Ricky Hanson Video: Children Of The Corn
Children of the Corn (advertised as Stephen King’s Children of the Corn) is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film based upon Stephen King’s 1977 short story of the same name. Directed by Fritz Kiersch, the film’s cast consists of Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, John Franklin, Courtney Gains, Robby Kiger, Anne Marie McEvoy, Julie Maddalena, and R. G. Armstrong. Set in the fictitious rural town of Gatlin, Nebraska, the film tells the story of a malevolent entity referred to as “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” which entices the town’s children to ritually murder all the town’s adults, as well as a couple driving across the country, to ensure a successful corn harvest.
King wrote the original draft of the screenplay, which focused more on the characters of Burt and Vicky and depicted more history on the uprising of the children in Gatlin. This script was disregarded in favor of George Goldsmith’s screenplay, which featured more violence and a more conventional narrative structure. Filming took place mainly in Iowa, but also in California. It spawned a franchise of films, and it has gained a cult following, inspiring the rap group with the same name.
Factoid: During an interview on The Ghost of Hollywood, Fritz Kiersch explained how Courtney Gains won the role of Malachai by using a prop knife to hold a casting assistant hostage at the audition. Gains claims that one of the great honors of his career is having hundreds of people, even his son’s friends, recognize him as Malachai and confess they found him terrifying, some having admitted his performance gave them nightmares. Apparently, even his own parents were greatly unnerved by him in this film.
Ricky Hanson