MotW: Children of the Corn

YES. Yes, Children of the Corn is a must-watch. Allow me to explain why.

Firstly, let me explain why it's a great halloween movie. I chose Children of the Corn because October and November are the official months of the harvest here in the rural midwest. For that reason, there is no better October horror movie for a midwesterner than Children of the Corn. Regardless of whether you love the american midwest or hate the american midwest (like I do), everybody wins with Children of the Corn. Why? Because it incorporates several of the classic tropes of rural midwestern life into its story, like religion, religious zealotry, cults, agriculture, social fragmentation/isolation, and ignorance. And then there's the spooky supernatural side of the story involving a supposed demon controlling the children of this town. It's the perfect blend of horror and local color. Can't go wrong.

Secondly, it delivers the thrills. I already mentioned that the supernatural elements of CotC are very spooky, but so is the level of violence and those disturbing midwestern tropes I touched on, especially the isolation (midwestern states have among the lowest population density of all states, nothing but agricultural sprawl) and the religious cults. Children of the Corn feels like the Salem Witch Trials meets Poltergeist (or some good ghost story anyway). A very spooky mix of genres. Best of all, Children of the Corn doesn't wuss out on shock value. Being a hard-R 80s thriller, there's violence galore in Children of the Corn, surprising for a film with a relatively low body count.

Thirdly, it was shot on location in Iowa, AKA the most quintessential midwestern state, infamous for its low population density, high levels of agricultural sprawl, religious cults, conservative politics, and near-total habitat loss (I believe over 95% of the Iowan landscape was converted into agriculture and cattle pasture by man). The film itself is set in Nebreska, another legendarily midwestern state, but honestly one cannot tell the difference between one midwestern state to the next. They are all corn fields. The midwest (formally the Great Plains) is essentially one giant cornfield now. It's nothing but agriculture, enough scare anyone senseless. It's the perfect setting for a horror movie, because there is no escape. north, south, east and west leads to an endless expanse of nothing but mile after square mile of corn field. There's no way out!

Fourthly, it stars Peter Horton, one of the coolest actors in Hollywood



Not only does he give a great performance here as the male lead, but Peter has led an extremely respectable career in film, including a major cameo in Who Killed The Electric Car, where he protested against GM's decision to take his EV1 away to their scrap yard. He deserves a lifetime achievement award for having the guts to do that. Love this man.

I could go on and list more reasons why Children of the Corn deserves its cult classic status, but I've exhausted myself for the time being. Just do yourself a favor and turn off the lights, grab some popcorn, and watch yourself some Children of the Corn. It's easily one of my favorite 80s thrillers. So take it from me, Children of the Corn is a fun time.