Over the last four decades, Stephen King’s Children of the Corn has been a remarkable prolific franchise. A brisk short story, the original follows a couple who find themselves in a seemingly empty town, only to discover its occupied by murderous children. And we’ve now reached the eleventh installment, returning us back to the start with decidedly mixed results.
Produced in 2020 and delayed until now, Children of the Corn returns the franchise to the beginning, set before the original short story (although the actual setting is potentially today, it is unclear throughout the film). A small farming community faces a crippling loss on their crop and so decide to destroy it and live off government subsidies. The children of the town, headed by orphan, Eden, are not best pleased by this development, and respond as youths are want to do in King’s world.
Children of the Corn marks Kurt Wimmer’s return to the directing chair after the one-two of Equilibrium (2002) and Ultraviolet (2006) but I’m not sure it’s a comfortable fit for the director. A functional first half gives way to a muddy second that never quite lingers on the violence long enough for impact. The cast feel a bit bereft here, lost in Wimmer’s flimsy script. There’s no real mystery in the narrative and the film never fills this absence.
Eleven films in and with almost no continuity between them, one must ask what the point is of the Children of the Corn. The latest entry even loses the central hook, the seed of potential in King’s story. The adults here are neutered and never lay a hand on the children. The film is almost afraid to tap into the horror taboo and for all the gore and violence on screen, it all feels rather lacking. And that’s the best way to sum up this new version. There’s sound and fury here, occasional jump scares and a soundtrack that goes into overdrive to tell us ‘Something Bad is happening’. But without seeing adults forced into the compromising position of killing a child, there’s really nothing here. And it’s best we don’t talk about the final act’s reveal. But trust me, it is a low point for the film. A film that seems to exist purely for name ID alone.
Produced in 2020 and delayed until now, Children of the Corn returns the franchise to the beginning, set before the original short story (although the actual setting is potentially today, it is unclear throughout the film). A small farming community faces a crippling loss on their crop and so decide to destroy it and live off government subsidies. The children of the town, headed by orphan, Eden, are not best pleased by this development, and respond as youths are want to do in King’s world.
Children of the Corn marks Kurt Wimmer’s return to the directing chair after the one-two of Equilibrium (2002) and Ultraviolet (2006) but I’m not sure it’s a comfortable fit for the director. A functional first half gives way to a muddy second that never quite lingers on the violence long enough for impact. The cast feel a bit bereft here, lost in Wimmer’s flimsy script. There’s no real mystery in the narrative and the film never fills this absence.
Eleven films in and with almost no continuity between them, one must ask what the point is of the Children of the Corn. The latest entry even loses the central hook, the seed of potential in King’s story. The adults here are neutered and never lay a hand on the children. The film is almost afraid to tap into the horror taboo and for all the gore and violence on screen, it all feels rather lacking. And that’s the best way to sum up this new version. There’s sound and fury here, occasional jump scares and a soundtrack that goes into overdrive to tell us ‘Something Bad is happening’. But without seeing adults forced into the compromising position of killing a child, there’s really nothing here. And it’s best we don’t talk about the final act’s reveal. But trust me, it is a low point for the film. A film that seems to exist purely for name ID alone.