MovieChat Forums > Children of the Corn (1984) Discussion > Rip off of Wicker Man, Star Trek and Twi...

Rip off of Wicker Man, Star Trek and Twilight Zone


1. Wicker Man=unsuspecting cop walks into weird cult town that sacrifices human beings
2. Star Trek="Miri", planet where no one except children live
3. Twilight Zone="The Good Life", demonic kid banishes (kills) anyone he doesn't like by wishing them into the cornfield.

Yeah, I know that everything has influences but there's inspired influence and lazy influence.

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Lazy research. While the Miri premiered in 1966 and "The Good Life" episode appeared in 1961 , the novel "Children of the Corn was published in 1977 while Wicker Man was published in 1978.

And Children of the Corn has only a passing resemblance to Miri or The Good Life.

In Miri the children did not kill their parents or sacrifice themselves as they became too old. The disease simply drove the children insane as they became older.

In The Good Life one child, Anthony, possesses absolute power and dominates everyone who defies him. While the adults cater to him in fear no one worships him. The children in "corn" worship He Who Walks Behind the Rows.

Children who grow powerful or who are left in charge due to circumstances is a fairly old trope.

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The movie, "The Wicker Man," was released in 1973 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070917/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

David Pinner's book 1967 "Ritual" was the inspiration for "The Wicker Man" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_(Pinner_novel)

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My information says otherwise, but ok. My main point remains. Miri and Good Life have only a passing resemblance. Wicker Man is a fairly standard stranger in a strange culture.

You can say Children of the Corn is as well. But the elements are quite different.

Its very easy to claim plagiarism or copying. But actual authors draw inspiration from many sources and weave their own story. And, of course, there are only seven basic stories, so everyone is copying someone.

The trick is originality in the details. I have watched both Wicker Man films, as well as Miri and Good Life. They are very different stories.

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You're right that the novel version of "The Wicker Man" was published in 1978, but that was five years after the film was released in 1973 and eleven years after "Ritual," which was the inspiration for the movie.

As for everything else you say, I agree with you. An artist can be inspired by certain works and create something different enough that it stands on its own. It's not plagiarism, but rather inspiration.

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