Is Children of the Corn based on a True Story? Ending Explained
by Rubaditsha
Updated Apr 25, 2023
Is Children of the Corn based on a True Story?
No, the Children Of The Corn (2023) is not based on a true story. The film is based on a short story with the same title, written by Stephen King in 1977. The story was published in Penthouse Magazine and was later included in King's collection of short stories, Night Shift, in 1980.
Stephen King is a well-known author and has been referred to as the "king of horror." He has written numerous horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. He has sold over 350 million copies of his books worldwide, making him one of the most successful authors of all time.
The 2023 film adaptation of Children Of The Corn is directed and written by Kurt Wimmer, who is known for his work in the films Equilibrium (2002), Point Break (2015), and Total Recall (2012). Kurt Wimmer's version of the film has grown-up children with a contemporary twist on the original story.
Although the Children Of The Corn is not based on a true story, some people believe that the story has real-life influences. This belief may be due to the widespread occurrence of cults and mass murders worldwide, which may have led people to think that King's story is based on actual events.
In the film, Children Of The Corn 2023, the story revolves around a group of children who murder their elders and take control of their small town. The ending of the film features the character Eden, who has turned into an evil entity named 'He-Who-Walks,' attacking the main character, Bo.
Overall, while the story of Children Of The Corn may have been inspired by real-life events, it is not based on a true story, and it is purely a work of fiction.
Children of the Corn Plot
The plot of "Children of the Corn" revolves around a group of children in a Nebraska farm town who have formed a cult and worship a demon that lives in the local cornfields. The demon, known as He Who Walks Behind the Rows, is less of a monster than a force that speaks to the gathering forces of religious zealotry and intolerance that were taking shape in society in the late '70s.
The 2020 version of the film is a prequel that begins with a sullen adolescent killing every adult at the Rylestone Children's Home, with the local farmers spraying the building with a cow anesthetic, which kills 15 children. This event seems to have no real relevance to the rest of the plot.
The film's main story follows a group of children led by Eden, a survivor of the Children's Home massacre, as they fight to save the corn crops that have been poisoned by toxic chemicals. Along the way, they seek revenge on the town's adults who they blame for the massacre.
The film attempts to introduce a half-baked theme of environmentalism by portraying the children as eco-activist "monster kids." However, this idea is not well-developed, and the film fails to make any meaningful commentary on the issue. Instead, it updates Stephen King's premise from the '70s to a vague dilapidated-horror-with-a-social-conscience '80s zone.
The biggest change from the original story is that He Who Walks Behind the Rows is now portrayed as a creature made of green cornstalks with a mouth resembling an ear-of-corn version of Alien.
The children's leader, Eden, is portrayed as a sort of Drew Barrymore in "Firestarter" crossed with the demon child from the "Orphan" films. However, the character is underdeveloped, and the actress plays her with a smirk, making her seem pedestrian and unimagined. The best actor in the film is Elena Kampouris, who plays Bo, the only kid who has stayed normal. She maintains a shivery relatability without descending into scream-queen cliché.
The adults in the film are mostly cartoonish rednecks, with the one standout being Bruce Spence as a perverted parson. The storytelling is sketchy and splintered, and the visual tone is overbright yet unsure. Overall, the film lacks the strength to infect viewers with even a speck of fear and fails to live up to the terror of Stephen King's original short story.
Children of the Corn Ending Explained
In the ending of "Children of the Corn," after Burt kills the red-headed boy who stabbed him and flees into the cornfield, he discovers Vicky's mutilated body tied to a cross with barbed wire. He also finds the crucified skeletons of Gatlin's minister and police chief, which indicates that the children of the town had done this before.
When Burt turns around to escape, he notices that every row in the cornfield has closed up, creating a wall that prevents him from escaping. He realizes that something is coming for him, but before he can do anything, he is killed by a giant, green, red-eyed monster that comes out of the cornfield. The creature is revealed to be "He Who Walks Behind the Rows," the malevolent deity that the children worship and sacrifice to.
The next day, the children of Gatlin have a meeting in the circle, and Isaac, their 9-year-old leader, tells them that He Who Walks Behind the Rows is displeased with their sacrifice because they failed to also kill Burt. The same thing happened with the "blue man" and the "false minister" many years ago. He Who Walks Behind the Rows punishes this failure by lowering the "age of favor" to 18 and commands the children to "be fruitful and multiply."
