Review of Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996) by Jason D — 09 Oct 2009

Children of the Corn 4: The Gathering is an interesting but moderately boring entry in the Children of the Corn series, about kids becoming sickly, then turning murderous against parents and various other adults.

A little bit of the gore is retained, but it's a far cry from the previous film. We are graced with an early role from young and lovely Naomi Watts in the lead who is trying to uncover the truth about the kids while trying to save her little sister from becoming one of them.

Karen Black also shows up as one of the parents in a role that doesn't add much to the film, but it's nice to see her still getting work. Overall, the film has a definite feeling of tension about it that the previous films were unable to retain either to oudatedness or over-the-top camp.

Part 4 tries its hardest to present itself as a serious film, and it does a good job of that, thanks to steady direction from first-timer Greg Spence (whose only other directorial work to date has been The Prophecy II).

Still, this one seems to move a bit slower than the first three, but it manages to get the job done somehow. Good for quick, cheap thrills.