Product Details

• Actors: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R.G. Armstrong, John Franklin, Courtney Gains
• Format: Color, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Anchor Bay/Starz
• DVD Release Date: August 25, 2009
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0026ICAOS
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,122 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Original Stephen King Classic Is Back – Now With Three All-New Featurettes! Twenty-five years after its original release, it remains one of the top shockers of the ‘80s and perhaps the most popular Stephen King story adaptation ever. Something is alive in the cornfields of desolate Gatlin, Nebraska, and the town’s children will do anything to protect its horrific secret. But when a traveling couple (Peter Horton of thirtysomething and pre-TERMINATOR Linda Hamilton) are taken prisoner by the killer kid cult, their battle for survival will unleash the most unholy sacrifice of all. The day that Isaac, Malachai, He Who Walks Behind the Rows and millions of CoTC fans have been waiting for has finally arrived: The original CHILDREN OF THE CORN is back, now in Blu-ray and loaded with exclusive new Bonus Features.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Average at best, but an excellent Blu-ray release, October 22, 2009

By	Dave. K (Staten Island, Ny) - See all my reviews

THE CHILDREN OF THE CORN

*** Out of 5

Release Date- March 9th, 1984

Running Time- 92-Minutes

Rating- R

Screenplay- George Goldsmith (Story by Stephen King)

Director- Fritz Kiersch

Starring- Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R.G. Armstrong, John Franklin, Courtney Gaines, Robby Kiger, Anne Marie McEvoy

Released in 1984 Children of the Corn is based off a short story of the same name written by Stephen King; Children of the Corn was first published in 1977 in Penthouse and than later in part of King's short story collection Night Shift.

Children of the Corn wasn't one of King's better stories in my opinion, but it wasn't bad or anything. It was an enjoyable piece, but in the end nothing special so I suppose it's only fitting the movie adaptation ends up being nothing special as well. Some people say King's work isn't suited well for film due to his writing style. I have to disagree with that; I think most of King's work is perfectly suited for film, but for the most part it seems many haven't translated well on film. King's work while sometimes violent is almost always character driven and that is what makes his novels and short stories work so well. In general horror is always about believing the impossible and that works best when the characters are well developed.

The fact Stephen King has created such excellent characters is the reason why his work has excelled; it's not easy basing a movie off of a book. You have the groundwork already done, but a lot of character development often gets lost and some of King's work turned into films have been duds like The Dark Half or average at best like Desperation, but The Dead Zone and Carrie were two prime examples of how well King's work can translate onto film. With Children of the Corn I don't think the story was good enough to be made into a 90-minute film. If anything I think this would have worked better as a short film or even an episode of a TV series. Again that's not to say the short story was bad or anything. It was enjoyable, but not one of King's stronger stories.

The screenplay by George Goldsmith was rather sub-par filled with some silly dialogue, but works well due to the silliness. The one area I do feel the screenplay improved upon the short story were with the lead characters of Burt played by Peter Horton and Vicky played by Linda Hamilton. Like I said earlier Stephen King's strong suit are his characters, but Burt and Vicky weren't among his best. I personally found them rather annoying and mostly un-likeable and here in the film version I thought they were a lot more likeable. The short story was 29-pages and the film runs at 90-minutes so obviously changes will be made; the changes made by George Goldsmith never improve on the original story, but I wouldn't say they were inferior either.

The script by Goldsmith as stated before is filled with some silly dialogue and overall Children of the Corn is poorly written, but in the poor writing it does actually make it fun. There is very little character development and the plot isn't really expanded on all that much, but it works well due to the poor writing and makes it campy fun. Like I said before the only real improvement for me was the main characters; I found Burt and Vicky more likeable in the film than the short story and in the story they spend most of their time arguing where as here in the film their relationship is still strong. My biggest complaint with the script though is the ending; the ending isn't dark like the short story and I personally felt was a cop out.

Fritz Kiersch makes his directorial debut and I'll give him credit due to the fact Children of the Corn had a very low budget, which shows at times, but doesn't look any cheaper than other low budget flicks of the same era. But besides making a decent looking film on a low budget he doesn't get much right besides that, which some limitations are due to the script though. The pacing isn't all that bad, but it's never really exciting either; Fritz Kiersch stated that when it came to the violence he wanted it more suggested than shown to do something like Alfred Hitchcock used to do. Most of the violence is just that suggested; we never see anything, but some blood splatter, which would be ok in a better movie. No offense to Fritz Kiersch, but he isn't Hitchcock and shouldn't attempt to do what he did. Children of the Corn is a movie that really could have used a lot more gore.

