Children of the Corn (2009)

Review by John "Spooky Sully" Sullivan



When I first heard of the SyFy Channel's production of Stephen King's Children of the Corn back in 2008, I was excited and a little nervous. I mean, with all of the remakes, redo's and reimaginings of the last few years, many have fallen short of my expectations. And while the town of Gatlin holds a special place in this reviewers heart - let's just say I didn't want it to suck. Directed by Donald Borchers who was the producer on the original, this SyFy Channel "re-harvesting" stars David Anders (Heroes) as Burt, Kandyse McClure (SyFy's Battlestar Gallactica and the 2002 MGM remake of Carrie) as Vicky, Daniel Newman (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant) as lethal law enforcer Malachai and young Preston Bailey (Dexter) as the dominating religious leader Isaac. In addition to COTC alumnus Borchers, original "Corn" composer Jonathan Elias takes one more trip through the small midwestern town of Gatlin with a fresh sounding take on his classic score and brings fellow composer Nathaniel Morgan along for the ride. After watching the "Uncut and Uncensored" dvd that was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment, it is very apparent that the state of Iowa still has what it takes to make the authenticity of a community unaware they are in the clutches of evil believable. David Anders and Kandyse McClure play their roles to a "T" portraying the quaralling travellers and although there was nothing wrong with the acting per se, I found Daniel Newman and Preston Bailey's performances a little lackluster in the creepiness and fear. Truthfully though, I think that it is going to be tough for anyone to ever beat the terror that John Franklin and Courtney Gains brought across on the screen in those roles. The dvd quality itself does look very good and packs a handful of extras including insightful interviews and behind-the-scenes footage straight from the Iowa set in a four-part series edited by Michael Felsher of Red Shirt Pictures called "Rough Cuts - Remaking Children of the Corn". With the "fertilization" sequence being probably the most graphic in terms of being "uncensored", it is also one of the few scenes that seems to have been added that is NOT referred to in King's Night Shift entry.
Let me go on record as saying I am a huge fan of the original 1984 theatrical feature, as well as Stephen King's original short story. I find both equally thrilling in their own rights and I stand by each respectively. For those who have never read the story as King originally conceived, I guess you can be excused for not particularly taking a liking to Burt and Vicky's not-so-happy ending that contrasted largely with the Linda Hamilton / Peter Horton version of the tale. Also, there are no cute kids like Job and Sarah (aside from maybe the small child playing Nahum) to take the stage and be the narrative to the story. But although both versions differ, if you are a die-hard Children of the Corn fan, I think it will appeal nonetheless.
After all of my concerns and endless internet searches to calm my fears, my final thought after watching it? I liked it. I felt it was a well-deserved interpretation of the original short story as there are times you can even grab the Night Shift novel and follow along. I applaud Mr. Borchers as I believe he accomplished what he set out to do. To re-tell the story, staying true to Stephen King's original stylistic vision of a small town's youth eliminating the adult population to ultimately save the harvest and protect the crops. It was nice to see those characters again. After all, it's been a while since we have seen Gatlin on the road sign up ahead....