Children of the Corn(1984)
1984 · Fritz Kiersch · 92 min
A traveling couple end up in an abandoned Nebraska town inhabited by a cult of murderous children who worship a demon that lives in the local cornfields.
Horror · Thriller
5.71.2k votes
TMDB score
2/5
Intensity
2/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How Children of the Corn scares
Children of the Corn builds its dread out of empty streets, silent fields, and the wrongness of kids acting like a cult rather than out of constant jump scares. The fear leans on unease and creeping wrongness first, with bursts of physical danger once the couple realizes they're being hunted. There's a strange, otherworldly presence tied to the cornfields that gives it a supernatural edge, but most of the runtime feels grounded in small-town isolation and human menace. It plays more like an eerie, slightly campy horror ride than something that will actually haunt you afterward.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Children of the Corn rates psychological 3/5, visceral 3/5, gore 2/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 2/5.
- Psychological: 3 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 2 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 2 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 30 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 25 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 40 of 100 — leans Fun-scary
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
An eerie setup gives way to steady, uneven tension with periodic jolts, building to a busier, more frantic final stretch before easing slightly at the very end.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3.
How scary is Children of the Corn?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Children of the Corn rates 2/5 — moderately scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and fun-first. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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