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Children of the Corn 4 - The Gathering

Children of the Corn 4 - The Gathering

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $13.49
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I thought after the last one, this wouldn't get any better
Review: I saw a commercial for this on the video for Halloween 6 and it looked stupid because of the poor effects. So, I rented it because it's from DIMENSION and REALLY liked it. The main character is a GREAT actress, the death scenes were COOL and the ending was EXCELLENT. But the leader Corn child was the worst choice YET and they did NOT have to kill off Grace's friend! I didn't like THAT part at all! But for the most part, this is a DOPE movie.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: "He who walks behind a bad sequel"
Review: I was throughly disappointed with this movie. It did not stay at all wit the original Idea. It could have been its own movie. Sure people would have related it to Children of the Corn, but it would not have continued to ruin the series. I will admit, the acting was not entirely bad. Karen Black was her normal self, but the others were good. The main character, and the little girl had a real connection, that was evident through out the movie. My firm belief: They should have stopped after the 2nd one. I honestly beleive that the majority of Horror movies need one and only one sequel. The 3rd children of the corn was truly good, atleast up until that horrible, horrible ending. I mean my gods, please that was true trash! This is followed by 2 terrible sequels. The 5th goes back to "he who walks behind the rows" which was one of the main, if inviisble characters that existed from the beginning, but the 4th took him out. The 6th installment brings back Isaac, they should have never done that. He wasa posessed and died in the first one. He wasn't in a coma..that was just a horrible excuse to bring him back...my advice: Stick to the 1st and 2nd..and don't go further....

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This movie ROCKS!
Review: Med student goes home to help her crazy mom and finds out that her daughter is the key to another crazy corn child's sceme to take over the cornfield and turn the children against their parents. A lot better than part III, it's much better acted, written, and more entertaining. Popcorn, pepsi and pizza.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Don't judge a book by its cover!
Review: Most people would see the title and walk away, but this film isn't that bad. Gore, suspense and good fun, this is perfect for a night in with your friends...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: One dedicated actress elevates an average horror flick.
Review: Naomi Watts (Tank Girl) hasn't gotten near the number of lead roles she's deserved despite her stellar supporting work in Tank Girl and Dangerous Beauty. So for the moment this will do -- an overly bloody, sometimes shocking horror sequel.

Despite the sub-par script and overly liberal gore (this from a guy who's absorbed everything from Dawn of the Dead to Maniac, from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer to Richard Kern's shorts), Children of the Corn IV is better than usual because of Watts' ability to play a strong heroine with a secret. With her panache for vituperous dialogue and two moments of genuine emotional release (when Margaret wakes up the close-up on Watts is priceless), Watts puts past and present horror heroines like Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) and Neve Campbell (Scream) to shame.

Even given her solid work (and a bonus point for her good American accent), this is still not a movie you'd put onto a best-of list. But good performances overall and a mood well set makes this worth your while...even if it won't be held up as any kind of a shining filmmaking example.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Back to the cornfields
Review: No other author in recent memory has had as much consistent success selling books as Stephen King. For roughly three decades the Maine writer churned out book after book, each one selling more and more copies. He's a world unto himself, the lucky fellow! He's so successful that he could throw out his pens, put away his typewriters, bury his word processor six feet under, never write another word in his life, and STILL have enough money to wallpaper the Great Wall of China five times over. In many respects, it's Stephen King's world and the rest of us are just living in it. But, and this is a gigantic but, an enormous number of metaphysically bad films based on his novels threaten to put a serious dent in his legacy. We all know the good ones, the ones that not only scared audiences stiff but also helped propel King's career to even greater heights. "Carrie" is probably the best example, followed by "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Dead Zone." These are wonderful, magical films that one can watch again and again without wearying of them. Then there are the rest: the truly wretched refuse that reminds one of dental plaque or the junk that washes up on the shores of a filthy river. Welcome to the Children of the Corn franchise.

"Children of the Corn 3" moved the malevolent corn cult to Chicago. In the fourth installment, the franchise travels back to Nebraska in an attempt to return to its roots. Instead of good old Gatlin, however, the movie unfolds in Grand Island. Grace Rhodes (Naomi Watts) returns home to care for her rapidly deteriorating relative June (Karen Black), a woman who cannot leave the property she owns due to the effects of a fearful dream. In this vision, a young child turns up at her front door to terrorize her. Grace, who has medical experience and plans on one day earning her medical degree, hopes to alleviate June's irrational fears. In the meantime, she goes back to work with Dr. Bob Larson (William Windom) at his medical clinic. In no time at all something sinister starts occurring in town. Kids begin showing up at the clinic with sky-high temperatures and other cardinal signs of a life threatening fever. Instead of perishing, though, the children eventually wake up completely changed. They assume names of children long since dead, exhibit hostility to adults, and generally act weird. When Bob Larson disappears under mysterious circumstances--not so mysterious to the viewer who saw him cut in half--Grace steps in and fills the void. Children continue to sicken and then transform.

