Children of the Corn – A Failed Reimagining (Early Review)

Based on a 1977 short story published by Stephen King, the first Children of the Corn film released in 1984 starring Linda Hamilton and Peter Horton. The success of that film started a long running franchise consisting of 11 films in total, two of those being remakes including this one where most of which were released direct-to-DVD. Despite being one of the longest running active horror franchises, none of the films themselves are particularly known as classics of the genre (even the original) or talked about very favorably amongst the horror community despite featuring some early on-screen appearances from the likes of Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts, and Eva Mendes.

This newest entry isn’t necessarily a direct remake of the 1984 film but more of a reimagining of the series in general that takes a different approach in telling the well-known story. Unlike, the original which takes place after most of the horrific events occur, this one decides to feature the build up to those events and actually show what happened to the small town in which it takes place. The film primarily focuses on a bright high schooler named Boleyn (Kampouris) who is forced to fight back after a psychopathic twelve-year-old girl from her small Nebraska town recruits all the other children and goes on a bloody rampage, killing the corrupt adults and anyone else who opposes her.

This reimagining of Children of the Corn had a lot of potential but unfortunately the film rarely ever works despite the best efforts from everyone involved. Kampouris delivers a solid lead performance, and Boleyn is likable enough to get the audience on her side quickly. Mulvey is given a bigger role than he usually receives, and he does a decent job as well as her father Robert. The strained father/daughter relationship between both characters is easily the film most compelling storyline but unfortunately, it’s barely focused on and disappears pretty quickly over the course of the film. Outside of them, the film has a few slightly creepy moments and effective shots of gore but outside of that, there’s very little about it that works.

It’s clear what the filmmakers were going for here, however, they didn’t truly have the budget or supplies to do it. It all feels so cheap and unfortunately there’s quite a few CGI shots that look very rough and completely unfinished. The premise had the potential to be terrifying and bone-chilling, but the execution is completely off as it comes across more funny than scary. It also doesn’t help that outside of Kampouris and Mulvey, there isn’t a single good performance in it. Kate Moyer as Eden Edwards, the main antagonist of the film, is doing the best she can with the material she’s given but unfortunately, she’s let down by the extremely weak writing and she never comes across as intimidating or frightening as a role like this requires. All of the other child actors are similarly let down by the writing as well and are forced to deliver some very unnatural and rough lines of dialogue throughout. What makes it even more difficult to watch is that it’s clear all of them are trying their absolute best.

Perhaps the biggest crime Children of the Corn commits is that it brings absolutely nothing new to this franchise despite being the 11^th entry. The film could’ve done so many new and interesting things, but it just feels like another derivative and generic entry that fails to stand out from the others and is plagued by some really choppy editing in spots. Despite clocking in at a short 92-minute length, it drags heavily throughout not to mention very dull and repetitive after only a short period of time due to the familiarity of it all.

The horror genre has never been more alive than it is right now as several extremely small budget horror films with have found ways to be extremely creative, clever, and successful, so there’s really no excuse as to why this couldn’t have brought at least a little more to the table. While it’s nothing offensive, it might very well be the final nail in the coffin for this franchise which is probably for the best.

still courtesy of RLJE Films

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/