Children of the Corn (2020 film)

Children of the Corn is a 2020 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Kurt Wimmer. It stars Elena Kampouris, Kate Moyer, Callan Mulvey and Bruce Spence. The film is the third adaptation of Stephen King's short story "Children of the Corn" (1977) and the eleventh installment in the Children of the Corn series. It is the first film based on King's story to be theatrically released since Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992).

Plot
The film is set in Rylstone, a small farming community whose principal crop, corn, is failing despite attempts to fix things with GMOs and herbicides. The adults agree to destroy their crops so they can receive a crop subsidy from the government, infuriating Eden, an orphan being raised by the town preacher. One of the local teenagers, Boleyn, schemes with her friends to hold a mock trial that night where they will hold the adults accountable. They enlist Eden's assistance, but are horrified when this results in Eden imprisoning and slaughtering several adults. The remaining adults are then forced into the corn as a sacrifice for a monstrous green entity called "He Who Walks" while Eden rants about how they will eradicate all adults from the world.

Boleyn is knocked unconscious; when she awakens she discovers that they intend to sacrifice her as well. She is able to escape, but is soon recaptured by Eden, who intends to kill her using a cattle gun. Boleyn is granted a cigarette as a final wish; however, the teen instead uses the lighter to set fire to the highly flammable corn. This successfully kills "He Who Walks"; however, Eden also perishes while trying to save the monster. The following day Boleyn returns to the fields to survey the damage, where she is devoured by Eden, who has been transformed into a monster akin to "He Who Walks".

Cast

 * Elena Kampouris as Boleyn Williams
 * Kate Moyer as Eden Edwards
 * Callan Mulvey as Robert Williams
 * Bruce Spence as Pastor Penny
 * Stephen Hunter as Calvin Colvington
 * Erika Heynatz as June Willis
 * Anna Samson as Sheila Boyce
 * Sisi Stringer as Tanika
 * Andrew S. Gilbert as Sheriff Gebler
 * Joe Klocek as Calder Colvington
 * Orlando Schwerdt as Cal Colvington
 * Brian Meegan as Wilfred Pitt

Production
In 2020, the project was announced to be a remake of Children of the Corn. Producer Lucas Foster later elaborated that it was going to be a new adaptation to King's story with "almost nothing to do with" the 1984 film.

Principal photography began in New South Wales in April 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and wrapped that June. The visual effects were produced by Digital Domain, who also executive produced.

Release
Children of the Corn premiered in Sarasota, Florida on October 23, 2020. The film was originally scheduled to be released theatrically in fall 2022, but was pushed back. In January 2023, RLJE Films and streaming service Shudder acquired distribution rights. The film was released in an 18-day theatrical window starting on March 3, 2023, and was released on demand on March 21, 2023. It was also released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 9, 2023. The film was released on Shudder on June 30.

Reception
The film received negative reviews from critics.

Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote, "Like a virus that keeps coming back but growing weaker each time, Children of the Corn is now a horror movie that lacks the strength to infect you with even a speck of fear." Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting gave the film a score of 1/5, writing, "Expectations might be low at this stage of the franchise, but nothing about Children of the Corn works. Motivations are confusing at best, and Wimmer never manages to set-up who these characters are, let alone establish any rules or worldbuilding that would explain why they behave so erratically... It does get one thing right, though; maybe it's time to just let it all die." Polygon's Katie Rife wrote, "If Children of the Corn were just an empty-headed hybrid of a creature feature and a killer-kids movie, it might have been kind of fun. What really brings this remake down is the fact that it sets up so many sociopolitical themes that Wimmer never follows up on, raising the question of whether he stumbled onto them by accident."

Jeff Ewing of Inverse called the film "a mixed bag", praising the leads' performances, but noted, "The script's logic could use some retooling, the supporting performances are inconsistent, and more attention could be paid to making it feel like a town instead of a limited collection of shooting locations."