I am not one for regrets, but I definitely wish I would have watched Children of the Corn for the first time when I was under the age of 15. A first viewing today made it hard to get past the cheesy script, fairly poor acting, and inexcusably bad special effects. Yes, I know this was made in 1984, but Fantasia had better visual effects. I would have much preferred they kept more of the details off screen so the audience could mentally construct a decently terrifying visual. All that said, I must admit that John Franklin’s performance as Isaac was pretty damn creepy. Turns out he was 25 at the time, which must have helped with the creepy man-boy look. And Malachai is definitely the scariest ginger ever. You gotta watch this one – it’s a classic. Just close your eyes when you see the special effects kick in.
