JP Nunez
I know what you’re probably thinking: “Why in the world should we be excited about another Children of the Corn movie? Hasn’t this franchise been beaten to death about 86 times already?” That’s what I thought when I first heard about the new film, so I get it. But I decided to give the trailer a shot anyway, and after seeing it, I have to admit that I’m actually looking forward to this Children of the Corn reboot now. Here’s what the movie is about:
Possessed by a spirit in a dying cornfield, twelve-year-old Eden recruits the other children in her small town to rise up and take control. Tired of having to pay the price for their parent’s mistakes, Eden leads the kids on a bloody rampage, killing the adults and anyone who opposes her. With all the adults jailed or dead, it comes down to one high schooler who won’t go along with the plan and becomes the town’s only hope of survival. Based on the short story by Stephen King, CHILDREN OF THE CORN is a chilling new re-telling for a whole new generation.
From that plot synopsis, it’s clear that Children of the Corn is going to be very different from the 1984 film that kicked off the franchise (and, I’ve heard, from Stephen King’s original short story as well, but I’ve never read it myself), and despite what some purists might say, I think that’s a good thing.
I’m a firm believer that if you’re going to remake or reboot a classic IP, you should add your own unique twist to it. Otherwise, there’s no reason for your version to exist. And thankfully, that’s exactly what this movie looks set to do. While it has enough core similarities that we can still recognize it as a Children of the Corn film, it also seems like it’s going to tell a fresh, new story we haven’t seen before.
That being said, telling a good story is only half the battle. For a movie to succeed, it also has to execute its story well, and that’s where the Children of the Corn trailer comes in. It features one hell of a creepy kid along with a whole bunch of fantastic horror imagery, so despite my initial eye-rolling dismissal of the film, I’m actually pretty excited for it now. I think it looks really good, so here’s hoping that it can breathe some new life into this stale franchise.
Children of the Corn is set to hit theaters on March 3 and VOD on March 21.
