Children of the Corn (2020) User Reviews

Humph... 😑 I didn't HATE it..

[tdwillis-26273 · 5/10 · 8 April 2023]

The acting,camera/cinematography,sets,costume,score/music and sound was all well done. For me, what brought the suspension of disbelief to screetching halts were several little things in the building of the STORY. I personally didn't care for the special effect of the cornman... I'm of the old school where slow and creepy can be more frightening than abrupt and obvious. The other special effects tho, were well done.

Not even a NOD towards the original story teller, Stephen King.

Most impressed with the acting and camera work.

I didn't HATE this movie. And You can tell a lot of money went into the making of it. I think the screenplay is where it went wrong.

It was just a leeeetle bit less than a "meh" for me.

Evil Groot

[kevin_robbins · 4/10 · 3 March 2023]

Children of the Corn (2020) is a movie my wife and I caught in theatres this evening. The storyline follows a small Midwestern town whose crops aren't producing and the townspeople are ready to enroll in a government program and destroys their land. The kids don't agree and take drastic measures to change their minds.

This movie is written and directed by Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) and stars Elena Kampouris (My Big Fat Greek Wedding II), Kate Moyer (The Handmaid's Tale), Callan Mulvey (Batman vs Superman), Bruce Spence (The Road Warrior: Mad Max 2) and Alyla Browne (Nine Perfect Strangers).

This movie reminded me a little of the Evil Dead remake where they switched up characteristics from the first film and some of the concepts worked but most of them didn't. The storyline is essentially a modern prequel to the original with a few twists on the original characters. We also get to see "He who walks behind the rows," aka Evil Groot. The child acting in this is better than the adults. There's a vote scene in this that's awful. The acting by the main character, Kampouris, was painful; however, Kate Moyer killed it as Eden. Every scene she's in is unpredictable and she nailed the mannerisms. Every jail scene in this is a 10/10. I really enjoyed the kill sequence, both by the people and "He who walks behind the rows." I didn't mind the CGI, though I usually do in the horror genre, though I wish "He who walks behind the rows" was a bit more menacing, like the creature at the end of Smile.

Overall, this is an uneven horror movie with some worthwhile kill scenes. I would score this a 4/10 and recommend seeing it once.

Nowhere near as bad as people are saying

[myignisrules · 5/10 · 6 April 2023]

The kid actors are better here. The original movie is fondly remembered by fans due to the outstanding performance by John Franklin as Isaac, but a lot of people aren't aware of the fact Franklin was actually an adult when he played the role - he was 24 years old at the time of filming. This time around the role of mini cult leader goes to an actual child in the form of Kate Moyer as Eden and she absolutely nails it!

Check this one out for yourselves. It's got some inventive kills, decent pacing and the leads do a substantial job of keeping you invested all the way through. The ending might be the weakest element of the entire movie but as remakes go, I've seen worse and this one is a lot better than people are giving it credit for.

Really really bad. "Insanity...I mean, just so insane"

[bigbadbassface · 2/10 · 5 March 2023]

Don't even know where to start on this movie. I remember reading the guys from Riff Trax said they could never do 50 Shades of Grey because it was already so ridiculous and laughable on its own. This movie is like that.

Nothing makes sense, and I mean nothing. The adults never fight back in any way whatsoever. The logistics of how anything at all is done is never shown. I love horror so am an expert at suspending disbelief, but this was to another level of illogical.

No character is likable and the storyline is basically nonexistent. I already had my expectations set really low and this was even worse than I thought it might be. At least I figured I'd get a couple laughs but there is nothing.

Absolutely awful

[crjh-92952 · 1/10 · 21 March 2023]

This is the tenth iteration of children of the corn since the original, and God this is by far the worst. The acting is appalling, the special effects anything but and the score just as bad.

The whole thing feels like a kids lazy attempt at movie making over the summer holidays.

The story makes no sense whatsoever, the writing is shambolic and the acting is laughable.

Several scenes have actors looking for the camera, and those that find it look dazed and confused, which is apt for the movie.

I'd advise everyone to stay well away from this pile of garbage, and I beg the production companies of the world to please, please stop giving Kurt Wimmer money to make these abominations.

Absolutely God Aweul

[xshanex-54161 · 1/10 · 22 March 2023]

If anyone ever tells you that this isn't bad, they are either lying through their teeth or they have the worst taste in the world and you need to disregard them entirely! This has to be one of the worst films that I have ever had the displeasure of trying to sit through.

