Reviewed by Melissa Garza
I have always been a fan of the original Children of the Corn. The plot followed young kids who murdered their parents and formed a cult of essentially devil worship and sacrifice.
The subsequent sequels were lackluster with the exception of Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return, which brought back the original leader to once again guide the children. More than 25 years after the original, twelve years after Issac’s Return, several sequels and a made-for-TV SyFy remake later, we welcome a straight-to-DVD new twist in the Children of the Corn legacy.
The film opens when a man comes back from war and finds his parents murdered. His father who was killed cornstalks shoved through his eye sockets. In his hand, he clutches a page out of Genesis.
Later a young married couple Tim (Tim Rock) and Allie (Kelen Coleman) who is expecting their child, break down in the dessert. They find themselves at the house of a man who goes by the name Preacher (Billy Drago) and his beautiful wife Helen (Barbara Nedeljakova). As Tim attempts to use their phone, Helen follows him in the kitchen and attempts to fondle him. When he pulls away she sits atop the table and lets her dress fall down in hopes of seducing him.
The Preacher later tells them that he had met his wife not knowing she was pregnant. She played him in order to marry an American and have her child born on American soil. The child who was now five was said to be evil and kept locked away in the shed.
Soon, tables begin flying around the house and Allie is convinced that someone has telekinetic powers and is using it against them. Visions of events that didn’t happen but serve to turn the two against each other begin tormenting them.
When a police officer is murdered, the two take the opportunity and do their best to escape.
Though predictable, the film did have a few good qualities. The acting was above average. The characters were interesting and though not original it was a new twist on The Children of the Corn series.
It lacked several key factors which prevented it from being memorable. There wasn’t any strong scenes and the production was without a creepy atmosphere. Much of the movie seemed as though it was filler and the whole thing seemed as though it could have been cut down to a half an hour or 45 minutes and been a decent episode of something like Tales from the Crypt. As a full movie, it dragged yet at the same time didn’t delve into the lives of the central characters. It almost was going for a feel like “The Strangers” where the history of the couple is only slightly told. The issue is that it didn’t have the horrifying aspects that “The Stranger” utilized to make the characters invoke sympathy without knowing them.
Though definitely watch-able it is also really forgettable.
Scared Stiff Rating: 5/10