CHILDREN OF THE CORN (1984)
Starring Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton
Back during the height of the Stephen King craze, filmmakers were eager to produce anything with the King brand name on it—even feature-length adaptations of short stories. It just so happens that the short story this film is based on—from the collection "Night Shift"—is one of King's all-time best.
But adapting a King short into
a full-length movie proved a little too difficult for this collection of filmmakers.
Although it keeps some the creepy elements of King's plot—about a couple who drive
into a ghost town that has been massacred by homicidal kids who worship a monster in the
local cornfields—the film changed the story's ending to a happy one, ruining the most
powerful thing about the original story.
The couple is played by Horton and Hamilton (just before she starred in "The Terminator"). The best thing about the film is Courtney Gains as Malachai, the red-haired leader of the kids. It's hilarious seeing him shout "Seize them!" over and over again. But there isn't much else worthwhile about this movie. The sequel kicks ass in comparison.