The Children of the Corn franchise
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Children of the Corn (1984) - Here's a short story by Stephen King that spawned an entire franchise, so it has to be good, right? Well, not entirely. It's average at best, but I've grown to like it.
Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton drive through the seemingly abandoned town of Gatlin, Nebraska, a recurring setting throughout the franchise, looking for anything. It's the old stranded/lost/need-directions scenario, but it's got a decent mood to it. However, we don't get any imagery as creepy as the poster art. Sickles in a cornfield at dusk? Nope. None of that, really...
So it's a movie about killer kids, huh? An obscure, religious cult of killer kids, set out to appease "He Who Walks Behind the Rows". Such a figure would of course be featured in sequels too, no doubt. It's kind of a demon of sorts, but it isn't depicted so clearly in the first movie. The kids all worship it, even though it demands that they die when they're old enough to be considered adults, hence why they're all children.
The cult leader Isaac is a real slimeball, and his right-hand man is Malakai (Courtney Gains), and they lead all these children to attack any adults in the city. The movie itself is at least entertaining, but not as creepy as it could be. Still, it's a well-paced story that exploits the eerie farmland setting of Nebraska.
Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992) - Final in no means, this sequel involves reporters trying to get the scoop on some big massacre in the city, in which only children seem to have gotten out of alive. Of course, we know they're all evil, but they gotta try to tell a story around it anyway.
Terence Knox stars as a reporter and father of a teenage boy who's about to get mixed up with the wrong crowd of angsty teens. Terence Knox is cool as hell, having played the lead Sgt. Zeke Anderson in "Tour of Duty" a few years before this, and he gives it a bit of credibility, but most of the story is rather so-so. Still probably one of the better sequels.
Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995) - Directed by James Hickox, brother of fellow horror director Anthony Hickox, this one showcases a largely 90s feel, and drastically changes the setting from farms to mid-city Chicago. Yeah, they still try to grow corn in the city, and that's what keeps it corn-based.
There are some interesting effects, and one hell of a massacre scene to showcase them all. In fact, there are a few good things about this entry, but the setting change is still pretty unfitting for such a city. At least it wasn't in space. This marks the end of the theatrical releases of any of these sequels. It's all DTV from here on.
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996) - The first DTV sequel is rather well made, featuring Naomi Watts before she was famous, playing a nurse in a hicktown, trying to find out why everyone is getting sick. Of course, we all know it has something to do with corn and cults of evil children.
Karen Black is also in this, but I wouldn't say it's a noteworthy role. It really is around this point that the movies begin to feel heavily direct-to-video, and the stories become less memorable, and they all kinda blur together.
Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) - It's the late-90s, and the horror genre has been revitalized to suit that witty teen audience. Here, we get a group of college students who are dumb enough to find themselves trapped in a rural town that's perfect for those killer kids to inhabit. The movie features Eve Mendes in one of her earliest roles, and Alex Arquette as one of the posse. Who cares about them though, when you've got bit parts by Kane Hodder, David Carradine, and Fred "The Hammer" Williamson as the sheriff of nowheres'ville!
The movie reeks of being a 90s DTV movie, but it's at least watchable. None of these sequels are too terrible yet, but they're certainly getting there.
Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return (1999) - Yeah, this one features Isaac again, played by John Franklin from the original. Hell, this must be the only sequel to have a returning character, even though his character DIES in the first one. How do they explain it in this one? Oh, he's just in a coma. Has been for years. 😐
Stacy Keach and Nancy Allen are also in this, but hell if I remember them. Like I said, these sequels run together after a certain point, and it's worse when you binge them all within days of each other. All that matters about this movie is that Isaac is back, 15 years after the original film, and quite frankly... he's okay. The ending was kind of a clusterfuck, so it's mostly a wasted opportunity, but it is what it is, and as bad as it is, it's still kinda watchable.
Children of the Corn VII: Revelation (2001) - So-so sequel about a woman trying to find her grandma or something. The story is pretty weak, and Michael Ironside is in there somewhere, but most of the movie is a blur to me, because the series is definitely in a decline at this point. It's hard to be quite as enthused when the entries get this generic.
This marks the end of the original series. It ends on a stinker, so what happens next? Syfy channel aims for a reboot, with
Children of the Corn (2009)! As a low-rated entry, I watched it for the turkey challenge, and honestly... it wasn't terrible.
The movie does rely a lot on the first film. Hell, they even use the same goddamn theme song from the original, which is very strange thing for a remake to use elements from the original so directly. Coincidentally, I'd also seen a few Chris Seaver films this month that use the same music, so maybe it's just an easy theme to come by.
The story is set in 1975, rather than present day 1984 this time around, and it has a big Vietnam backdrop to it. The male lead is a Nam vet, and his wife is a gorgeous black bitch who nags him all the time. It's actually kind of amusing, but since they spend so much time on their crumbling relationship, they forgot to put the rest of the movie in there.
The movie cuts itself short, ignoring several key subplots of the original, like the children they try to save, and the entire plot about burning the cornfields. They cut it short, because the film has a rather bleak twist to it, which I wish I could be into, but it seems kind of half-assed. Maybe that's just because it's a Syfy movie. There are good things about it, but the film is definitely lacking.
Children of the Corn: Genesis (2011) - Remember when Hellraiser: Revelations came out? That damned sequel was rushed into production because of legalities to spit out a sequel before a deadline, and what resulted was a largely uninspired remake of the first film, with some lousy Pinhead substitute who couldn't cut it. Actually, I don't even think that's the worst of the Hellraiser sequels. That honor would probably go to "VII: Deader", but I digress.
When this happened to Hellraiser, it also happened to Children of the Corn. This entry features Billy Drago and Duane Whitaker in a mind-numbingly dull entry that I can't even describe. I only watched it last night, barely drunk and stoned, and I don't remember dick about it. Just a real dud of a movie, I guess. Sorry for the lack of a review, but it really was incredibly mundane.
So there you have it. A random rundown of all these damn Children of the Corn sequels. None of them are very good, but they keep making them! We have another one in the works,
Children of the Corn: Runaway, which like the next upcoming Hellraiser sequel, is also being made in a quick scheme to rush out a sequel as to retain the rights on the franchise. So that's more
shit to look forward to!
I remember being a kid in the video stores and seeing the cover art for part 1,
Urban Harvest, and
The Gathering a lot, and they all seemed like they'd be much cooler movies. Overall, I still kinda like the franchise, but that goes more for the early entries. For the most part, like with most horror franchises, they just get worse as they go on, and yet, I'm sure I'll watch
Runaway when it comes along. 🙄