It's acting is bordering on being unwatchable, the story revamps are laughably bad and it just drags on endlessly... getting worse and worse by the second.

It's so bad that it's not even comically bad. It's just not at all worth watching! Stay far away from this horrid piece of crap.

I'd rather watch a bowling ball coming to crash into my Nuts at 200 mph than ever sit through this awful mess again.

Nothing ever really dies in the corn

[amandamunozdav · 1/10 · 24 March 2023]

Ever since Stephen King started to publish his novels in the 70s they had been adapted to the big screen. While some of them are successful (Carrie, Misery, The Shining, IT) and even considered classic horror films a few of them doesn't have the same response (FireStarter, Graveyard Shift). In 1984 the first adaptation of King's short story Children of the Corn was released and while that version wasn't well received at the time, today it can be considered the best entry of this failed franchise. Every entry in the franchise is worst than the other making the original look as a good 80s horror movie.

This new remake, that also feels like a prequel, spend three years waiting for been released and it should have been stayed like that. Sometimes bad horror films can still be liked by the audience by their entertaining story, silly dialogues, and decent gore. But not even that happens here as the only salvageable thing about this movie is Kate Moyers' performance as the kid's leader Eden Edwards. But, that's not enough to save this film from being an unjustified addition to the franchise. The worst part of this film can be the CGI and portrayal of "He Who Walks" that resembles Marvel character Groot but with corn. This new version only proves that this story and franchise has no salvation and should be forgotten.

One of the worst in the series. Amateur made

[s_simov · 2/10 · 23 March 2023]

Man, that was bad. Not that the previous ones are masterpieces, but some of them are decent enough or high-end mediocre. This one is in my bottom ranking for the series.

Why? Well, it's a somewhat remake of the original one. Nothing bad with that. The plot and dialogues are similar to that. But the editing and the VFX are terrible, so terrible that it's in your face. It looks amateur fan-made movie. It's 2020, why would you edit it like that - terrible constrast with bad lighting, terrible color tones for the most scenes ... it looked terrible. It looked like someone in the editing room had a broken monitor and didn't set the colors right.

Acting is plain bad. To be fair, acting in the whole series is bad.

With one exception - the main little girl has very good acting for her role and age. Way better acting than the rest of the crew combined. But that's not nearly enough to make it better.

And of course, the worst part, HE WHO WALKS... that vine-corn-plant-thingie they made out of CGI is yuck. In the original, due to limitations they used only dirt moving, not visible demon or whatever it is. But the unknown was part of his scary charm. Here they show you how it looks, and it looks bad.

Last scene is... even worse.

I don't know how do you write 10M budget , when i see no such money spent here. Bad cheap CGI, bad acting with unknown actors, you clearly did NOT spend 10M on it.

And well it's mr. King's short story , which they turned into a soap opera, no surprise it's bad. You can't just turn 50 pages into 50 movies :D.

I swear I just saw Jurassic Park:Corn

[rjvnatl · 1/10 · 11 June 2023]

I swear I have seen adult films that have more exposition and story Development than this. The opening events just "happen" and there's zero explanation behind them.. That's a theme that pretty much continues. The next 25 or so minutes are pretty much splice a random "adults are bad" scene in with a "lord of the flies kids in training" scene... Theres so little character development with the adults that you honestly don't care when they're killed bc you don't even really know who they are. The "adults are bad" theme is so obviously in your face bc they seem to be paying for the film by the minute so they can't dally with being subtle... There's a whole odd "mom's a prostitute? (they provide zero actual definition for the random scenes) subplot.. And apparently she's so tired from those labors that she can't seem to wake up or show her face until 10 seconds before they kill her off. This makes the "emotional" her daughter mourning her scene shortly thereafter useless bc we barely know who she is.

The two lead females are ok, though they aren't given much to do.. The little girl Eden pretty much just stands there with an evil smirk on her face and the older Bo just has to look horrified most of the time. The plot is so random you really start to question why Eden and the other kids keep letting Bo live other than the fact that she has to to bring the movie to a close.. In most of the later scenes the character feels like a human hangnail.

The CGI "character" (can't even remember what it's called bc they barely tell you) makes you feel like you're watching Jurassic Park:Corn and they just genetically engineered a corn dinosaur or something. It's SERIOUSLY cheesy.

