Children of the Corn: reviews

What the critics say average 3.3 from 32 outlets

• 7.5 Assignment XAbbie Bernstein Is this CHILDREN OF THE CORN the best Stephen King adaptation ever? No, but it does what it sets out to do, and gives us more than we might be expecting. Read
• 6.3 Roger EbertSimon Abrams While the first “Children of the Corn” was made on a reported budget of $800,000, it somehow doesn’t look as cheap as this new “Children of the Corn,” which eventually delivers just enough formulaic violence. Read
• 6.0 GameSpotAlyse Wax This new Children of the Corn is less of a remake than it is a reimagining. Most notably, the adults aren’t the focus; the kids are (...) Played by Kate Moyer, Eden is both adorable and disturbingly evil. Read
• 6.0 In Review OnlineGreg Cwik Wimmer’s film isn’t particularly memorable, and the Children of the Corn series has yet to summon a single indelible moment in 40 years, but you have to appreciate a horror film that aspires to entertain, and often succeeds. Read
• 5.0 North Shore MoviesDaniel M. Kimmel This “Children Of The Corn” is no horror classic, but it is not bereft of ideas, and Kampouris and Moyer – the latter especially chilling – make this an often compelling watch. Read
• 5.0 The Mercury NewsRandy Myers While director/screenwriter Kurt Wimmer shows flair behind the camera at moments, this R-rated mashup of King’s story, “Lord of the Flies” and even “Red Queen” isn’t scary or thrilling as its young cast takes on Boomers who’ve left their generation with nothing more than a fistful of crop dust. Read
• 4.5 Film InquiryCrockett Houghton This film let me down a little bit, I won’t lie. The source material deserved better. Read
• 4.0 Paste MagazineMatt Donato Kurt Wimmer’s newfangled Children of the Corn is a rotten husk of a Stephen King adaptation. Read
• 4.0 Daily DeadEmily von Seele By the end of the film, the thesis on the environment and generational friction is pretty much gone in the name of churning out another version of a well-trod tale. Read
• 4.0 GizmodoCheryl Eddy As far as creepy-kid tales go, it’s actually not terrible. But it never quite overcomes the question of why it exists in the first place. Read
• 4.0 Dread CentralChad Collins Children of the Corn never justifies its existence, though beneath the corn, the creature feature heart shines through. Read
• 4.0 StarburstMartin Unsworth Despite having a few eerie moments, Wimmer’s version of Children of the Corn is a rehash of a property that was fairly tired to begin with. Read
• 4.0 The Hollywood OutsiderAaron Peterson Wimmer’s script has some interesting ideas, the effects work is solid, and Jacob Shea and Tim Count’s score is rather pulse-pounding. But ultimately there are too many missteps and eye-rolling contrivances to ever truly sell the audience on everything they need to believe to truly enjoy this. Read
• 3.8 MovieFreakSara Michelle Fetters The only emotional response this Children of the Corn scares up is boredom, and that’s a frustrating shame. Read
• 3.5 PolygonKatie Rife And while it isn’t the worst film the franchise has to offer, that’s only because the competition is so weak. Read
• 3.0 Chicago ReaderNoah Berlatsky Unfortunately, the meandering script gets lost in the additional nuance rather than bringing it down like a cleaver. Read
• 2.8 Spectrum CultureAlan Zilberman The original Stephen King short story is an exercise in style, one that uses misdirection to unearth a disturbing premise. In this film, it is unclear that Wimmer realizes misdirection could be something in his toolkit. Read
• 2.5 ColliderMarco Vito Oddo As well-intentioned as the new Children of the Corn might be, it misses the mark by mixing a confusing ecological message with bland scares, forgetting what makes King’s story so enticing in the first place. Read
• 2.5 Movie NationRoger Moore This “Corn” sat on the shelf during COVID lockdown, but we can’t say it went stale during the delay. This was cynical in conception and rotten in execution long before the masks came out. Read
• 2.5 IndiewireChristian Zilko “Children of the Corn” is clearly one of the worst Stephen King film adaptations ever made — if anything, it seems unfair that it’s included in a category with so many good movies by the grace of a technicality. Read
• 2.5 The A.V. ClubLuke Y. Thompson There’s no reason a movie with this premise couldn’t be better. Just not in these folks’ hands. Read
• 2.5 Deep Focus ReviewBrian Eggert Aside from Moyer’s presence, every intentionally scary flourish proves unintentionally funny, if not downright confusing. Read
• 2.5 Third Coast ReviewSteven Prokopy Children of the Corn didn’t even feel like it was going for anything unique or interesting in its approach to the material. That shelf it was on was probably the best home for it. Read
• 2.0 VarietyOwen Gleiberman Like a virus that keeps coming back but growing weaker each time, “Children of the Corn” is now a horror movie that lacks the strength to infect you with even a speck of fear. Read
• 2.0 The GuardianCath Clarke By comparison this is boring and bland. What a shucker. Read
• 2.0 The SpoolGena Radcliffe Directed by Kurt Wimmer, it is, yet again, a lazy, indifferent attempt to merge folk horror and killer kids that offers no scares, no laughs, and no fun. Read
• 2.0 Next Best PictureCody Dericks The film is full of accidentally hilarious dialogue, scenes, and performances, but it’s almost paradoxically dull, which means it can’t even be recommended as an ironic watch for horror junkies. Read
• 2.0 Common Sense MediaJeffrey M. Anderson Without a doubt one of the two or three absolute worst Stephen King movie adaptations, this reboot is so awful on every level that you probably won't even believe what you're seeing. Read
• 2.0 Bloody DisgustingMeagan Navarro Expectations might be low at this stage of the franchise, but nothing about Children of the Corn works. Read
• 1.6 ConsequenceClint Worthington Even within the auspices of a not-terribly-inspiring horror franchise, Wimmer’s take is a dull, repetitive, meaningless slog that carries only superficial similarities to the very story that shares its title. Read
• 0.0 The Austin ChronicleRichard Whittaker Wimmer has now twice disproved his ability to rehash old scripts through his terrible updatings of Total Recall and Point Break. Now he exhibits zero visual skill as writer/director of Children of the Corn, an unwatchable reboot of Stephen King’s 1977 short story Read
• 0.0 The PlaylistCharles Barfield This is the type of film that will be used by horror fans, for years to come, to explain why remakes are a black cloud (or toxic corn dust, as shown in the film) over the entire genre. Read