Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996)
Studio: Echo Bridge Entertainment
DVD Release: April 26, 2011
R
Review by James Klein
After the first three Children of the Corn films, I had to take a break from this series. All three films were just not my cup of tea and it seemed the films got progressively worse as they went along. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I finished watching the fourth installment of the killer kid series as Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering is actually creepy and entertaining. Four times the charm?
After a creepy opening hook, Corn IV starts off with college student Grace (Naomi Watts, in one of her first starring roles) who has been asked by her mentally ill mother to come home and help her with her two younger siblings. Our favorite space cadet character actress, Karen Black plays the agoraphobic mother who is terrified about something that she can't quite explain. The children of the town are suddenly taken ill and seem to be haunted by some supernatural being that takes the form of a child, much like the way the children looked in the other Corn films. It seems that this ghost or creature wants these children's soles and will try and kill anyone who steps in its path from taking over these children.
What I enjoyed about this entry was that the children are actually played by kids this time and not teenagers. I always thought the other films should have been called Teenagers of the Corn. Little kids are much more creepy when playing evil than teenagers. Maybe because we are so used to actually dealing with typical teenage behavior. I also liked the supernatural feel to the film which takes itself seriously but doesn't journey into parody. By the time a series has reached it's fourth film, it can get a bit silly or over the top and luckily this doesn't go that route and instead gives us a few thrills and creeps, along with some bloody and gruesome deaths.
The film isn't without its flaws as the third act gets a bit dull and predictable with some of the characters actions/reactions to certain situations seem almost ludicrous (I laughed when a woman brings her two sick kids to the doctor and lets him watch over them for the night so she can go home and get some sleep). But for some reason this didn't bother me too much because I almost expected complete and total crap. Maybe the film isn't good and my expectations were so low that I was surprised that it didn't completely suck? I hope not but maybe you should be the judge. Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering is worth taking a chance. You could do worse...you could always watch Children of the Corn II or III.
DVD Release: April 26, 2011
R
Review by James Klein
After the first three Children of the Corn films, I had to take a break from this series. All three films were just not my cup of tea and it seemed the films got progressively worse as they went along. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I finished watching the fourth installment of the killer kid series as Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering is actually creepy and entertaining. Four times the charm?
After a creepy opening hook, Corn IV starts off with college student Grace (Naomi Watts, in one of her first starring roles) who has been asked by her mentally ill mother to come home and help her with her two younger siblings. Our favorite space cadet character actress, Karen Black plays the agoraphobic mother who is terrified about something that she can't quite explain. The children of the town are suddenly taken ill and seem to be haunted by some supernatural being that takes the form of a child, much like the way the children looked in the other Corn films. It seems that this ghost or creature wants these children's soles and will try and kill anyone who steps in its path from taking over these children.
What I enjoyed about this entry was that the children are actually played by kids this time and not teenagers. I always thought the other films should have been called Teenagers of the Corn. Little kids are much more creepy when playing evil than teenagers. Maybe because we are so used to actually dealing with typical teenage behavior. I also liked the supernatural feel to the film which takes itself seriously but doesn't journey into parody. By the time a series has reached it's fourth film, it can get a bit silly or over the top and luckily this doesn't go that route and instead gives us a few thrills and creeps, along with some bloody and gruesome deaths.
The film isn't without its flaws as the third act gets a bit dull and predictable with some of the characters actions/reactions to certain situations seem almost ludicrous (I laughed when a woman brings her two sick kids to the doctor and lets him watch over them for the night so she can go home and get some sleep). But for some reason this didn't bother me too much because I almost expected complete and total crap. Maybe the film isn't good and my expectations were so low that I was surprised that it didn't completely suck? I hope not but maybe you should be the judge. Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering is worth taking a chance. You could do worse...you could always watch Children of the Corn II or III.
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