Thursday, December 4, 2014

Children of the Corn (1984)

Burt, who just got his PhD, and girlfriend Vicky are on their way to his new job when they hit a kid standing in the middle of a country road.  Being a doctor, Peter quickly ascertains that the childs throat was cut prior to the accident and he decides to get the hell out of there.

Stopping at a nearby gas station to use the phone, the old man works there tells them they're out of luck. He also advises them to stay out of Gatlin, which is only three miles away, and head to the next town to find help.  But all roads seemingly lead to Gatlin, so Burt and Vicky drive into the oddly quiet town.

Unable to find anyone on the streets or any open businesses, Vicky wants to leave but Peter insists they find a phone, or locate someone in town.  This is unfortunate. Because what they don't know is three years earlier, the children massacred all the adults.

The children answer to boy preacher Isaac. He takes his instructions from the creepily named He Who Walks Behind the Rows, and enforces his will with the help of Malachi, a menacing teen who carries a sickle and dispenses punishment to children who break the rules.

On the way out of town, Burt sees the front door of a home swing shut. Upon investigation, Burt and Vicky find two children playing in an upstairs bedroom.  If only they'd just kept driving.  Malachi and his minions are heading to the farmhouse.  Soon the rest of the evil children in town are ready to murder Burt and Vicky just like they did all the other adults.

Originally I saw this in the theater and was freaked out by Isaac, Malachi, and the name He Who Walks Behind the Rows.  Watching it again, the scares didn't hold up as well, but the concept is still super creepy.  I always wonder how no one would know an entire adult population of a town has disappeared. Did no one have relatives outside the town?

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