It's so cheesy in fact that you really don't get why the kids are so devoted to it... despite the two of three random cult like worship scenes that get randomly thrown into the mix as "explanation" You see the denouement coming from a mile away.. You honestly kind of want to shake the little Evilkind Eden for being dumb enough not to see it coming... And then there's the "twist", which is pretty much straight out of John Cusack "Identity" territory... I think I've decided to start writing screenplays... bc honestly if this drivel can make it to the screen, I feel like I stand a good chance with just about any story.

Ouch

[snowman-31315 · 2/10 · 23 March 2023]

This was a hard one to get through. I don't even know what to say about this abomination. As other reviewers have said nothing makes sense the entire thing is just so unbelievable and laughably bad. Not that the original was great but it being the 80s I can forgive it, I don't know why they made and remade it a dozen times but I guess enough people watched them to make it profitable or maybe at least a tax write off but this one is beyond that. The writing is terrible, the acting isn't much better and the lead girl is just an annoying little punk who no one would ever follow. I watch enough horror to know they like to have ridiculous plots which I can forgive but an entire town of grown men, (farmers who aren't exactly soy boys) who somehow get taken prisoner and killed off by a group of 10 year olds and not a single one fights back lol nope. I never read the book so don't know how it works there but this was just stupid. Please retire this franchise.

Not as bad as people make it out to be

[Che36 · 8/10 · 13 May 2023]

I will keep saying this, do not take everyone's review and run with it, watch it and judge for yourself. It was not the best to be honest, but, it sure as crap ain't the worst. The acting was good for kids of their ages, the cinematics was good, look the movie is alright. Does it have some questionable scenes yes, however as I said before watch it for yourself. I watched it and when it comes to horrors I am quite picky as these days horrors aren't like they use to be, but, this definitely did more than some of the other crap for horrors out their. I gave it an 8 cause again these kids acted really well, especially the two main characters. I hope they use them again in more upcoming films cause their acting was 10/10.

Not the story I remember but I'll admit I did like it

[ykjdh · 7/10 · 2 March 2023]

The original story by Stephen king was different than even the 1984 movie that I grew up watching. A lot of liberties have been taken with this story which is why I suggest reading it for yourself and coming up with your own opinion. The TV movie that came out after the movie on SyFy was the closest I've seen to the original story.

This new version takes quite a few liberties with the classic story. First, the events leading up to the adult massacre are told from a prequel standpoint. Nothing has happened yet but the kids are starting to arrive to where King's story picks up at. Second, the antagonist is a young girl who leads the pack of psycho kids. Third, our hero is a high school school student and not some adult or even the Blue man from the 1984 movie.

The movie relies heavily on the turmoil relationship kids have with their parents. They become alienated by the adults who are supposed to care for them. So they turn to a young girl who begins to convince the kids it's time for them to rise up and slaughter them. After all, if you can't find love in your own family home then beware of those who will manipulate children into finding love somewhere else.

I'll admit, it's not perfect but I did enjoy this interpretation. The retelling or reimagined storyline may turn off some folks but it's not as bad as people may think. There's character development here as to what builds into the events of the actual story we know and remember. Stanley Kubrick revisioned Shining with characters, I see the same thing happening here with this version of children of the corn.

Lead Actresses Hair is what Really Scared Me

[sheilasalami-21234 · 3/10 · 1 July 2023]

Pretty girl, Bo, has the worst hairstyle ever. That is the real horror. The story is slow. Not enough gore and gross psychotic religion. The little "red queen" is pretty good, although not as scary as Isaac was in the first one. The adults are so obnoxious, that you're ok with them being slaughtered. Don't get the story with their dad and mom. Her mom is a sex worker? Pastor was creepy. The scene with them killing him could have been more fun. They didn't show enough. Sometimes remakes are good and sometimes they're kinda of, embarrassing. Evil Dead Rise, good. Children of the Corn, not so good.

Pointless remake

[jmbovan-47-160173 · 3/10 · 2 July 2023]

Pointless remake that attempts to create eco-horror that only muddies the intent and terror of the original. One bonus point given for a better monster, but even this is a small improvement given the absurdity of a corn stalk monster. The cult mentality of the children isn't developed; it's just there. The adults are written as paper thin characteristic tropes (bullying abusers, moralistic minister--with a secret?, kind natured do gooders), but all of that doesn't matter as "they have sinned against the corn." Lead actress does well with her "stuck in the middle" 17 going on 18, not of the cult mentality but also against the adults focus that ignores eco-friendly approaches. But, there isn't much for her to do. Thinnest of plotting barely scratches the surface of what is needed to set the stage for the original movie or the short story upon which it is based. Passable only in terms that there is some horror, barely. But don't expect much at all.

