Cornfield Carnage: From Cult Kids to Killer Clowns to Land Sharks

We explore cornfield horror classics and chaos: Stephen King's Children of the Corn (1984), where fanatical kids sacrifice adults to a demonic entity in the rows; the fresh slasher Clown in a Cornfield (2025), with mascot Frendo brutally "cleansing" a dying town's youth; and the gloriously absurd Sharks of the Corn (2021), featuring Great Whites prowling Kentucky stalks in a cult-fueled fever dream.

From chilling cult vibes to gory satire to pure ridiculousness—grab your ears (and maybe some popcorn) for this stalk of terror! 🌽🔪🦈

Transcript

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Welcome to Dad Bot of Horror. This is season one, episode 11. I am Butch Barr, your host. Still no co-host, but I did speak to my prospective co-host last night. So we'll see how long it takes him. So, movie number one for season one, episode 11, is Children of the Corn from 1984. You can find it on Prime, AMC Plus, Shout Factory, Tubi, Fossum, Plex, and the Roku Channel. The production company was Howl Roach Studios, New World Pictures, and Angelese Entertainment Group. The director was Fritz Kirsch. Ryder Stephen King and George Goldsmith, starring Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, and R. G. Armstrong. Although R. G. Armstrong is not in the movie very much, but somehow he got the number three bill there. The plot a young couple is trapped in a remote town where a dangerous religious cult of children believes that everyone over the age of 18 must be killed. That is as basic as you can get for this. Why this movie? I don't know. It just felt like the time for uh cornfield movies. How did I see it? I'm pretty sure this is another one of those that I saw on a VHS tape. You know, when VHS opened up, we got a VCR, that like opened up this whole new realm of movies for me. It was really amazing the number of horror movies now I could watch and other movies, comedies and whatnot. So that was really neat. It was, excuse me, I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only kid who's, you know, all of a sudden got put into a video candy store with these. My favorite kill? Um, I don't think there was one. There wasn't really that impressive kills, that many impressive kills in this. Most of them happened in the beginning, and most of them were poisonings. So basically, this movie, um, one day the children of the town just decide to kill all the adults. Um, they do this because Isaac, this weird-looking little guy, told them that he who walks behind the rose demanded it. So, as you can imagine, it has this like weird religious cult vibe to it. So, Isaac is this 12-year-old boy who hears the message from he who walks behind the rose. And uh, you know, they talk in very religious terms. The weird thing is, is during the movie, you think that Isaac is just kind of full of garbage here and uh like a normal cult leader just making up the word of their particular god. But there is actually a he who walks behind the rose. I I I don't think there's a lot of walking done, at least in the beginning, but there is actually uh yeah, a he who walks behind the roads, which was surprising at the time. So, from the in the beginning of the movie, like I said, the uh the kids all kill the adults. And when you get into the movie with with our heroes, Peter and Linda, uh, those are the actors' names, I couldn't tell you the names of the characters. It's three years later. And I find it very hard to believe that a town of kids, 18 and younger, um that they could survive for three years in a town without adults. I just don't think they could do it. So, yeah, that was my take home. And I find I find it very hard to believe that three years could go by and and they're still alive. So one of the funniest stories about this movie to me doesn't take place during the movie. So I went to uh Moravian College, which is in Bethlehem, PA, and every now and then let me start at the very, very beginning. Sorry. So where I grew up, I grew up in a small town, and we were kind of outside of town, and my house across the street was a wooded area, and behind the house was a cornfield. So, you know, as soon as we were old enough to run around outside by ourselves, which this is a 70s and 80s, that was something that kids still did, you know. You just kind of left the house and went and go do whatever you wanted to do for the most part. And the one thing that my mom always said whenever we left the house is do not go in the cornfield and do not go into the woods, do not play there. So, of course, that's where me and my sisters spent most of our time as kids playing the cornfields and in the woods. So, cornfields were not a big deal to me. I ran around with them, played them all the time, cornfield tag, like it wasn't a thing. So go to Moravian College now in Bethlehem, which you know is a city, and uh friends of mine at Bethlehem, and you know, these are you know people from all over, you know, Jersey, you know, Northern PA, you know, whatever. But a lot of them were were city kids, or at least not farming community type kids. So uh we used to we used to uh take uh road trips in the evening, and we basically called them like F the semester trips. Um, and one of the kids actually failed out, so she took it literally. But the one particular road trip I wanted to come in and can't come and visit my parents. So we're driving, and there's cornfields along the way, and I had to pee. So I was driving, I pulled