By Martin Unsworth
Another remake that no one asked for, this update of the Stephen King story dates from 2020 but is only just seeing the light of day. We wonder why…
There’s a moody, brutal opening to proceedings as a youth emerges from a cornfield before slaughtering the adults at an orphanage. The police’s reaction is to unleash a cattle gas, which kills the assailant and the children. The sole survivor, the softly-spoken but overconfident Eden (Kate Moyer), is seen to have become a leader of sorts for the local kids. The town of Rylstone, Nebraska, is dying; the cornfield isn’t producing, and the townsfolk have few options for reversing their fortunes. They decide to plough the rotting fields and apply for subsidies, which upsets the children. One younger adult, Boleyn (Elena Kampouris), is particularly concerned so postpones her planned exit to attend college. Led by Eden, the kids fight back against the town to protect the cornfield and He Who Walks Behind the Rows, the spirit that lurks in the fields.
Writer/director Kurt Wimmer (Ultraviolet) throws everything at his King adaptation, including plenty of shonky-looking CGI. Kate Moyer is very impressive as the head of the corn cult, and it’s great to see someone portray pure malevolence at such a young age. Sadly, there’s very little that matches her intensity and authenticity. The adults don’t register enough to elicit any compassion from the viewer. Even the child-beater isn’t given enough time or relevance to make us give a hoot either way about his demise.
Despite having a few eerie moments, Wimmer’s version of Children of the Corn is a rehash of a property that was fairly tired to begin with. The few gore effects are much better than the CGI, but they come so infrequently that it’s easy to forget they’re even there. While shots roaming through the withered corn build some atmosphere, there’s very little else to build upon. It expands the short story too far and by manifesting the spirit of the corn, attempts to deliver rather than invoke.
Children of the Corn is released in US cinemas on March 3rd.
