Children of the Corn (2009 film)
Encyclopedia
Children of the Corn is a 2009 made-for-television
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...

 supernatural horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

 directed, written and produced by Donald P. Borchers and based on the 1977 short story of the same name
Children of the Corn
"Children of the Corn" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 1977 issue of Penthouse, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.- Plot summary :...

 by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...

. Set primarily in 1975 in the fictional town of Gatlin, Nebraska, the film centers around traveling couple Burt and Vicky as they fight to survive a cult of murderous children who worship an entity known as He Who Walks Behind The Rows, which had years earlier manipulated the children into killing every adult in town.

Plot

The film opens in 1963 in the town of Hemingford in western Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

, which is in the middle of a severe drought. In a tent out in the vast cornfields, a young boy, claiming that the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

-era Canaanite
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...

 God whom he calls "He Who Walks Behind the Rows
Moloch
Moloch — also rendered as Molech, Molekh, Molok, Molek, Molock, or Moloc — is the name of an ancient Semitic god...

" had spoken to him in his dreams, telling the other children that the sinful and blasphemous adults are the reason for their recent troubles (making a comparison to the corruption in Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....

), prompting the children to kill everybody nineteen and over in town; leading them to found a death cult
Death cult
The term Death cult may refer to:*The Cult, Death Cult was an early name for this British rock band*Death Cult , a compilation album featuring all the songs from Death Cult*A synonym for the term destructive cult...

 with a prime rule that, once reaching the age of nineteen, one must be sacrificed to the cult's God.

Twelve years later, a constantly bickering couple consisting of Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 veteran Burt (David Anders
David Anders
David Anders is an American television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Julian Sark on Alias, and as Adam Monroe on Heroes. Although Anders is American, both of these noted roles required him to use an English accent.-Early life:Anders was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, to parents...

) and his wife Vicky (Kandyse McClure
Kandyse McClure
Kandyse McClure is an actress, best known for playing Anastasia Dualla on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica.- Biography :...

) are driving along a back road near Gatlin, planning on celebrating their second honeymoon in California, when a boy named Joseph (Ramington Jennings) stumbles out of the roadside corn and in front of their car. Accidentally running Joseph over, Burt assesses his body and realizes the boy's throat was slashed. After wrapping and placing Joseph's body in the trunk, Burt tells Vicky to wait for him while he looks around with shotgun in hand. Among the corn, Burt finds Joseph's bloodied suitcase and takes it with him back to the car. He and Vicky drive off in search of aid, not realizing they were being watched by Isaac (Preston Bailey
Preston Bailey
Preston Bailey is an American child actor who started acting at the age of two. He is probably most known for appearing in the Showtime TV series Dexter and for starring in such as films Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, Children of the Corn, and The Crazies.-Biography:Bailey was born in...

) and his most loyal follower, the warrior Malachai (Daniel Newman).

After hearing a group of children giving an evangelical sermon over the radio, Burt and Vicky reach an abandoned gas station before deciding to go to Gatlin after finding the phones non-functional. While Burt drives, Vicky manages to open Joseph's suitcase and finds a tribal-looking barbaric amulet inside which she recognizes as a pagan creation. Meanwhile, in the cornfields, Isaac tells the others about Burt and Vicky and that they, like the "blue man" (a police officer who was crucified for trying to stop them) must be killed to appease "He Who Walks Behind the Rows", who demanded Joseph for trying to escape.

Reaching the town Burt and Vicky find it seemingly abandoned, with a calendar in a bar still reading 1963. Eventually coming across a church with a sermon board dated last week Burt goes in to investigate, ignoring Vicky's pleas that they should just leave (and taking her keys after she threatens to abandon him). Inside the church, Burt finds various occult drawings, larger version of the trinket that was in Joseph's suitcase and a book listing the birthdays of the town's inhabitants. As Burt skims through the book, Vicky is surrounded and attacked by Malachai and several other boys (directed from a rooftop by Isaac) and manages to kill one of them with Burt's shotgun before Malachai stabs her. Hearing the shotgun blast, Burt rushes outside just as Malachai blows the car up. Chased by the children into an alleyway Burt, is taunted by Isaac (who throws a knife at him not aiming asking He Who Walks Behind The Rows to guide his hand and the knife hits him in the arm ). Killing two of the older boys Burt runs off into the cornfields, where the children refrain from going without either Isaac or Malachai.

In the alleyway Isaac confronts Malachai, telling him that by spilling Joseph's blood in the corn he has angered He Who Walks Behind The Rows. After questioning Malachai's faith, Isaac has him pray before the two regroup with their followers, who they tell must sacrifice Burt in the clearing where the blue man's corpse is held. After leading a song, Malachai and the children begin hunting Burt through the corn. While searching Malachai is told by Nahum (Paul Butler, Jr), one of the younger boys, that he had a vision of He Who Walks Behind The Rows, leading Malachai to believe Nahum is the new prophet and that Isaac's time is coming to an end. Before leaving to continue the search for Burt (who had overheard the entire conversation), Malachai mentions that they must finish the search before dark, as that is He Who Walks Behind the Row's time. Having lost a large amount of blood due to his arm injury Burt begins having flashbacks to Vietnam and kills several of the children, including Nahum. At nightfall the worshipers abandon the search and return to the town. They have a feast prepared by the females, who seem concerned that Burt was not apprehended. Later that night, Isaac holds a sermon in the church based on the tenet of "be fruitful and multiply" and proclaims the the time of fertilization has come. He beckons a teenage girl (Zita Vass) and boy (Jake White) up to the front of the church and they immediately disrobe and make love in front of the entire congregation, much to their excitement.

