Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
A traveling couple end up in an abandoned Nebraska town inhabited by a cult of murderous children who worship a demon that lives in the local cornfields.
Children of the Corn has a memorably creepy premise drawn from Stephen King's short story — a town of murderous children led by a fanatical young preacher worshipping a cornfield demon is genuinely distinctive folk horror. The cinematography makes solid use of the flat Nebraska landscape and golden cornfields to build dread. However, the plot is thin and stretched beyond its source material's natural length, with a meandering middle section. Acting is uneven — Isaac and Malachai are effective as the child zealots, but the adult leads are bland and unconvincing. The ending deflates much of the tension with cheap-looking special effects and an unsatisfying resolution. It earns its cult status more from atmosphere and concept than execution.