Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violent, bloody, unnecessary version of King's horror tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Children of the Corn
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In CHILDREN OF THE CORN, a boy walks out of a cornfield, enters an orphanage, and starts killing all of the adults inside. A botched attempt at a rescue by the police causes the deaths of all the children except one: Eden (Kate Moyer). Meanwhile, Bo (Elena Kampouris) is planning to leave her small, broken Nebraska hometown of Rylstone to go to college, much to the dismay of her younger brother, Cecil (Jayden McGinlay). The townspeople hold a meeting to see what to do about their ruined crops, agreeing to take a subsidy from the government just to survive. But Eden has organized all of the children of Rylstone and plans to murder all of the adults and feed them to a being in the cornfield known as He Who Walks. Can Bo stop her?
Is It Any Good?
Without a doubt one of the two or three absolute worst Stephen King movie adaptations, this reboot is so awful on every level that you probably won't even believe what you're seeing. An astonishing eleventh entry in a franchise/series that includes many direct-to-video movies, this version of Children of the Corn begs the question: Why did anyone bother? Writer-director Kurt Wimmer has even mostly abandoned King's short story in favor of a nonsensical mishmash consisting of a muddled environmental message, a cult full of killer kids (with wobbly acting skills), and a bad CG monster. If the acting is pretty bad, then the terrible screenplay is at least partly to blame; characters often seem to be standing around and waiting for someone to tell them what to do. They never seem to be talking to each other, and certain lines are overplayed to the point of unintentional comedy. At least Bruce Spence -- best known as the Gyro Captain in the Mad Max movies -- is here playing a creepy pastor, offering a few minutes of something to look at. One thing is for sure: Children of the Corn isn't at all scary, not even one niblet.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Children of the Corn's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
In this movie, how is the violence directed at children different from the violence directed at adults?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes like to be scared?
Does the movie have an environmental message? What causes all the corn crops to die? What are the alternatives?
Movie Details
- In theaters : March 3, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : May 9, 2023
- Cast : Elena Kampouris , Kate Moyer , Jayden McGinlay
- Director : Kurt Wimmer
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : RLJE Films
- Genre : Horror
- Run time : 93 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence and bloody images
- Last updated : March 10, 2023
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate