Movie Review: Children of the Corn (1984)

★★★★★

Children of the Corn creeped me out way more than I expected. Creepy kids in a cornfield? Yeah, no thanks!

Megan S.

Kansas

There’s something about horror in small towns that hits differently. Maybe it’s the isolation, maybe it’s the stillness, or maybe it’s the fact that if something goes wrong, there’s nowhere to run. Children of the Corn, based on Stephen King’s short story, taps into all three and then adds the extra layer of kids who have no business being this creepy.

Rewatching it for BoxReview.com, I realized this movie is less about the gore (which it has) and more about the atmosphere. It’s the wide-open cornfields, the absence of adults, and that strange, almost hypnotic devotion the children have to “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.”

The Premise: Welcome to Gatlin — Population: Unsettling

The film follows Burt (Peter Horton) and Vicky (Linda Hamilton) as they drive through rural Nebraska, only to discover the town of Gatlin is run entirely by children. The adults are… gone. Not “on vacation,” gone ritualistically sacrificed to a mysterious god that lives in the cornfields.

The leader of the pack is Isaac (John Franklin), a child preacher with an unsettling stare and a voice that sounds way too ancient for his body. His enforcer, Malachai (Courtney Gains), brings a more physical brand of menace, lurking just at the edge of every scene.

The Real Horror: Rural Isolation and Groupthink

Most reviews focus on the supernatural element, but to me, Children of the Corn works best when you forget about the monster for a second and focus on the human horror.

There’s something deeply unsettling about the way the kids have built a functioning society around Isaac’s rules. It’s not chaos, it’s organized. The rituals, the farming, the enforcement… It’s all eerily structured. That’s scarier than random violence, because it means the horror isn’t just supernatural; it’s ideological.

Isaac and Malachai: Two Sides of Terror

Isaac is all about control through belief, calm, deliberate, and always talking about “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” like it’s a given fact. Malachai, on the other hand, is a brute force.

Courtney Gains gives Malachai this lanky, almost animalistic presence. The way he leans into the camera, the way his voice cracks when he yells “Outlander!” it’s burned into my brain. You believe these kids would follow him, just out of fear.

Linda Hamilton Before Terminator

It’s easy to forget that Children of the Corn came out the same year as The Terminator. Linda Hamilton’s Vicky is a very different kind of heroine here — not a hardened action figure, but someone thrown into an impossible situation and forced to hold it together. She plays Vicky with just enough edge to feel real, especially when dealing with Burt’s “let’s investigate everything” approach that, frankly, would’ve had me driving out of Gatlin at top speed.

The Setting: Cornfields as a Character

The Nebraska cornfields are more than just a backdrop. They’re a trap. The movie does a great job making them feel endless, oppressive, and alive. Every rustle of the stalks feels like it could be a child watching… or something worse.

That “something worse” is, of course, the supernatural force controlling Gatlin. While the effects for “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” have aged into 80s charm, the idea is still creepy, a god that lives in the crops and demands blood to keep the harvest coming.

Under-Discussed Element: The Opening Scene is Brutal

One part that often gets overlooked is the opening diner massacre. It sets the tone instantly, no build-up, no easing in, just kids calmly poisoning and slaughtering all the adults in the room. The casualness of it makes it far more unsettling than if it had been a chaotic bloodbath.

It’s a great example of the movie telling you right away: “In Gatlin, the rules are different.”

Music and Atmosphere: Church Choir Meets Creepshow

Jonathan Elias’s score deserves more love. The eerie choral arrangements of children’s voices echoing against organ chords give the whole movie a feeling of twisted spirituality. It’s part hymn, part nightmare. Even without the visuals, you’d know something is deeply wrong.

The Ending: A Mix of Payoff and Camp

Without spoiling too much, the final act brings the supernatural to the forefront, and while some of the effects feel dated, the sheer audacity of the climax still works. You go from quiet tension to all-out chaos, which feels earned after an hour of slow-burning dread.

The very final beats are a little lighter, almost winking at the audience, but it works as a breather after so much intensity.

Why Children of the Corn Still Works Today

Not every Stephen King adaptation from the ’80s has aged well, but Children of the Corn still delivers because its core horror isn’t tied to special effects; it’s tied to ideas. Isolated towns. Dangerous belief systems. The unsettling way children can mimic adult authority without the empathy that (usually) comes with it.

Plus, it’s just a fun, eerie watch perfect for a late-night double feature with Pet Sematary or Salem’s Lot.

Final Thoughts

Children of the Corn is one of those horror films that sticks with you not because it’s the scariest thing you’ve ever seen, but because it taps into fears that feel… possible. The supernatural angle is just icing on the cake.

If you haven’t seen it in a while, give it another go. Just maybe don’t plan any road trips through Nebraska right afterward.