Another complete failure of rebooting the series again.

[HorrorDisasterGuy-90617 · 3/10 · 27 May 2024]

I can't believe that this is the result of rebooting this movie. The story itself is a complete mess on how it handled itself and is poorly put together. I mean, the motive is pretty ridiculous, with then getting revenge on all of the adults due to them wanting to destroy their crops to receive crop subsidy. The movie makes us hate on the adults due to the opening and how all of them are complete jerks that do work but are poorly executed. It feels like there's a lack of build-up due to things happening way too quickly, like the cult is formed quickly and them getting all of the adults in a jail cell. There's no interesting things that happen in the movie and are pretty bland on how it does it. Also, the movie is easily predictable. The climax itself feels like it drags on too long and isn't that exciting at all. And the ending itself sucks a lot. I have nothing to say about any of the characters because most of them lack any development to them and aren't that interesting. And I found the acting to be poorly done on how no one can act in this movie. Also, there's a monster that appears that looks pretty bad due to the CGI and design of it. The movie contains pretty bad CGI effects in it.

Children of the Corn isn't the worst in the franchise, but it feels like the movie is rushing itself to finish it quickly and is poorly put together.

Just why though?

[Shauna-kidd · 2/10 · 12 July 2023]

I've definitely seen worse. This had potential it was the little things that killed it for me. What happened to the boy when he stayed all night in the corn? What happened at the home for children? What happened to the little girl during her 4 days in the corn? Were the adults bad because they're just horrible parents or because the corn made them that way? Damn, Bo's brother turned on her hard! What was the pastors sin? How was no adult, let alone a group of adults able to over power a single one of the children? Why all of the awkward long pauses? How in the hell did she not catch on fire!?! I guess no expectations for the "Cornman's" existence, why Eden was so crazy, and all of the other kids just miraculously turned good again was a good way to end it. Ok! I'm a movie fanatic. I hate wasting my time taking a chance on new movies that leave me wishing I would've just rewatched one of my favorites for the 25th time. If that comment resonates with you....don't waste your time on this.

This was so horribly bad

[charleswx-43127 · 3/10 · 18 March 2024]

It really should be a crime to make movies this bad. Nothing made sense. There was no reasoning for most of what happened. Almost all of what happened was improbable or outright impossible. The acting was atrocious and the characters were unlikable. There was no explanation for why the children revolted. No explanation for why Eden was so evil. In the original, the uprising was brought about for religious reasons and was focused on religion. Pretty much everything that happened happened as a result of a passage from the Bible, complete with sermons and evangelical preachings. This version seems to be focused only on death and carnage for no reason whatsoever. I'm not sure how but it seemed odd that a bunch of 10 year olds were so adept at operating earth movers. It was also curious that the adults stood directly beneath the equipment while they filled the hole. The easiest way out of the hole is to stand on the opposite end and simply stand on top of the dirt as they fill the hole. Of course, then there's the corn monster. The corn monster (He who walks) was truly unbelievable. The entire movie was like watching the product of a high school film class. Very disappointing and I'll never get this hour and a half of my life back. Makers of low quality movies like this should be happy that the public can't bring a class action lawsuit against them complete waste of time that they initiated. As for Eden, she's just a brat that could've easily been defeated with a swift kick in the backside. We need to stop making these remakes, reboots, and sequels and start coming up with some new ideas.

Excels at sucking more than any other CotC remake.

[tobycatva · 1/10 · 23 March 2023]

The chubby little girl is not scary as she fumbles her way through an abysmal plot with dialog your average 5th grader could best playing make-believe in the backyard.

The hero is little better as all the pretty girls had better jobs at the local Dairy Queen where they wouldn't be seen in this train wreck. She delivers her lines with all the enthusiasm of one who is only there to collect a check because even her dim poodle head can figure out this movie blows.

The musical score at times is mundane and forgettable, while at other times it soars to the heights of a cat licking himself while spread out on the piano keys.

It took 35+ minutes to deliver its first attempt at a telegraphed jump scare.

The OG CotC film was disturbing, where the only horror here is in realizing all the better things you could have been doing while this droned on.

I Didn't Know Movies Could Be This Bad

[basilbclifford · 1/10 · 26 March 2023]

There are going to be people who will try and tell you this movie isn't so bad...I don't know, maybe the reviews are written by Wimmer himself...but, please believe me, it is.

