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| Images courtesy RJLE Films |
Here we are, decades later and Stephen King’s work is still inspiring filmmakers and studios to make new movies based on the original short story and film. Children of the Corn will never die. No matter how hard they try to ruin it.
Unfortunately enough, most have categorically failed to make anything nearly as creepy as the ‘84 feature about murderous young religious zealots among the corn fields. This latest reworking serves as a semi-prequel to the originator that cashes in on modern fears of climate disasters, environmental catastrophe, farmland despair and really bad young actors doing their damnedest to serve an underdeveloped script that doesn’t do much to build on an established mythology. The franchise may be best served at this point by altogether stopping any more from happening or a total revamp including a full reboot/remake that steps into the modern era with a genre specific director that’s cut their teeth on highly realized horror or thrillers. There is a deeper meaning at the core that would be better suited to someone that understands subtle messaging and plotting.
Directed by Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium, Ultraviolet), Children of the Corn (2020) was held back due to the pandemic which delayed its release by three years. We’re not really sure how this effected the final product but it’s a shame that this creative work has still not received a great continuation. This new entry looks great and does feature a strong creep-out factor but the completed film is a flawed effort that’s like a higher budgeted cable movie with a cast of relatively unknowns and child actors. There’s an obvious modernized Lord of the Flies power play nod in the screenplay that feels relevant to current times, attitudes and trends, but the film is a far cry from the horrors instilled in the 1984 movie. Gone is the grit and the grain, leaving behind a digital shell that’s almost too much of Wimmer’s own thing and way too clean looking. Instead of crafting a connected story or one that pays respects to its origins, it plays like a stand-alone that fails to establish a threatening antagonist other than Mother Nature’s powerful wrath hidden behind a computer generated corn maze killer.
In current times, it has to be said that killer children going on a bloody rampage seems a bit off kilter or tone deaf. Not saying it shouldn’t have been made, but in a time when we’re all scared of where the next school shooter will show up, it’s hard to swallow a batch of teens and pre-teens dispatching all the adults of the town in brutal fashion. Of course there’s one lonesome teen that goes against the grain, fighting against the gang of blood thirsty kids. After numerous entries in this series and tons of other movies that use this story trope, Children of the Corn (2020) is a lazy man’s reworking that begs the question, why? This does literally zero to be creative or original but is all played on easy mode with the simplest story choices and character arcs that have zero chemistry or motivation.
Adding to the pile of negatives are the terribly rendered CGI effects and visuals. Blood spatter is all computer generated and the few moments of creature design look like cut scene footage from a video game. None of this makes a case for a good Children of the Corn movie. Perhaps it’s time to either reinvent the wheel or give up until someone understands their source material. This was never what this was about and Wimmer’s team failed to draw any new blood from a long dying brand.
Children of the Corn is currently in limited theaters and will be on streaming on March 21st.
-CG