- Directed by Fritz Kiersch
- Written by Stephen King, George Goldsmith
- Stars Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R. G. Armstrong
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 32 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs6z1D4gVp4
Spoiler-Free Judgement Zone
This was a lot slower getting going than I remember. If you’re creeped out by religious fanatics or little kids, watch out. If you are creeped out by both then you need to see this one.
Synopsis
Gatlin, Nebraska, three years ago. There was a corn drought. A boy and his father go for ice cream after church and see a bunch of creepy kids hanging around. One of them locks the door as the very young waitress poisons everyone’s coffee. The ones who don’t drink the coffee get their throats cut– or worse. It happened all over town that day. Credits roll.
In the present day, Burt and Vicky wake up; it’s his birthday. He just graduated from medical school. She wants to get married, but he’s putting her off.
Meanwhile, back in the cornland, Joseph is going to run away, but Job and Sarah whine about it first. He starts running through the cornfield. Someone with a knife has other ideas.
Vicky and Burt drive to Nebraska and laugh at the religious shows on the radio until they run over Joseph, who was standing in the middle of the road. Burt thinks right away that there’s something fishy going on. He walks through the corn and finds Joseph’s suitcase and blood. They put the body in the trunk and drive on. Burt notices that Joseph’s throat had been cut before they hit him – he was walking dead already.
Job and Sarah are little kids, and they don’t like Isaac and Malachi much. Malachi, the main enforcer, catches them having fun. Isaac, the religious leader, forgives them of their crimes.
Burt stops at the gas station, and old man Diehl comes out to warn them not to go to Gatlin. Diehl’s dog barks at the corn. He yells at the corn, “I kept our bargain; I didn’t tell them nothin!” He then finds the dog’s bloody scarf in the engine he’s working on. He goes into the barn, and they get him too.
Burt tries to avoid Gatlin, but the road won’t let him. Before long, they find themselves driving through a cornfield. They crawl through the corn and find Isaac giving a sermon to the children of Gatlin. “He Who Walks Behind the Rows said outlanders would come, and the man would sorely test them.”
Vicky and Burt get to Gatlin, and it’s deserted. They go into the cafe from the pre-credit sequence, and there’s corn spread around everywhere. They find Sarah, who tells them that Isaac put the adults in the cornfield. Sarah has been forbidden from drawing because she has “the sight” of things she’s not supposed to draw. Burt goes to explore the town hall, while evil teenagers surround the house where Vicky is hiding.
Vicky is soon captured by Malachi and his goons. Burt returns, and Sarah tells him about Malachi. He goes outside, and the corn parts, showing him where to go. Isaac and the others tie Vicky to a big cross as all the kids chant “Kill! Kill! Kill!” over and over.
Burt goes to the church and finds a bunch of kids drinking blood. When the kids reach age 19, they go to “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” He runs, but all the kids pursue him all over town. Job finds him and takes him to a hiding place where he and Sarah hide, an old bomb shelter. They take him up into the barn, where they can look down on the whole cornfield.
Malachi argues with Isaac and takes over. They cut down Vicky, hoping to use her as bait to catch Burt. They tie up Isaac in her place. Amos, who turned 19 today, walks into the field, and “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” comes for him. It also kills Isaac. Burt grabs Vicky in the chaos and accuses the whole group of being in a cult.
Then… Isaac comes back, looking pretty seriously undead. He comes for Malachi and kills him, as the others, Burt included, run away. A storm comes up, and many people hide in the barn. Job gives Burt a Bible verse that’s supposed to make the monster go away. Vicky figures out that they need to burn the cornfield with gasohol.
They hook up a firehose to the gasohol tank and Burt goes outside. The corn itself attacks Burt, wrapping him up. He cuts himself loose with Job’s help. They hook up the gasohol to the irrigation system and soak the whole field. As He Who Walks Behind the Rows approaches, they burn the fields and the monster.
Burt, Vicky, Job, and Sarah start walking for the nearby town of Hemingford, nineteen miles away.
Commentary
Isaac is played by a 26-year-old little-ish person who is way creepier-looking than he should be. The actor who plays Malachi has been in a bunch of things, including “The Burbs” one of my favorite 80s comedies. Linda Hamilton wasn’t a big name yet, as Terminator was released the same year as this.
It’s a not-too-subtle metaphor for any culty religion, especially Deep South Christianity, which quite often doesn’t look too much different than this, only with actual adults. It’s really slow getting started, but once the action finally starts, it’s pretty good.
The monster burns at the end, but it’s some kind of supernatural force. Isaac didn’t stay dead either. Could there be a sequel in the works? How about nine or so of them? This film has more sequels than any other Stephen King adaptation.