the car over. I don't think it was my car, I was driving someone else's car. Pulled the car over to pee in the cornfield, and this is at night, you know, this is like 10, 11 o'clock at night. Pull over, I go pee in the cornfield, come back out, and they locked the doors. And as soon as I got to the door and tried to open it, everybody in the car screams. And I was like, what the heck are you guys doing? They were scared of the cornfield because of children of the corn. It was actually ridiculous, but um, I again it's a real thing. And and and it sort of juxtaposed a little bit because, like, when you take a kid from where like I grew up and you you put him in New York City, you know, they're scared they're gonna get mugged or raped or or whatever. There's gangs everywhere, you're gonna get stabbed and shot. And that's almost as silly as believing there's people in the cornfield ready to kill you. So this movie had eight sequels and two remakes. So the the concept obviously is very popular. I've seen a lot of the sequels and one of the remakes. Linda Hamilton, who stars in this this same year, she was in two movie franchises, uh, the one of them being Children of the Corn, and the other one being uh the Terminator franchise. And uh, I imagine most people know Linda Hamilton from the Terminator franchise. Peter Horton, who also stars in this, he was in a bunch of stuff in the 80s and 90s. He was like a B-movie leading man type guy. Um, and uh, you know, he went on to uh to doing some directing and producing later on. But in truth, although Linda Hamilton and Peter Horton really got top billing, the real stars were John Franklin and Courtney Gaines. So John Franklin played Isaac, who was this creepy 12-year-old like preacher kid. The thing was is that John Franklin was actually in his 20s playing a 12-year-old. He has growth hormone deficiency. So even though he was in his 20s, he was still quite small and able to play a 12-year-old. And I think the fact that he was an older soul, um, and you know, didn't sound like a 12-year-old kid in the way that he talked, I think that just made his character uh even more unsettling. And I think it really added uh to the movie. Courtney Gaines plays Malachi. So uh Malachi was kind of Isaac's like hardcore religious right-hand man. He was the muscle, but as with any, let's say, cult type thing, the leader started to seem to stray from the word, and uh eventually Malachi would turn on uh on Isaac, which is a great part of the movie. Malachi, uh sorry, Malachi strings up Isaac, and he gosh, I used forget he who walks behind the rose, ends up taking Isaac and then brings him back to Dole Lap Punishment for uh mistrusting Isaac's word. Again, both were excellent in this movie. Absolutely. Unfortunately, you know, for John Franklin, because of his size thing, I don't think he picked a lot of like could get a lot of excellent act acting work. I think he got a lot of genre work, which is which is still work. Courtney Gaines uh did a lot of other things, but I he's probably best known for playing Malachi. I actually a few years ago had a chance to see both of them. I was at a uh Monster Mania convention with my wife, and they were having a children of the corn reunion. So John Franklin was there, Courtney Gaines was there, and one of the other uh one of the other actors that played one of the kids was also there. Um we were we were in this uh it was like a uh a room, a room almost like it's like really a ballroom, but like a room outside of the convention area, like John Lovitz was there, McKenna Grace was there. So we were walking around looking at other people and and deciding what we wanted to do. And I think Courtney Gaines was running a little late. John was there, John uh Franklin was there, Courtney Gaines was running late. I don't stay up late, so we just decided to skip it, even though I really did want to meet Courtney Gaines. John Franklin still scares me, even at his age, but Courtney Gaines I would have liked to meet. But no, it is what it is. Maybe I'll get to another monster media convention then and I'll get to meet him. So movie two for season one, episode 11, is uh clown in a cornfield, and that was just last year, 2025. You can find it on Hulu or uh AMC Plus. Production company is R L J E Films, Shudder, and Hercules Film Fund. The director is Eli Craig. The writers were Carter Blanchard, Eli Craig, and Adam Cesare. Or Caesar, I don't know how you pronounce that. I think it's Cesare, only because there's a professional wrestler, Cesar, Cesaro, and it spelled kind of the same. It stars Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, and Carson McCormick. The plot. A fading Midwestern town in which Fendo, the clown, a symbol of bygone success, re-emerges as a terrifying scourge. So why this movie? It fits with my cornfield theme. That's really all why. Only reason why. How did I see it? This was definitely on a streaming service when I watched it. I thought it was gonna be a bad movie. Um, Clown of the Cornfield. I mean, come on, you think it's gonna be a bad movie? And it really wasn't. So I was happy to watch it again for this particular podcast, so that was good. My favorite kill, this was a fun kill. Actually, there was one later on that was pretty good too, but I'm gonna stick with this one. There's a part in the movie, and I hate to give away any type of spoilers here, but there is a little bit of a spoiler. So there's a part where this girl is being chased through a cornfield by