🌽 Children of the Corn (1984) Review

“And on this farm, He Who Walks Behind the Rows.”


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Lets start by showing y’all the trailers shall we?

🎥 Trailers

The trailers leaned heavily on the Stephen King connection, promising a terrifying story of children turned killers in a small Nebraska town.


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📖 Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

A young couple, Burt and Vicky, are driving through Nebraska when they stumble upon a deserted rural town. At first glance, it seems abandoned — but they quickly discover that the children have murdered all the adults, following a cult-like religion worshipping “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” Led by the fanatical Isaac and his brutal enforcer Malachai, the children believe sacrifice is the only way to appease their god. Burt and Vicky are trapped in a nightmare where escape seems impossible, and survival means outwitting an entire town of brainwashed kids.


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🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Character Rundown

Burt (Peter Horton): The pragmatic doctor trying to protect Vicky and rationalize the horror around him.

Vicky (Linda Hamilton): Burt’s girlfriend, terrified yet resilient, and one of the few sympathetic characters.

Isaac (John Franklin): The cult’s leader — a small, eerie figure whose quiet fanaticism makes him unsettling.

Malachai (Courtney Gains): The true physical threat, a red-haired brute who enforces Isaac’s will with violence.

The Children: Less characters than a creepy collective, embodying mob mentality and blind obedience.



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⏱️ Pacing / Episode Flow

The movie starts strong with its chilling prologue showing the massacre of adults, but the momentum quickly drags. Much of the runtime feels padded with wandering through empty streets and cornfields. It spikes with moments of menace when Isaac or Malachai appear, but then dips into long stretches of dull atmosphere that undercut the tension.


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✅ Pros

Creepy concept: Kids murdering adults under a cult’s influence is disturbing on paper.

Isaac and Malachai: The two child villains steal the movie, giving it its only real edge.

Opening massacre: Still unsettling, even today.

Atmosphere: Cornfields are inherently eerie, and the film knows how to use them.



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❌ Cons

Flat protagonists: Burt and Vicky aren’t interesting enough to carry the story.

Uneven pacing: Long stretches of filler kill the tension.

Special effects: “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” is built up as terrifying, but the effects underwhelm badly.

Missed potential: The concept could’ve been terrifying, but the execution lands as average.



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💭 Final Thoughts

Children of the Corn had all the ingredients for a cult-classic horror — Stephen King source material, creepy rural setting, and the terrifying idea of children turning on adults. Instead, it delivers something middling: eerie at times, campy at others, but never fully scary. Isaac and Malachai elevate it, but the flat leads and weak payoff keep it from greatness. It’s not unwatchable, but it’s also not memorable, especially compared to stronger King adaptations of the era.


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⭐ Rating

5/10 — Average at best. A creepy idea squandered by weak pacing and lackluster execution.


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⚠️ Spoiler Warning ⚠️

🕵️ Spoilers

The film begins with a shocking prologue: the children, led by Isaac and Malachai, slaughter all the adults in town to appease their god, “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” Years later, Burt and Vicky stumble into the town. They encounter Job and Sarah, two children who resist the cult, and learn the truth about the murders.

Isaac’s authority is challenged when Malachai stages a coup, stringing Isaac up on a corn cross. But the god they worship actually manifests, taking Isaac’s body in a bizarre supernatural sequence. Burt fights the cult, leading to a final showdown in the cornfields. The survivors use fire to destroy the rows, supposedly killing the dark force — though the ending hints it may still linger.

The result is less terrifying than it sounds, thanks to clunky effects and uneven tone. What should have been a chilling showdown between adults and possessed children ends up feeling more campy than scary.