Children of the Corn (1984)
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39% of critics liked it
(23 reviews) -
49% of users liked it
(82,431 ratings)
Narrator Job (Robby Kiger) relates the tale of Gatlin, NE, where one day the children, led by a boy preacher named Isaac (John Franklin), rose up and slaughtered all the grown-ups. A few years later, Job and his sister, Sarah (Ammemarie McEvoy), help their friend, Joseph (Jonas Marlowe), try to… More Narrator Job (Robby Kiger) relates the tale of Gatlin, NE, where one day the children, led by a boy preacher named Isaac (John Franklin), rose up and slaughtered all the grown-ups. A few years later, Job and his sister, Sarah (Ammemarie McEvoy), help their friend, Joseph (Jonas Marlowe), try to escape through the cornfields of Gatlin. Meanwhile, Burt Stanton (Peter Horton), a commitment-phobic young doctor, and Vicky Baxter (Linda Hamilton), his frustrated girlfriend, travel through the cornfield-lined roads of Nebraska on their way to Burt's new internship in Omaha. Their car hits Joseph, who appears out of nowhere, but upon examining him, Burt realizes the child's throat was slit before he ever wandered out from the corn. Attempting to locate help, Burt and Vicky turn to gas-station owner Diehl (R.G. Armstrong), who urges the couple to go anywhere but nearby Gatlin to report the murder. Several contradictory street signs later, they arrive in Gatlin anyway, and, befriending Sarah and Joseph, attempt to uncover the mystery behind Isaac's cult and its mysterious deity, known only as He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Stephen King cash-ins flooded the market between the successes of Brian DePalma's Carrie (1976) and Rob Reiner's Misery (1990), many of them, like Children of the Corn, based only loosely on the author's fiction. The original short story appeared in the collection Night Shift. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Directed By
- Fritz Kiersch
- Written By
- George Goldsmith
- Genres
- Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Cult Movies
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1984 Wide
- Studio
- New World Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Charles Cassady, Common Sense Media
Classic Stephen King horror, hardly popping.
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Jason Morgan, Filmcritic.com
its dated look reminds us that horror movies were once made with only a camera and buckets of Karo syrup; not marketable teen models and computer-generated effects.
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Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton, Dread Central
[Blu-Ray Review] Another trip down another mediocre road but presented in a way that makes it hard not to admire.
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Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
It's a--look, it has to be said--corny "B" horror flick with a certain je ne sais WTF about it. [Blu-ray]
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Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review
I think congratulations to me are in order for not making a single "corn" joke!
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Peter Horton
as Dr. Burt Stanton
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Linda Hamilton
as Vicky Baxter
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R.G. Armstrong
as Diehl
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John Franklin
as Isaac
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Courtney Gains
as Malachi
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Robby Kiger
as Job
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Annemarie McEvoy
as Sarah
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Julie Maddalena
as Rachel
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Jonas Marlowe
as Joseph
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John Philbin
as Amos
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Mitch Carter
as Radio Preacher
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David Cowan
as Dad
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Eric Freeman
as Israel
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Dan Snook
as Boy
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Suzy Southam
as Mom
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Patrick Boylan
as Hansen's Customer
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D.G. Johnson
as Mr. Hansen
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Elmer Soderstrom
as Hansen's Customer
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Teresa Toigo
as Hansen's Customer
- Anne Marie McEvoy

