk-and-slash direction with the killer cult kids, Children of the Corn (1984) hits a good note as a supernaturally fueled religious horror, with a short yet serviceable amount of slasher film rawness. One of the good enough Stephen King adaptations, as well as a memorable cult title to say the least.

Bodycount:
2 males and 2 females poisoned
1 male had his neck slashed with sickle
1 male had his hand shredded on meat slicer, killed
1 male had his neck slashed with billhook
1 female killed offscreen
1 boy hacked with knife, ran over by car
1 male hacked to death offscreen
1 male corpse found
1 male had his neck broken
Total: 12