Frendo the clown, and Fendo's got a uh chainsaw, and she keeps running away and looking behind her, and eventually, like she doesn't see him, so she thinks like she's she's gotten past him. So she keeps looking back, keeps looking back, and all of a sudden he appears in front of her with this with this, you know, big chainsaw that's running, and she basically impales herself on it. It was really cool to see. I also believe he like lifts her up while he's impaling her. It was really cool. So this was kind of a fun movie. It really, I mean, it was. I'm gonna give away some spoilers. I still think you should see the movie. So the beginning of the movie, they kind of do a Jaws homage where um there's a girl that's trying to entice uh the boy she's with to come into the cornfield that she's slowly walking into. She takes her top off and she's kind of you know beckoning him to come in. Again, obvious homage to the beginning of Jaws, where the the boy and girl at the campfire, they they go away from the campfire and she tries to get him to go into the water. And unfortunately, well, fortunately for him, he passes out. So seeing this is great homage to Jaws. But I have to tell you, as I said before, I played in cornfields a lot growing up. As a kid, it's awesome, but I have to tell you that it's obvious that filmmakers never walk through a cornfield because quite frankly, they can be sticky, they're definitely dirty and can definitely be unpleasant to walk through. It's just when I think sexy, I don't think cornfield. And I don't think if I saw a girl removing her clothing walk into cornfield, I would probably do what that guy didn't go and follow her. She ends up getting killed, so it's kind of good for him for not following her again, just like in Jaws. So this movie also takes some shots of the younger generation, which is kind of fun. There's one time uh when they're in this older farmhouse and they're they're being chased, and they get into the farmhouse, and the one girl goes, Well, call for help, and they go to the telephone, it's a rotary phone, and they have no clue what to do. And a little bit after that, one of the girls that was in the farmhouse escapes and gets to a pickup truck to drive it away, and she gets in and it's manual transmission, and she has no idea what to do. I mean, it's kind of cute and funny, especially you know, for a guy my age that uses a rotary phone and and knows how to how to drive manual. So, again, kind of cute. Again, here's a kind of a major spoiler alert. Um, this movie starts off as a slasher flick, but it turns out that it's not really slasher. I mean, it is and isn't, but but it it turns out it's actually an army of townspeople who all dress like Frendo uh the clown in order to clear out the bad apples and each uh generation, so that uh you only have good people in the town, you know, bringing you know that everything's done the right way, they're not they're not the ne'er do well. So I don't know. That kind of feels lame, but I mean, working with some of the younger, younger generation, I I I kind of get it too. Um just saying. So although I announced Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, and Carson McCormick as starring, quite frankly, the real stars of this movie are Will Sasso. He was in Mad TV, and he's done a bunch of other things. And the other one is Kevin Durant. And Kevin Durant is one of those basically character actors that you're like, wait a minute, I know that guy from somewhere all the time because he's huge, he's six foot six, and he's a big man, like tall and broad, not heavy set. Husually plays a tough guy, as you can imagine, because he's six foot six. Again, ton of movies. I remember him from playing the blob in X-Men Origins Wolverine, but also recently he played a really great part in the horror movie Abigail. He's also in Ready or Not 2, which I am going to be seeing this weekend. So my next podcast, I'll be able to give you a uh a quick review of that. So that's everything I have for that particular movie. So I'm gonna move on to the third movie. Um, this podcast might be over quick. So the third movie for season one, episode 11, is Sharks of the Corn. And the year is uh it was made in 2021. You can find it seemingly everywhere. It's on Prime, Con TV, Indieplex Unlimited, Screenbox, Fawsom, Plex, and Tubi. Production company is Twisted Illusion. Director is Tim Ritter. Writers were Stephen Kang, Tim Ritter, and Ron Bonk. Ron Bonk has got to be an awesome guy. I have gotten quite a few movies from Ron Bonk. He just seems like the nicest guy, regardless. It stars Shannon Stockin, Claude D. Miles, and Steve. I don't know, it's G-U-Y-N-N-Gun Gin. I'm not sure of this one. So the plot. Strange things are happening in Druid Hills, Kentucky. Known mainly for its voluminous, voluminous, voluminous corn output. Victims of monsters and cornfields begin cropping up, and witnesses are saying there are large great white sharks swimming in the corn stalks. So why this movie? Well, it fits my cornfield theme, but I was actually going to do Attack of the Corn Zombies. But a gentleman I work with suggested this movie. I'm not gonna say his name, but he's a legend in his field. So how did I see it? I watched it solely for this podcast. My favorite kill, again, spoiler alert. My favorite kill comes at the end when, and I'm not kidding, Bigfoot kills the shark god by crushing him with an obvious like paper mache rock. So this movie is bad. If what you just heard didn't clue you