In the fields, Burt, lost and delusional, has visions of all those he has killed, and begins wandering around aimlessly, searching for the road as the plant life begins attacking him. Soon, Burt finds the clearing and discovers Vicky who, like the blue man, has been made into a scarecrow. Hallucinating that Vicky's body is talking to him Burt is faced by He Who Walks Behind The Rows, who proceeds to disembowel him and rip his eyes out in a form of ritual sacrifice. The next day, Isaac tells the children that He Who Walks Behind The Rows told him in a dream that He is displeased with their inability to kill Burt, who He had to dispose of Himself—like the blue man (who, when killed, forced the 'age of favor' from twenty to nineteen). Before burying their dead, Isaac tells everyone that the age of sacrifice has been lowered from nineteen to eighteen as punishment for their sins. After all the children leave Isaac stands in front of the a pile of the children's bodies and as he sets them on fire he looks at something and shouts "Scarecrow!". The scarecrow is revealed to be Burt.

Later, Malachai and the other eighteen year-olds enter the cornfields at dusk, offering themselves to He Who Walks Behind The Rows. While saying goodbye, Malachai's pregnant lover Ruth (Alexa Nikolas
Alexa Nikolas
Alexa Helen Nikolas is an American actress. Her most notable is that of Nicole Bristow on the Nickelodeon TV show Zoey 101, in which she appeared from 2005 to 2006.-Career:...

), whose faith had earlier been shaken, has a vision of herself setting fire to the corn.

Cast

  • David Anders
    David Anders
    David Anders is an American television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Julian Sark on Alias, and as Adam Monroe on Heroes. Although Anders is American, both of these noted roles required him to use an English accent.-Early life:Anders was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, to parents...

     as Burt
  • Kandyse McClure
    Kandyse McClure
    Kandyse McClure is an actress, best known for playing Anastasia Dualla on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica.- Biography :...

     as Vicky
  • Remington Jennings as Joseph
  • Daniel Newman as Malachai
  • Preston Bailey
    Preston Bailey
    Preston Bailey is an American child actor who started acting at the age of two. He is probably most known for appearing in the Showtime TV series Dexter and for starring in such as films Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, Children of the Corn, and The Crazies.-Biography:Bailey was born in...

     as Isaac
  • Alexa Nikolas
    Alexa Nikolas
    Alexa Helen Nikolas is an American actress. Her most notable is that of Nicole Bristow on the Nickelodeon TV show Zoey 101, in which she appeared from 2005 to 2006.-Career:...

     as Ruth
  • Creighton Fox as Peter
  • Paul Butler, Jr as Nahum
  • Ryan Bertroche as Amos
  • Austin Coobs as Mark
  • Dominick Plue as Jacob
  • Shawn Kelly as David
  • Zita Vass as Fertility Ceremony Woman
  • Jake White as Fertility Ceremony Man
  • Zack Moody as Extra
  • Isabelle Fuhrman
    Isabelle Fuhrman
    Isabelle Fuhrman is an American teen actress. Fuhrman is best known for playing Esther in Orphan.-Life and career:...

     as (voice only)
  • Leo Howard
    Leo Howard
    Leo Howard is an American actor, model and martial artist. Beginning his martial arts training at the age of four and an acting career at the age of seven, Howard is known for incorporating his karate and wushu skills into his feature film and television roles; as "Young Snake Eyes" in the 2009...

     as Additional Voices
  • Emily Rose Everhard
    Emily Rose Everhard
    Emily Rose Everhard is an American teen actress best known for her role as Amy Carson on the CBS television series Cake and as Cherish in "Bratz-The Movie"...

     as Additional Voices


Casting started two weeks before production began. Unlike in the original film, in which the bulk of the cultists were portrayed by actors over eighteen, Borchers decided to cast age-appropriate actors. Borchers has stated that dealing with the largely underage cast proved to be the most difficult part of making the film.

Writing

Having worked on the original film as a producer, Donald P. Borchers was originally content with it, though in hindsight came to believe it was too "Hollywoodized" and not true enough to the original short story. Wanting Stephen King to be involved in the production of the new film, Borchers sent a copy of the script to him, only to receive a letter from King's attorney stating that King wanted no part in the film. Borchers compares the cult of He Who Walks Behind The Rows to real-life cases of religious zealots who use violence as a means to an end, a mentioned example being the extremists in the Middle East.

Filming

It was written, directed and produced by Donald Borchers, a producer on the original movie, which was filmed in Lost Nation, Iowa and Rural Oxford Jct area. Borchers said he chose the Quad Cities Iowa/Illinois area after receiving a recommendation from the Iowa Film Office in the state Department of Economic Development. Shooting took place in and around the Quad Cities during September 2008.

This movie was actually filmed in Lost Nation Iowa and Rural Oxford Jct Iowa.

Release

The film premiered on Sci-Fi on September 26, 2009 and was released uncut on DVD by Anchor Bay on October 6, 2009. The DVD included such features as interviews with cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage. A Blu-ray release followed on November 16, 2010.
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