The acting is atrocious, the plot makes no sense, it differs from the source material is just about every way and, did I mention, the acting makes you want to gouge your eyes out.

It can't be a coincidence that Stephen King's name is not in the credits, I'd want my name removed from this rolling turd too.

I'd list the numerous faults individually if I could but it would take too much time.

Avoid at all costs. Seriously...watch LITERALLY anything else. You've been warned.

Another Shudder Masterpiece

[jasonjones-45678 · 1/10 · 21 March 2023]

This was an awful remake of the original. I can see why Shudder is going under, they keep creating horrible movies. Everything they do turns into trash. It was a bad retelling, bad change and the little girl who replaced Isaac was very annoying, she reminded me of Greta Thunberg for some reason. He who walks was also a joke, they should have called this something else not children of the corn. It was more accurate to how adults today think in regards to children in these days, giving them too much power when they still need to mature and grow. A huge climate crisis public service announcement. Hey Shudder, stop making movies and just show other peoples.

It's really not as bad as everyone else seems to think

[vanillamood · 9/10 · 26 October 2023]

I'll admit, it doesn't feel like a proper 'Children of the Corn' movie, it does away with much of the religion/cult aspects of it, and maybe some of the acting isn't the best in the world, but it's certainly not immersion breaking, there's some good acting by much of the cast.

All that being said, Kate Moyer just absolutely nails the performance here. Some of the scenes you see her, it's easy to imagine she just woke up that day and chose violence.

My main complaints, however, the ending isn't great. Surely if this kid was smart enough to pull off everything she did throughout the movie, surely she'd see that one coming, and some of the other acting leaves a little to be desired...

Don't expect Children of the Corn, though, it doesn't really feel like a true expansion in this particular franchise. If you watch it on its own however, it's a great movie about killer kiddos giving the grownups their comeuppance.

This sobering picture documents the dangers of . . .

[pixrox1 · 6/10 · 8 March 2023]

. . . Genetically Modified. Organisms, or GMO's. Back in the 1800's, Nebraska was a normal state, often voting for Real Presidents, such as Cleveland and Roosevelt. However, as GMO's such as corn syrup dripped into the Corn Husker food chain, the population grew nuttier than a jar of Planter's, and we're not talking about Mr. Carter's stable goober peas. CHILDREN OF THE CORN shows why it would be foolhardy for any American from a sane state to set foot on Nebraska. Kids there will string you up as soon as look at you, because they operate in cahoots with all manner of seedy field stalkers. The population of this cursed region has been declining for decades, with each successive generation bull dozing their elders into deep cattle pits before their time. Don't be misled by the steak and BBQ ads on TV or in your junk mail. Stay out of Nebraska!

Awful film I mean seriously awful

[cwsfkhmjx · 1/10 · 23 June 2023]

The original children of the corn film is a classic horror movie. This version of this movie is just dam awful and only slightly saved by the you actress who plays Eden. I mean if you are into a film with very little kills bad special effects and totally mind numbing storyline. Then this for you. For any horror fan who truly enjoys the genre should really stay away from this movie. Stephen king would be ashamed of how they have linked this movie to his classic short story. The visual effects looked like they had been done by a ten year old playing around with adobe after effects. Lacking in spirit this movie shows why some people really shouldn't make movies on a shoe string budget. Just skip this move you will thank me later.

If I could rate in minus 10 I would

[hollyruth-85218 · 1/10 · 19 May 2023]

Well Im not tuely sure where i should start apart from this being tbe longest waster of time ive seen in a while and ater seeing the original which wasn't the best but was acceptable for the time it was made. This is laughable - just an hour and a half of mine time wasted.

I think I spent more time laughing then I did watching this flim. Couldn't be further for the original - and not to mention the massive killing walking groot that come out of the corn and kills people.

For a film that had half a million on it budget the special effects are laughable - I feel like I did a better production piece for my GCSE drams 😂

The movie that one one liked or asked for. Let it be the last one.

[tossingimma · 1/10 · 13 May 2023]

The only good Children of the Corn movie was the 1984 original and the only one that had decent box office returns and home video sales. All the sequels (including this) were straight-to-video crap.

This garbage ''reboot'' - if you can call it that - has the production values of a home movie and I congratulate anyone who managed to sit through this until the end. You have my sympathy.

It's not scary, it's boring as hell. There's nothing whatsoever to recommend it, which makes you wonder why they even bothered to make it to begin with, considering there are so many better low budget horror films around. Avoid like the plague.