Rhodes eventually uncovers several clues explaining the odd behavior going on in Grand Island. According to two elderly women, years before a group of traveling preachers brought a young religious prodigy named Josiah (Brandon Kleyla) into town. This kid seemed to work miracles, and the money poured in from far and wide. Then a series of unfortunate incidents led to Josiah's death. It turns out that his ghost is the prime force behind what is happening to Grand Island's children. This spirit is seeking to bring the children together in order to restore Josiah to corporeal form through Margaret Rhodes, who just happens to be Grace's daughter. Confused yet? Throw in side character Donald Atkins (Brent Jennings), a guy whose son went through the transformation and promptly murdered his mother. Rather than take the rap for the crime, Donald went underground until the script told him to meet up with Grace Rhodes. The two head over to some abandoned farmhouse in order to confront the evil that is Josiah. As for June Rhodes-- whose horrific dreams served as the impetus to the entire movie--she can only stand by and watch her vision become a frightening reality, right down to the smallest detail. June and lots of other people expire in particularly heinous manners throughout the film.

"Children of the Corn 4: The Gathering" is an acceptable genre flick thanks largely to the efforts of the inestimable Naomi Watts. She's a big name now thanks to "Mulholland Drive" and "The Ring," but back when this movie came out she had to punch the Hollywood time clock just like any other no name actor. She manages to rise above the convoluted script and deliver a solid performance. The same should be said for horror film favorite Karen Black, although her contribution here differs greatly from what Watts offers. Since she plays a woman teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown, the script requires Black to lay the ham on thick. Her physical appearance is hilarious, consisting of an unkempt coif and raccoon makeup. I want to say that it is in "Children of the Corn 4" where Black delivers a scream that is so forced and over the top that I hurt myself laughing, but I'm not entirely sure since I've seen so many of her films at this point that they are starting to blend together. The movie also boasts a few impressive gore scenes, especially Larson's disturbing end, which help move the whole thing along.

Extras on the disc consist of trailers for parts three, five and six of the "Children of the Corn" series, "Mimic 2," "Dracula 2000," "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers," and "Halloween: H20." From here on out, the series falls prey to a serious case of the law of diminishing returns. Part five isn't all that bad, but six and seven will have you holding your nose. "Children of the Corn 4" should appeal to Naomi Watts completists and those viewers who must see as many horror films as possible no matter how poor their quality.






Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Horror Is About To Rise Again!
Review: Perhaps the most chiling chapter in the smashing 'Children Of The Corn' series. The story starts at a sleepy Midwesterd Town where children are haunted by an unspeakable evil that lurks somewhere out behind the corn fields... Unforgettable, pulse-pounding scares and sinister happenings.
Recommended to all fans and non-fans!
Based on the Short Story "Children Of the corn" By Stephen King. Karen Black plays the disturbed mother.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Children of the Cheese
Review: The long "Children of the Corn" series has garnered a bad reputation, and rightfully so. For a series which is currently seven movies long, only three of them are worthing watching -- and 1996's "Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering" is one of them.Actually baring the least resemblance to Stephen King's original story, "Corn IV" moves the action back to a small midwestern town... but He Who Walks Behind The Rows is nowhere in sight. Instead, a murdered child preacher is resurrected and looks to possess the town's children. Its up to a young medical student (Naomi Watts, "The Ring") to unlock the mystery."Corn IV" features some genuinely creepy moments, including the opening scene with veteran actress Karen Black, and a few nightmare sequences that will have you doing a double take. The haunting story told by the town doctor (William Windom, TV's "Murder, She Wrote") is particularly effective.As far as quality, "The Gathering" is a close second in quality, with "Corn III" remaining the crown jewel of the series. In any case, it is still a pleasant surprise for anyone going into this one expecting a bomb.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Better than average
Review: The long "Children of the Corn" series has garnered a bad reputation, and rightfully so. For a series which is currently seven movies long, only three of them are worthing watching -- and 1996's "Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering" is one of them.Actually baring the least resemblance to Stephen King's original story, "Corn IV" moves the action back to a small midwestern town... but He Who Walks Behind The Rows is nowhere in sight. Instead, a murdered child preacher is resurrected and looks to possess the town's children. Its up to a young medical student (Naomi Watts, "The Ring") to unlock the mystery."Corn IV" features some genuinely creepy moments, including the opening scene with veteran actress Karen Black, and a few nightmare sequences that will have you doing a double take. The haunting story told by the town doctor (William Windom, TV's "Murder, She Wrote") is particularly effective.As far as quality, "The Gathering" is a close second in quality, with "Corn III" remaining the crown jewel of the series. In any case, it is still a pleasant surprise for anyone going into this one expecting a bomb.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Children of the Cheese
Review: The other people rating this movie are killing me...I purchased this one expecting it to be even better than part 3...and I was disappointed...I am a very forgiving horror movie fan...but this is absolutely the worst...mortality rate low...acting is a great representation of the new gutless, soulless, incompetent, and laughable horror style...high production...low setting...the intricate plot and horrifying aura is missing that is classic of the older genre of horror films...people just rated this one higher because it has Naomi Watts from "The Ring" in it...who is a horrible actress anyway...they are pseudo-horror fans just following the trends and not differentiating some type of genuine analysis of their own...part 3 is better with unforgivingly amounts of gore and a reasonably wide range of diversity of mortality...it's awesome...this one's a flop...you can afford to skip it in the series...to all pseudo-horror fans: stick to reviewing romantic comedies, soap operas, sitcoms, and any other elements of regurgitated compost!


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