Children of the Corn (1984) {Arrow Video Ultra HD Review}

Reviewed By Jason Lockard

Stephen King has penned some of the most terrifying tales in history. Many of them have found their way to the small screen and big screen. Some of those adaptions are pretty good most not so much.

In 1984 one of his films was adapted and brought to the screen and that film was The Children of the Corn starring Sarah Connor herself Linda Hamilton. While maybe not the greatest of King adaptions it has become a cult classic over the years. Now the great folks at Arrow Video has restored this film and released it on Ultra HD.

Vicky Baxter and her boyfriend Burt Stanton are on their way to Seattle when they find themselves in rural Nebraska. They accidentally hit a young boy with their car. Soon the duo find out that this small town is being held hostage by a religious cult of children that believe everyone over age 18 must die.

Now Stephen King did not like this film at all. But I think George Goldsmith did a descent job adapting the Stephen King story to screen. Linda Hamilton really shines in this film. The tension that slowly builds is classic horror to the max. I feel this film still holds up almost 40 years later. 

Arrow Video has done an a remarkable job with this brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. And the audio options are the original Mono and 5.1 Audio. Finally there is the option for English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Now I have seen this film in many formats over my years, but I must say I have never seen it like this before. The new 4K restoration is absolutely gorgeous. There is no signs of damage to this print. The colors are vibrant and the audio is clear. But a marvelous print of this film is not where this 4K release ends. Arrow Video loaded this release up with some amazing bonuses. Take a look at what is included.

Bonus Feature:
* Audio commentary with horror journalist Justin Beahm and Children of the Corn historian John Sullivan
* Audio commentary with director Fritz Kiersch, producer Terrence Kirby and actors John Franklin and Courtney Gains
* Harvesting Horror: The Making of Children of the Corn a retrospective piece featuring interviews with director Fritz Kiersch and actors John Franklin and Courtney Gains
* It Was the Eighties! an interview with actress Linda Hamilton
* Return to Gatlin a featurette revisiting the film's original Iowa shooting locations
* Stephen King on a Shoestring: an interview with producer Donald Borchers
* Welcome to Gatlin: The Sights and Sounds of Children of the Corn an interview with production designer Craig Stearns and composer Jonathan Elias
* Cut from the Cornfield: an interview with the actor who played The Blue Man in the fabled excised sequence
* Theatrical trailer
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin


As you can see this is a pretty amazing looking release. I believe longtime fans of this Stephen King cult classic are going to want to jump a the chance to add this to their collection. It is a a huge upgrade to any copy of this film you have.

So if you would like to add this Arrow Video UltraHD release of Children of the Corn to your shelf, you can head over to Amazon.com and pre-order your release today.


Check out the opening scene brought to you by Arrow Video.

Out of 4 Film Reels (4 Being the Best) Arrow Video's UltraHD of Children of the Corn receives...