That night, all the 18-year-olds, including Malachi (the killer of the boy who was run over), walk into the cornfield to sacrifice themselves to He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Ruth, a girl who is pregnant with Malachi's child, weeps as she waves goodbye to him.
It is revealed that she secretly hates He Who Walks Behind the Rows and dreams of setting fire to the cornfield, but is afraid to actually do so because He Who Walks Behind the Rows can see everything, including the secrets inside human hearts. The story ends by saying that the corn surrounding Gatlin is pleased.
The ending of "Children of the Corn" is intended to be shocking and unsettling, with the implication that the evil deity "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" will continue to be appeased by the children of Gatlin through human sacrifice. The final scene, in which Ruth weeps as she watches Malachi walk into the cornfield to be sacrificed, suggests that not all of the children are completely brainwashed and that there may be hope for some of them to resist the cult's influence.
Children of the Corn Review
The "Children of the Corn" franchise has been around since 1977, when Stephen King first published his short story about a group of children in Nebraska who worship a demon that lives in the local cornfields. The story was a mix of horror and societal commentary, tapping into the religious zealotry and intolerance that was taking shape in the late '70s.
The story was adapted into a famous 1984 movie, as well as eight sequels and various pop culture references. The new movie is technically a prequel, but it abandons the heart of King's story and doesn't make much sense.
The movie opens with a teenager killing all the adults in a children's home, which prompts the farmers to spray the building with anesthetic that kills 15 children. The surviving town children, led by Eden, want to take revenge and also fight to save their corn crops, which have been poisoned by toxic chemicals.
The children are now eco-activist monster kids, but this theme is half-baked and doesn't make the movie relevant or interesting. The looming spectral menace known as He Who Walks Behind the Rows is now an actual creature made of green cornstalks with a mouth that resembles an ear-of-corn version of Alien.
The characters are poorly developed, and the best actor in the film is Elena Kampouris, who plays the teenage Bo. The adults are mostly cartoonish rednecks, and the storytelling is sketchy and splintered. The visual tone is overbright yet unsure, and the blood looks like it's made of high-fructose corn syrup. The movie lacks any real scares or a compelling story, and it feels like a tired franchise that has lost its strength to infect viewers with fear.
Children of the Corn Summary
"Children of the Corn" is a horror movie based on Stephen King's short story, first published in 1977. The movie revolves around a group of children in a Nebraska farm-town who worship a demon named He Who Walks Behind the Rows that resides in the local cornfields. The children kill the adults around them and have become a cult. The story tackles the themes of religious zealotry and intolerance.
The new version of the movie is technically a prequel, but it lacks the strength of the original story. The film begins with a sullen adolescent walking into the Rylestone Children's Home and killing every adult in sight. The farmers in the town view it as a hostage situation and use a cow anesthetic called Halathane, which kills 15 children.
The town children, led by Eden (Kate Moyer), who is a survivor of the Children's Home massacre, want to extract their revenge. They also introduce a half-baked theme of "environmentalism," as the children fight to save the corn crops that have been poisoned by toxic chemicals.
The movie updates King's premise from the '70s to a vague, dilapidated-horror-with-a-social-conscience '80s zone. He Who Walks Behind the Rows now really is a creature, a looming spectral menace made of green cornstalks with a mouth that resembles an ear-of-corn version of Alien.
Eden, the kid-cult ringleader in her braided pigtails, is like Drew Barrymore in "Firestarter" crossed with the demon child from the "Orphan" films. The best actor in the film is Elena Kampouris, who plays Bo, the one kid who has stayed normal.
Overall, the movie lacks strong storytelling and character development. The adults in the film are mostly cartoonish rednecks, and the children are portrayed as eco-activist monster kids. The visual tone is overbright yet unsure, and the movie lacks relevance to current issues.
Is Children of the Corn based on a True Story: FAQs
"Children of the Corn" is a horror movie based on Stephen King's short story of the same name, which was published in 1977.
The movie follows a group of children from a Nebraska farm town who worship a demon that lives in the local cornfields. The demon, known as He Who Walks Behind the Rows, speaks to impulses of religious zealotry and intolerance that were starting to take shape in society during the late '70s. The children kill the adults around them and form a cult. The new "Children of the Corn" is a prequel that deviates from King's original story, focusing on an eco-activist group of monster kids seeking revenge against the townspeople.
There have been 11 films based on "Children of the Corn," including the 1984 big-screen version and eight sequels, with the latest being the prequel released in 2020.
The demon in "Children of the Corn" is called He Who Walks Behind the Rows.