Possessed by a spirit in a dying cornfield, a girl recruits other children in her small town to go on a bloody rampage and kill all the adults and anyone else who opposes her. A film by Kurt Wimmer, starring Elena Kampouris, Kate Moyer, Callan Mulvey, Bruce Spence, Stephen Hunter, Jayden McGinlay, Joe Klocek, Andrew Gilbert, Brian Meegan, Ashlee Juergens, Sisi Stringer, and Orlando Schwerdt.

A strange multiple homicide is currently unfolding in Rylstone, a rural town in Nebraska. The police and townspeople are baffled by the killings, which have been committed by Boyd (Rory Potter), a teenager who works in a cornfield. Boyd has brutally murdered several adults, and the motive for the killings is unknown.

The economy of Rylstone, a rural town in Nebraska, is currently in decline. The town’s traditional agricultural economy has been struggling, and its recent investment in GrowSynth, a genetically modified crop, has not been successful. In addition, the town is reeling from a tragedy in which 15 hostages were killed when the sheriff gave the order to use Halothane, a general anesthetic normally used in animals. The use of Halothane was unauthorized and reckless, and it has further damaged the town’s reputation. As a result, tourism has declined, and the town is struggling to find a way to rebound.

The town of Rylstone is in a state of economic collapse. Most of the shops are closed, and the townspeople are struggling to make ends meet. In an effort to prop up the corn market, the government has offered to compensate farmers who agree to destroy their cornfields. Many of the townspeople have agreed to this plan, hoping to use the compensation to start a new life elsewhere.

Bolyn (Elena Kampouris) is a young woman who believes that destroying the cornfield is not the only solution to the town’s problems. She plans to use the power of social media to expose the town’s people and their complicity in the government’s plan. She contacts Sheila Boyce (Anna Samson), a journalist who is willing to visit the town and investigate the story.

Bolyn is unaware that Eden (Kate Moyer) has been possessed by the evil spirit she met in the cornfield. Eden has become the leader of all the children in the town, and she is using her power to further the evil spirit’s agenda.

Written and directed by Kurt Wimmer, CHILDREN of the CORN is a supernatural horror film based on a short story of the same name by Stephen King, first published in the March 1977 issue of Penthouse, and later collected in King’s 1978 collection Night Shift. The story is about a couple who end up in an abandoned Nebraska town that is inhabited by a cult of murderous children who worship a demon that lives in the local cornfields.

The story has been adapted into several films, spawning a horror feature film franchise of the same name beginning in 1983 with a short film titled, Disciples of the Crow. The following year, it was adapted into a feature film, followed by nine sequels. The latest version, released in 2023, is considered the third attempt to reinterpret Children of the Corn.

I am impressed by the atmospherics of the first half of the film, particularly the way the filmmakers have modernized the story for a new generation by incorporating smartphones and social media. However, these elements ultimately does not help developing new perspectives or interpretations of the story. In a world where everyone has access to the internet, it is strange that the children in this town are still playing in the cornfield as if it were 1977. Is this town in the Twilight Zone?

The narrative completely falls apart when you think about how these kids somehow managed to take over an entire town. I mean, they’re just regular children – no special powers, no magic, nothing. Are we really supposed to believe they could overpower and lock up every single adult? And don’t even get me started on Eden’s mind control over the other kids – the film never bothers to explain how she pulls that off. It’s like they just hoped we wouldn’t ask questions.

CHILDREN of the CORN initially come off as a standard supernatural horror film, but it quickly reveals itself to be a slasher flick that indulges in excessive violence and gore. The CGI used to portray the malevolent corn spirit feels so unrealistic that it often distracts from the film’s attempts to create genuine scares. It is baffling that such low-quality effects made it into the final cut.

The adults in this movie make such illogical choices, they practically beg to be killed. Half the time I found myself thinking the evil corn kids might have a point – these grown-ups seem to lack even basic survival instincts, and the world would be better off without them.

CHILDREN of the CORN was theatrically released in the United States on 3 March 203 by RLJE films. The film was released on Shudder on 21 March.