Search - Children of the Corn 4 - The Gathering on DVD

Not too bad, not terribly thrilling either.

General Zombie | the West | 01/04/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I gotta tell ya, this series isn't rocketing down the drain with the sorta speed I woulda imagined. In fact, this one is actually better than 3 in a number of ways, though not enough better for it to actually be, ya know, good, so it's actually less entertaining. But hell, I didn't mind seeing it, and it was amusing enough for me to continue on with the series.



This one isn't directly related to any of the earlier films. It's more of a knockoff than a sequel, really. There's no reference to Gaitlin but it is still in Nebraska, in uh, some other town. Also, there is corn, but it ain't directly related to the action in any way. Still, ya have got a lotta evil children with Old testament style names, so it's got the same basic flavor. This one involves Grace, who came back to Nebraska to take care of her crazy, ailing mother. She's a med student and goes to work in the local doctor's office while she's there. A strange plague breaks out, affecting various children, but no one else. They all seem to recover spontaneously, but definitely aren't the same, anymore. I gotta tell ya, I kinda like this plot. The execution isn't very good, but it's got a decent base. I think they coulda made a decent script from this premise, and this isn't as laughable as the kinda ultra-cheap horror usually is.



Though this movie has got a fair bit of gore in it, it's actually trying to be more conventionally scary than the prior sequels seemed to be. It can't pull this off, but it is a bit less silly than some of the earlier stuff. Still, it has got some decent gore, and they use the scythe a whole lot. There wasn't nearly enough scythe action in the prior CotC films.



This movie gets some extra attention cause it stars Naomi Watts. Some people will tell you that her performance here is a lot better than you'd usually see in this kinda film, but ehh, I dunno. It's better, yeah, but not that much better, and still the stuff of B-movies. Karen Black is a lotta fun as her crazy mother, however. No one else makes much of an impression.



This movie has some pacing problems, as a bit too much of the gore is stuffed towards the beginning, and it fails to really build in anyway. It just kinda meanders along, arrives at the climax, and then ends.



Yeah, I guess I'm done. I sufficiently diverting little B-movie. Those who want to see this know who they are.



Grade: C"

Horror Is About To Rise Again!

alamsami | 10/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Not the best one... but close

Evan Lorts | Springfield, Missouri | 06/26/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"... Not many of them are scary. I will admit though the first texas chainsaw massacre did. Recently ive been watching the COTC series(an exausting 7) and it seems the more they make the less of a story we get. It went from not many killings and a good story(COTC 1) to basically no story and alot of blood, killing, and horribly effected creatures(COTC 3)but i will say that of the series, 4 is definitly one of the best. Yeah there is a lot of killing, blood, and some baaaaad acting(the black girl who dies) but it actually has a story to it.. Honestly im not lieing. the story doesnt really get told till toward the end but the story is actually good and seems like it took more than 5 min to come up with. It starts with a mother who has 2 children living with her. she is suffering from bad dreams where children attack and kill her.They scare her so bad taht she is even afraid to leave the front yard. When her other daughter heres she is getting worse she decides to stop in for a visit to help around with things. From there she notices that all the kids begin to get sick with the same "illness." as the movie moves along, you find out about a certain child that did not age and when the people he was with considered him useless they burned him and threw his soul into the bottom of a well. A stupid drunk in the movie(arent they all) brings the spirit up and now he is needing a certain child to help bring him back to power. I wont go into it more since this is a movie you should watch not just read about. The movie itself is not really scary but it is fun to watch. If you enjoy the COTC series you will like this one. Dont worry, it isnt nearly as bad and corny as COTC 2 and 3. The other good thing about this movie is that it is a break from the "He who walks behind the rows" tale and there is no dark bible spouting like the other ones. This one doesnt bring up the rows monster at all. and its good that we could take a break from that for one movie. My only question is, how is it that the leaves are strong enough to wrap around someone and drag them all over the place? i wouldnt think the corn leaves would be that hard to break?"

A New Harvest

Luis Maldonado | Brownfield, Tx. USA | 08/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Children Of The Corn 4: "The Gathering" (Based on the short story "Children Of The Corn" by Stephen King.) is riveting. Once again the legacy of the Children continues to horrify and thrill it's viewers. This mind numbingly terrific story of perverced innocence will capture your attention and egnite your imagination into the realms of the supernatural. (Don't forget to breath.) Fall into a world were your blood feeds the soil as the harvest becomes ready. The Gathering of the children is at hand and now there's hell to pay."