"Children Of The Corn"

We're gonna take a little Horror Detour over the next couple days, nothing major, just a few films I turned up in a recent library search. One is an Italian classic from the 1970s, another features an actor who recently passed away, and the third is a Stephen King title that was released 35 years ago. That's the one I watched tonight : "Children Of The Corn" (1984). I avoided this movie when it came out, first of all because the reviews were negative, and also because many film adaptations of SK's stories had been subpar, including "The Shining", so I was hesitant to trust yet another one, in this case with an unknown director and what I assumed was a low budget. Mainly, though, I was into hardcore horror in those days, and if a movie didn't look like it was gonna be up to "Texas Chainsaw" standards, I often took a pass. All of these factors caused me to skip "Children Of The Corn" when it came out, but about two or three years ago - when I began to revisit 1980s horror movies - I got the feeling that I should finally check it out. It took me a little while longer, but tonight I watched it for the first time, and it wasn't half bad.

In fact, it was much better than I was expecting, just like with "Cult Of The Cobra" from last night. It's been 40 years or more since I read the original short story the movie was based on, which appeared in SK's "Night Shift", so I'm afraid I couldn't tell you the intricacies of that tale. I only remember the basics : a group of children in a boondock Nebraska town worship an unseen deity who lives within the endless rows of corn. They are fanatical and austere, like an extreme religious sect. They allow no music or art, no books (except one), and that Book they have only excerpted to suit their strict and violent beliefs.

All I remembered from the story is that a young couple traveling through corn country got lost in Nebraska and ended up in a life or death struggle with these crazy kids. The movie follows that basic premise. I will have to go back and re-read the short story to see what has been left out, but for what the movie is - a low budget SK job made to 80s standards to scare teenagers on a Saturday night - it's pretty good.

Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton (who would go on to star in "Thirtysomething" and "Terminator" respectively) are the traveling couple. He is a young doctor, she his loyal girlfriend. They are driving to Noo Joysey so he can set up his practice, but they get lost on the backroads of Nebraska, and soon they are driving around in circles. Finally they stop at a broken down old gas station that has no gas, and they ask the proprietor (old time character actor R.G. Armstrong) for directions. He tries to steer them back to the main road, but it's no use. Someone has messed with the road signs and they wind up back where they started, on the outskirts of what appears to be a deserted small town.

It is when they leave their car to search for help that the trouble begins, and I will leave you there, in the small deserted town yourself. Now you are the one walking down the empty street, toward the dead town square, looking for anyone at all who can help you find a way out.  :)

"Children Of The Corn" gets an A+ for atmosphere. The filmmakers used an actual small town in Iowa for their main location, and it has that look, of old brick buildings that you might see in the Midwest in out of the way places. They have it looking barren and weed strewn because no one is living there anymore. The adults are all gone.

But the children lurk about, in the rows of corn, or hidden away in the recesses of the abandoned church. If the blow-dried 80s couple Horton and Hamilton don't keep their wits about them, they will soon be toast, because these kids, who are led by a small-fry preacher and a taller and very scary redhead, are flat-out insane.

So you've got great atmosphere and art direction, the acting ranges from decent to very good, but the problem that brings the movie down to Earth and prevents it from being excellent is, as usual, a weak script. Too much time is spent on "the confrontations". You know what I mean; the 1980s horror showdowns between the slasher nutcases and their freaked-out victims. In the low budget films, the script was often an afterthought, but it would've been nice if the belief system of the children had been explored. How did they get that way? Who the hell is 'He Who Walks Behind The Rows'? How were they able to get rid of all the adults in town?

If we had on hand some of our Great Screenwriter friends from the Golden Era, we might be able to answer these questions, and several more.

I mean, you know what you're gonna get going in, so keep your expectations on an even keel and you won't be disappointed. 80s horror was formulaic, but there is a huge nostalgic value in the aesthetics involved. That's why I have been revisiting the horror movies from that era, just to remember the way things were. But to sum up, because it's super late and I may fall asleep, I will be generous and give "Children Of The Corn" Two Regular Thumbs Up, just because it has the main ingredients in place.

The direction could have been better, and ditto the script, but it looks good and will hold your attention throughout.

That's all I know for tonight, except to repeat what I mentioned on Facebook : Man, was that ever some bad smog today. We humans have gotta get rid of these gasoline powered cars, and soon.

That's all for tonight. See you in the morning. Hope you had a nice day. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)