I often say that many horror films are a dime a dozen. I say it with vampire, zombie and werewolf films. I should add remake to that mix. I never have been one of those people who bitch at the sight of every film that is remade. I know business is business, which is why the film studios deem it right to cash in off an old hit. I can understand the major well-known horror hits being remade, but there are some horror films that don’t deserve it, and others that just simply don’t need to be.
This is the case with Children of the Corn. It is no secret that I’m not that big of a fan of the original film, let alone the handful of direct to video sequels that were produced, and it’s one of the films that I never really though deserved to be remade, but the people at Fox saw it differently. The original film did gross almost five times its original budget. In those terms, the film was a success. The problem with this remake, however, is that it was produced on such a meager budget (one million dollars less than the original was produced for) that it really came off as a film that was nowhere superior to the original.
The story for this remake follows the premise of the original, but does not remain true to that story. It is not a shot-for-shot remake. In this film, an interracial couple traveling across country hit a child who runs out in front of their car from an adjacent cornfield. The couple is obliviously having marital problems as is evident from the start. Vicki (Kandyse McClure) freaks out that her husband Burton (David Anders) has just killed the boy. However, upon further investigation, Burton discovers that someone has slit the boy’s throat. He decides to wrap up the body, stick it in the trunk of his car, and find the authorities. As fate would have it, the next town has no adults but is instead populated only by a large group of God-fearing children who think it is their duty to kill adults and sacrifice them to the god of corn so that their crop stay healthy. From there, as we all pretty much know, the film turns into a story of survival for the couple.
Do not expect to go into this one and think you’re going to know how it ends, because it’s a whole other film from the original. It can almost be deemed a sequel or even a prequel. I personally did not find the script to be to all that great. I thought the character development fell flat on its face and the lead characters are very unlikeable. In the case of the acting, the film belongs to the kids. I honestly felt that the lead characters of Burt and Vicki were miscast. Nothing against the actors, but I just did not buy them in these roles. The kids are great, but I just couldn’t get into the leads in this one. One positive thing this film does have is its production value. The sets and locations are basic, however the film was shot and edited very well.
The DVD has a few features such as an interview with writer/director Donald P. Borcher on remaking the Stephen King cult classic. There are also interviews with the films actors Kandyse McClure, David Anders and Andrew Hussey as well make-up effects supervisor Alan Tuskes. There is also a feature called “Fly on the Wall” which is behind-the-scenes footage from the set.
Children of the Corn is not really a remake of the original. It has the same concept, but is a different story. I was never really a big fan of the original and this rehash isn’t any better. While I thought that the film had great production value, its lead characters and the script turned me off. It is, however, a lot better than the majority of the SyFy channel’s original movies.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
