Children Of The Corn [2023]
(Kate Moyer, Elena Kampouris, Callan Mulvey, Bruce Spence, et al. | R | 1 hr 32 min | RLJE Films)
Overview: Directed by Kurt Wimmer and based on Stephen King’s famed short story, the reimagining centers on a 12-year-old girl (Eden, portrayed by Kate Moyer) possessed by a spirit in a dying Nebraska cornfield. Eden recruits the other children in town to rise up and take control, leading the kids on a bloody rampage.
Verdict: Bo (Elena Kampouris) and Cecil (Jayden McGinlay) live in a rural town of Rylstone, Nebraska where a school massacre took place. The government wants to pay the town to stop planting corn which has already been damaged by pesticides from corporate farmers. Eden (Kate Moyer), a.k.a. the Red Queen, leads a group of children who resort to violence to protect the corn crops. Bo, an activist, refuses to join Eden and her gang; her brother, Cecil (Jayden McGinlay), does.
The new remake of Children of the Corn suffers from the same systemic issue that ails Cocaine Bear: it wastes too much time with dull, contrived exposition and subplots while failing to entertain the audience when it comes the meat of the story. The screenplay by writer/director begins with a prologue that provides a little exposition about the dark history of Rylstone, Nebraska before it flashes forward to add more exposition and to introduce the characters of Bo, Cecil, Eden as well as Cal (Joe Klocek).
Oh, and there’s also an evil creature lurking the corn field called He Who Walks Beyond the Rows made out of roots. Children of the Corn generates little to no suspense or horror from the evil creature and from Eden and her murderous gang. The villains are poorly-written, there are too many characters, and even the heroes remain underdeveloped, so it’ hard to root for them. The film quickly becomes a monotonous bore without comic relief. It’s just as unscary and disappointing as **SPOILER** Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.
The on bright spot, though, is Kate Moyer’s lively, charismatic performance that invigorates the film. She’s very well-cast and does her best to make the most out of her role. Elena Kampouris gives a decent performance which is undermined by the weak screenplay. The cinematography is just as bland as the screenplay, and the visual effects and design of the He Who Walks Beyond the Row creature look unimpressive.
There’s some gruesome violence and gore, though, which adds an ick factor to film, but not much in terms of horror. Disgusting the audience with blood and guts isn’t enough. At a running time of 1 hour and 33 minutes, which actually feels more like two hours, Children of the Corn is an undercooked, unfocused horror film that lacks suspense, thrills, and palpable scares. [A.O.]