There were key movies in my life that helped to make me who I am today. Movies that I have loved from the moment the opening credit rolled and still love now. This blog series is about those, My guilty pleasures, my favorites, my escapes. Some were very popular, others not so much. Some of these will have some real life take-aways, others are just for fun.
Lately I have been covering franchises that start, contain or are related to some of my favorite films. Today we discuss a franchise that probably never should have been but somehow has spawned many sequels and has gained a cult following. The franchise, Children of the Corn, Today’s Film COTC Part 3 Urban Harvest
Today’s Key Movie:
After the death of their father during what is assumed to be the events of the first film, Eli and Joshua find themselves in foster care in Chicago. Soon the two boys bring He Who Walks Behind the Rows to the big city and all hell breaks loose.
Starring Daniel Cerny, Ron Melendez, Michael Ensign, Jon Clair and featuring the film debuts of both Charlize Theron and Nicholas Brendon (although you don’t really notice them), this is the first direct-to-video feature in the Children of the Corn franchise.
Why this movie?
We are now in very new territory for me as I originally stopped watching this franchise after the second instalment. Needless to say, it was probably a wise choice…
Remember in the last film when they had a minor plot point where the children of Gatlin were being adopted? So, this sort of follows up on two of those kids, Eli and Joshua, who were responsible for the death of their father via ‘He Who Walks Behind the Rows. (HWWBR)’ The thing is, it’s the younger brother Eli who is the real menace in this as, in this story, he attempts to bring back HWWBR via some processed corn and a nearby abandoned factory where he is growing a new corn field so that he can use his foster father’s corn sales to distribute this new strain to other countries in an attempt TO RULE THE WORLD! Well, maybe, or just to bring about his evil Corn God or some such. Who knows really?
What follows is a really strange story with Eli infecting the school with bugs, killing their foster parents and the revelation that Eli has not aged since 1964, even though that really doesn’t make much sense as it’s assumed that Eli and Joshua have been brothers for a while…now. Ultimately, the film ends with the Foster parents dead, Eli taken down by his adopted brother Joshua but with the infected corn already making it’s way across the world.
Urban Harvest can’t really be considered a good film, more like a lesson of what not to do with a horror franchise. Somehow this film is a strange blend of the supernatural elements with a loose message of saving the planet but involving possessed corn and an immortal child killer. It’s not even a good B movie, more like a C or D that really deserves the MST3K treatment in every way. It’s bad and one that you should really not bother with unless you are like me and determined to watch the entire franchise for some strange reason…
That being said, well…we are really only just beginning because next week we discuss The Gathering!
OK, where do I get this movie?
If you HAVE to see this still despite my warnings, well, you can get it and five other sequels in this boxed set. I mean, there has to be a good sequel in it right? right…
Late To The Game 12/30/2021
If you would like to read more reviews please check out the rest of the Key Movies Of My Life that comes out every Thursday.
For more retro TV goodness check out the rest of the Retro TV Reviews here. and, If you dig Music, I have a semi regular series called Stand Out Albums that covers some of my favorite records I have come across in life.
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