in on that, this movie's bad. And like in my previous podcasts, I've brought up that like you know, you have to take a different level when you're talking about independent horror. And many times I refer to, you know, there's some movies are like middle class, like upper middle class, and then there's like lower middle class. This movie is definitely in the lower class. I was confused a lot by what was going on in the film. It's extremely low budget. It in the beginning, it looks like there are sharks in the cornfield. But the way that the people are killed by an obvious fake sharkhead, later on, there are people that are dressed kind of like sharks that are killing people. So you're not sure if it's those people that are carrying around a fake sharkhead that are doing this, or if it's actual sharks. And Bigfoot's also in the cornfield. And I mean, for all I know, quite possibly the Loctus Monster, Amelia Earhart, and Elvis are all hanging out in the cornfield. Um, it is kind of that ridiculous. Again, most of this sounds ridiculous already. Again, most of this, most of this sounds pretty ridiculous, but there was a moment when there are two guys in a helicopter, okay? If you've ever been in a helicopter or like a small plane, you need a headset with a microphone, with a mic, to be able to talk to each other, okay? So there's two guys in an obviously fake helicopter cockpit, and they're sitting there, and one of the guys has has like headphones on, but there's no microphone. And then the pilot is wearing, you know, headphones, like ear muffy headphones, and he's got like a regular like microphone, you know, like a hand mic that you would, you know, if you were a rock star, you'd be singing into, or like a microphone that I'm talking into right now. He's got it, it's just wedged into one of these big earphones, and the different shots, it moves around, like one shot is just kind of hanging there, and the next shot they must have caught it and they put it up real high. It is hilariously ridiculous. Um, you know, it's funny, just like Clown in the Cornfield, where it has an homage to Jaws in the beginning. This has some of the same thing. And I think Spielberg and Peter Benchley should sue. There was a character named Benchley. Uh, Peter Benchley, for those of you who did not know, was the author of the book Jaws, which the movie was based off of. Um, at one point, the character started singing, Show Me the Way to go home. And it's like, come on. I mean, it was ridiculous. Again, I I hope they get sued. They really deserve to get sued. So, looking at the the people that starred in this, and I think starring is stretching things a little bit, uh, there's Shannon Stockin. She looks like she has been in a bunch of these types of movies. One of them I happen to pick out, which I think is hilarious. It's called Cat Nado. I can only imagine how glorious that is, and the heck I might end up watching it at some point. And then there's Claude D. Miles, who has really been around the block. I think he's one of these guys that you, if you've watched Independent Horror, you'll probably recognize him. He's acted in over 100 movies, but he's also done directing, makeup, stunts, just about everything. He does it all a Swiss Army knife. So, again, this movie is really bad, but if you enjoy terrible movies, I mean, I'd watch it. It's what's funny is earlier that day. My wife talked me into watching uh War of the Worlds from just recent, if it was the end of 2025 or 2026, uh, with Ice Cube and uh Eva Longoria. Okay, that movie is terrible, but like they paid Ice Cube more than the people that did Sharks of the Corn had budget for, okay? And War of the Worlds was god-awful terrible. Was I am least likely to watch War of the Worlds again than I would be to watch Sharks of the Corn again. I would definitely watch Sharks of the Corn again before I would ever watch that version of War of the Worlds. It was absolutely the worst. Um, my wife, I guess, heard about it because she heard it's a terrible movie, and they are correct. It is it is god-awful. I mean, it's one of those movies that like I don't think Mystery Science Theater 3000 could save because it is basically ice cube in front of a computer terminal for an hour and 31 minutes. Oh my lord. Sorry, I'm like, I already feel like I'm gonna have nightmares from watching that. So that is the uh the last I have for the third movie. The one thing I wanted to bring up, I know like I was semi-celebrating my 10th episode at the last episode, and I hope we didn't confuse people. Like, that's not the end of my season, obviously, because this is episode 11. Basically, I wanted to get 10 episodes out. I've been trying to do one episode a week. I know that in a few months it'll become harder. Uh, I am a soccer officials official, so when fall hits, I'm gonna be right into the high school season, and I don't have a lot of free time. So I won't be able to do I'm not sure how many movies I'll be able to, um how many episodes I'll be able to put out during the fall, if any. So there may be a break, and I just wanted to make sure I had enough content there for people to catch up, you know, if if they catch one of the later episodes to have time to go through some of the earlier ones, or or vice versa. So, yeah, so I'm gonna keep putting these out as many as I can in the year the season will end as the year ends. That's just how I'm doing it. I'm a rookie at this, I'm doing the best I can. So, everybody out there, um have fun.