Some scenes are quite silly and over the top that it can be hard to keep a straight face while watching it, but some of that can also be blamed on the very poor acting from most of the cast. There is very little in the way of suspense and tension, but to Fritz Kiersch credit he does at least attempt it. Some scenes with Burt and Vicky going around the town of Gatlin can be semi creepy, which is more to do with the location than directing, but these scenes at least work some what decently, but another problem was the whole film was shot in the daytime except the final act and some of these scenes would have worked slightly better with a nighttime shoot.

The acting was rather terrible with the exception of Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton who give good performances despite the weak script; Courtney Gaines ended up becoming a solid actor, but here he wasn't very good and does add to the whole so bad its good vibe, which can partly be blamed on the silly things he has to say. I suppose it isn't easy to sound good with the idiotic lines he has, but Gaines has improved over the years. John Franklin as Isaac didn't fair much better; he is sort of creepy, but his performance was the icing on the cake for the so bad it's good.

The rest of the cast range from terrible to below average; one of my problems with the short story and film was I just couldn't fully buy into the concept, but with such weak acting it doesn't exactly help matters. Horton and Hamilton both work well together and manage to sell some really silly stuff.

My review for Children of the Corn may not sound good, but the movie really wasn't very good, but it is an enjoyable movie in how poor it was. The whole so bad its good vibe is on full effect and despite how poor the film was it does work due to that and is enjoyable, but you can easily find movies on the same level far more enjoyable. Amazingly there were several sequels made I don't think the original was good enough to warrant any (or if anything as many) and while I haven't seen all of them of the ones I've seen this is probably the best of the bunch, which is actually quite scary.

The Blu-ray release is top notch; Anchor Bay delivers a solid transfer, but obviously don't expect a pristine print. Due to the age of the film anything less than a full re-master there is only so good the picture can look. But the transfer is very good and there is some grain to be found and some dirt, but Anchor Bay delivers an excellent transfer. There are also some new features that cover the behind the scenes and they are all informative; Even though the movie is enjoyable in the so bad its good level the disc is far better than maybe the movie deserved.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Horror in the Cornfields, August 26, 2009

By	The Movie Man "tenebre89" (Maywood, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews

"Children of the Corn" is the 1984 adaptation of a Stephen King tale that turns children into monsters. Following in the tradition of "The Bad Seed" and "Village of the Damned," "Children of the Corn" sets out to shatter our notion that childhood is a time of innocence. The opening scene grabs us right away. In Gatlin, Nebraska, a small farming community, the good citizens follow church on Sunday with breakfast at the local coffee shop. One morning, however, the town's children rise up against the adults, poisoning their coffee and slashing their throats in a violent, horrifying sequence. Skip ahead three years. Burt and Vicky (Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton) have a bad accident outside Gatlin and walk to town, searching for help. But they find no adults. Eventually, they discover that the children of Gatlin have formed a religious cult around an evil entity, "He Who Walks Behind the Rows." Though far from a classic, this film has an enormous following and has inspired six sequels, five released directly to DVD. Its appeal lies partly in the performances of the two young leads. John Franklin plays Isaac, the nine-year-old prophet who organized the cult, and Courtney Gains portrays the odd-looking and unsettling Malachai. Bonus extras include the featurette, "Welcome to Gatlin: The Sight and Sounds of Children Of the Corn;" an interview with Linda Hamilton; audio commentary by director Fritz Kiersch and actors John Franklin and Courtney Gains; and the documentary "Harvesting Horror: Children of the Corn."

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Linda Hamilton on a Cross!, August 22, 2009

By	A Customer "film historian" (L.A.) - See all my reviews

First viewing of BD and film...I liked it and if the BD was a confirmation of Anchor Bay's new stuff, I hope for more great mild cheesy classics.
Because I never saw it, this disc is a fresh experience and I can see why it was popular (even though!). Travelers meet Weird locals in a strange town Plus you have Religion & Kids Gone Wild and Linda Hamilton on a cross! What more could horror fans want?
The picture is a great balance of DNR and grain; the optical effects were fine for the time and OK for today. Over smooth and It suits it; and there is plenty of visual detail, surround and bass action for aural atmosphere. Retro done right!