Children of the Corn (1984 film)
| Children of the Corn | |
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Original 1984 theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Fritz Kiersch |
| Produced by |
Donald P. Borchers Terence Kirby |
| Written by | George Goldsmith |
| Based on | "Children of the Corn by Stephen King |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Jonathan Elias |
| Cinematography | Joao Fernandes (credited as Raoul Lomas) |
| Edited by | Harry Keramidas |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | New World Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $800,000 |
| Box office | $14,568,589 |
Children of the Corn (also known as Stephen King's Children of the Corn) is a 1984 American horror film based upon the 1977 short story of the same name by Stephen King. Directed by Fritz Kiersch, the film stars Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton. Set in the fictitious rural town of Gatlin, Nebraska, the film tells the story of a malevolent entity referred to as "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" which entices the children of the town to ritually murder all the adults in town and a couple driving across country, to ensure a successful corn harvest.
King wrote the original draft of the screenplay, which focused more on the characters of Burt and Vicky and depicted more history on the uprising of the children in Gatlin. This script was disregarded in favor of George Goldsmith's screenplay, which featured more violence and a more conventional narrative structure. Filming took place mainly in Iowa, but also in California. Eight sequels have since been produced, and has since gained a cult following.
In the fictional town of Gatlin, Nebraska, Job, a small child who is a resident of the town, tells the story of how the town became a haven for a group of young cultists. The economy of the town is mostly agricultural, and the town is surrounded by vast cornfields. One particular year the corn crop fails and the people of Gatlin turn to prayer in an attempt to ensure a successful harvest. A 12-year-old young boy, Isaac Chroner, takes all the children of Gatlin into a cornfield and preaches to them about the prophecies of a strange, bloodthirsty concept of God called "He Who Walks Behind The Rows". Isaac, through his 17-year-old lieutenant Malachai, leads the children in a revolution, brutally killing all of the adults in the town. Over the ensuing years, the children take any adults passing through as sacrifices.
Three years later, Vicky and her boyfriend Burt pass through Nebraska while driving cross-country to Burt's new job as a physician in Seattle, Washington. As they travel in their car they hit a small boy out on the highway, one of the Gatlin children who tried to escape the iron hand of the syncretistic death cult. After inspection of the boy's body Burt determines that the child had his throat slit before being hit by the car and had stumbled on to the road from inside the cornfield. They take the blood-soaked suitcase as evidence, load the body in the trunk and set out to find the nearest telephone to call for help. Pulling into a rundown service station, they encounter an old man who refuses to help due to his secret agreement with the children to supply them with oil and gasoline in exchange for his life. However, Malachai breaks the pact against Isaac's will and murders the old man and his dog once Burt and Vicky leave.
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