rating: ***1/2
starring: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton and R.G. Armstrong
If you had 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 save the The Dark Tower volumes. I started reading him since I was in grade school and still follows him until today.
Now, more than a while, I know King don't do slasher stories but apparently a lot of directors, including Zombie maestro George A. Romero with his film adaptation of King's "The Dark Half", refuse to accept that and had adapted some of his books and shorts into multitudes of slash and dice antics, but none of them had gone through the same popularity and recognition as the crop known as Children of the Corn.
Damien, if he embraced his persona early. |
note to lovers hitting the road: Never go for corn fields! |
With films such as The Horrible House on The Hill and Bloody Birthday, Children of the Corn is one of the many additional 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 Children of the Corn a cult success was its religious theme.
Perhaps more religious than the Stephen King short, the movie tackled paganism and cultism, as well as a symbolic look into the nature of fundamentalism and influence, as it twists the idea by providing young cult members, showing how easy it is to control a weak (or weaker) will and how one small idea can lead to disastrous results. Though supernatural elements were 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 since it's both pro and against the idea of religion, sticking with the universal truth that good prevails evil. ( Any religion without love and compassion is false! It's a lie! A powerful line. Struck a few heartstrings for me. Though Evil never dies. Proven by this film's eight sequels, and counting...)
We, to be, belong! We, to be, belong! |
The book had this gal on a much infamous fate. |
Though Children of the Corn transformed itself from stalk and slash with killer kids to a supernaturally fueled religious horror in the near end, it's no short of the slash stuff rawness neither; not exactly the finest among the Stephen King adaptations as well, but quite 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
(Note (and spoiler): Though it appears Eli was blown apart by the demon He Who Walks Behind The Rows, it turns out that, in a sequel, Eli was put to a coma rather than killed in that incident.)
Well, I saw this in a drive-in in 1984 - and well, I'm glad YOU like it. ;)
ReplyDeleteBut I am a big Stephen King fan too. Have you seen The Night Flier?
And why no Dark Tower?
Well, it has value to me, seen it in grade school and became a fan of it knowing it's based on King's short. I read the Night Flier, but never seen the movie yet.
DeleteI never liked books that comes in volumes; it's bad enough I'm left hanging by the end of the first book, but I have to buy the rest of the series to see the rest of the picture? I like my novels, mangas and comic books to be close-ended. However, not the same can be said for movies for some reason...