The Correct Order To Watch The Children Of The Corn Movies
Hello. Alright. Okay. You have opened this article because that headline offers a promise of the correct order to watch the sprawling "Children of the Corn" franchise, a horror series that spans nine films in the core canon, plus two completely separate remakes of the original (each re-telling the original Stephen King short story), for a grand total of 11 movies. Before you go any further, let this be your warning: This is one of the worst horror franchises out there, and even the best films in the series are largely unwatchable compared to other horror series with similar longevity. By planning to watch all "Children of the Corn" movies, you are planning to embark on several days' worth of headaches as you try to suss out "What the heck were they thinking?" with each entry. You're going to have a bad time.
Oh, wait. You're here because you want to have a bad time and enjoy immersing yourself in the most questionable and shoddily made horror movies imaginable? I know your kind too well. Welcome to the club.
The most impressive element of the "Children of the Corn" series is its refusal to die, even as it barely registers as a blip on the pop culture radar. Alas, there comes a time when every horror fan must confront this one. At some point, everyone realizes there are eleven movies about children who are influenced by an evil force in a cornfield to murder all adults in the vicinity. And that somehow, this premise extends to, once again, eleven movies. Horror fans must want to know what all the non-fuss is about as they see random entries from ages past pop up across various streaming services. How did they make so many? Why did they make so many?
If you're still in, here's the best way to watch these cursed movies.
The correct order to watch Children of the Corn
"Children of the Corn" began as a pretty good short story written by horror titan Stephen King early in his career. Initially published in 1977, it was collected in the 1978 book "Night Shift," which is where most horror fans probably read it first. Seven years later, in 1984, a film adaptation hit theaters. It's probably the best of the series. Heck, it even stars Linda Hamilton and was released the same year "The Terminator" transformed her into a genre movie icon. That said, it's a very bad movie and there are far superior '80s slashers and '80s Stephen King adaptations to scratch whatever itch you may have.
But if you're going to watch all of these movies as a challenge, as some kind of horror movie Mount Everest (You watch them because you must!), the best thing to do is watch them in order of release. Because yes, there is a continuity here and yes, by the late '90s, the sequels assumed you at least knew a little about what happened before as it tried to deepen a paper-thin premise. For handy reference:
- Children of the Corn (1984)
- Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1993)
- Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995)
- Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996)
- Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998)
- Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return (199)
- Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001)
- Children of the Corn: Genesis: (2011)
- Children of the Corn: Runaway (2018)
That's the core franchise, the one that was loosely designed to be watched in order. For additional homework, completionists will want to seek out "Children of the Corn" from 2009 and "Children of the Corn" from 2020. Both of them are remakes of the first movie, or new adaptations of the original Stephen King story, depending on which poison you're picking. Both films, like everything else in that list above, are terrible. You can sprinkle them into the rotation as needed.
A few helpful survival tips
A certain breed of movie masochist can understand the appeal of suffering through all of these movies. Bragging rights. You'll be among a small handful of weirdos who pulled this off. Doing the whole series in chronological order is the right way to make yourself a proper expert on this niche subject that dozens (dozens!) of people will care about.
By watching them all in order of release, you can truly experience the de-evolution of the series. While the first film isn't especially impressive cinema, it generally feels like a real movie, one that could be released in theaters without embarrassing everyone. The first sequel, made nearly a decade later, also resembles, more or less, a movie that could be released in theaters. The real test begins with the third movie, which saw a new distributor take over the franchise and start sending films direct-to-video on a nearly annual basis. This is dark stuff, folks. Not dark as in "scary" or "disturbing," but dark as in "Oh, no, the '90s direct-to-video horror market was a cynical place that cared not for your comfort as a liker of good things." The steadily declining quality extends into the '00s. Watching a bad movie franchise deteriorate into an unwatchable one ends up being weirdly compelling from a scholarly point of view. Approach this as a historian, not as a horror movie buff. You'll have a better time.
But what if you watch the first '84 movie and decide you don't have the nerve for such a project? Not to worry. There's one more hack to be found. All you need to do is watch the original movie, the 2009 remake (made for television, no less!), and the 2020 remake (which received a token theatrical release before going to streaming). It's the same story yes, but told decades apart for different audiences with different expectations. You can see 40 years of horror history in just a few tedious hours! You won't have a great time with any of them, but you'll get the basic gist. And then you can never watch a "Children of the Corn" movie again, making you a true winner.