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 (COTC), the film, Children Of The Corn IV The Gathering.
Today’s Key Movie:
Revisiting the small town under attack trope, COTC IV takes place in Grand Island Nebraska where a young woman named Grace returns home to care for her ailing mother and two younger siblings. Soon the children of the town fall ill with a strange virus only to be miraculously cured…but changed. Before long a child preacher emerges who also happens to be a really old person who never stopped aging and is determined to bring back The One Who Walks behind the Rows. It’s up to Grace to stop the child preacher and save her family in the process.
Starring Brent Jennings, Karen Black and Naomi Watts in her first lead role as Grace Rhodes, this is the fourth installment in the COTC franchise.
Why this movie and…is it good?
Just like last time, this is new territory for me as I stopped watching this franchise after the second instalment when it first came out. So, just because someone has to do it, I am now watching every single Children of the Corn film I can find in order so you don’t have to. Trust me, so far you really should thank me because these sequels have been less than I had hoped they would be for sure.
The Gathering, while not as bad as Urban Harvest, tries hard to provide a round-about origin story for the whole Children of the Corn infection thing but pretty much completely misses the mark in every way possible. Adding in layers of unnecessary plot lines involving parents with agoraphobia, a kid with hemophilia, a man on the run for one of the crimes committed by the kids and the lead character having a secret child among other things provides too many distractions for the actual story to get any chance at being interesting. The sad thing is, there is actually the skeleton of a rather decent story in The Gathering, involving an immortal child preacher who infects the kids with a (corn?) virus in order to indoctrinate them into his supernatural cult.
Overall, I really wish the filmmakers had edited this film down to the basics as, with most horror films, less is more and this one certainly could have used a LOT less attempt at world building in a world that had already been established. It could and should have been a much better film but, unfortunately, The Gathering gathers too many plots into one story to make much sense at all. My recommendation, like the previous sequel, just skip it too.
OK, where do I get this movie?
Again, if you HAVE to own these and like this franchise for some unearthly reason, well, you can get the collection here. Otherwise, move along, it’s okay, really.
Late To The Game 01/06/22
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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