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Children of the Corn

Children of the CornIt's 1975 and Burt, a Vietnam vet (played by David Anders), and Vicki, his wife (Kandyse McClure), are driving across country. Right from the start, it's understood that their marriage is as rough as a road filled with potholes. (It's also understood that McClure, can't act worth a damn, but I'm getting ahead of myself.)

They're driving through flat and boring Nebraska. Corn field upon corn field upon corn field. Burt, the husband, takes his eyes off the road. A child runs out from a corn field, and before Burt can stop the car, he hits and runs over the child. Vicki gets out of the car, and Burt follows. The tirade that Vicki launches into while they are standing in the middle of the road is not only too damned long — I would've slapped her long before Burt did — it's also an excellent showcase of McClure's lack of acting talent. As much as I like Stephen King, I hate to say it, but the dialogue in this movie had all the flavor of stale bread. It's unbelievable that King is credited as co-writer of the screenplay, along with producer Donald P. Borchers.

Singing in chorus right along with McClure's bad acting was the equally bad and totally flat acting of the children. Rather than coming across as menacing, they came across as funny. Never a good thing in a horror flick.

This movie is a remake of an earlier film, also based the same short story by Stephen King. I would hold out hope that the story is better, but given that many at IMDb stated that this movie closely follows the story, I think that would be pointless.

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