Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996)

As Good As It Gets

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

If a franchise is lucky enough to get to the fourth movie then it needs to be ready to adapt, it needs to be ready to change so that things don't get boring but stay true to its origins.Here in "The Gathering" we see all the towns children get sick with a mysterious virus only to awakan claiming to be someone else. Soon the killings begin and it comes down to a young Naomi Watts to combat their evil scheme.Going in I expected the worst, all 3 previous movies had failed to impress and could not be referred to anything beyond passable. Somehow this has been the best one so far and is true 90's horror at its core.I think the whole Children Of The Corn concept has gotten somewhat over convoluted by this stage and doesn't even remotely resemble Stephen Kings creation. Regardless this is a passable enough little fluff piece that should keep fans of the series entertained.The Good:Looks greatSome inventive killsThe Bad:Still suffers many of the franchises weaker tropesThings I Learnt From This Movie:A scythe to the genitals might be an unpleasant way to go

Before the credits, creepy Karen Black (as June) lets a menacing kid into her isolated small-town Nebraska house. He has a deep wound in his hand, so Ms. Black goes to get some bandages. She breaks a glass, the kid gets ugly and Black wakes up. Apparently, it was a dream. After the credits, we meet Black's attractive daughter Naomi Watts (as Grace Rhodes). A medical student, Ms. Watts is taking a semester off to see what's wrong with, and hopefully help, her possibly psycho mother...As luck would have it, Watts has arrived just in time for "The Gathering". Area kids get feverish and act weird. They come from the original one, who possibly inhabits in the corn field. His story is told, later. The story is stupid, but looks like it would be fun make for all the kids in the cast. Nice to see veteran William Windom as the kindly doctor (Rob Larson) and Brent Jennings (as Donald Atkins) performs his heroic role well. When the cameras are kept still, Greg Spence directs smoothly.**** Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (10/8/96) Greg Spence ~ Naomi Watts, Brent Jennings, Karen Black, William Windom

This time in the movie of this horror series based on works by Stephen King. a medical studen,t who has moved to the country side, to discover what evil force is holding away with the town's children. It as some really good intense moments and the story flowed really well.I really enjoyed some of the real cool deaths scene, which were really well made and can be z tad gory, some of the deaths were really clever.The acting in this was decent, from the whole cast! I enjoyed this movie, good movie, but it was not as good as the Children of the corn 3 but I am still going to give this movie, a 5 out of 10

Children of the Corn: The Gathering (1996) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Good performances and direction help this fourth film in the series be the best so far. A registered nurse (Naomi Watts) moves back home to Nebraska to help her mother (Karen Black) who is slowly losing her mind. The town's children come down with a mysterious virus and soon they are killing adults apparently with the possessed soul of a boy who died fifty-years earlier. Normally you'd expect the fourth film in a rather mediocre series to be the pits but that's not the case here as we have a fairly good story brought to life with some nice acting and good direction. Watts steals the film as she manages to make her character very believable and shows a good strength, which allows her to carry the movie without any problems. Black is pretty much being Black as she plays the weirdo but who better to do that than her? I was also impressed with Brent Jennings as a father accused of killing him wife and William Windom as the local doctor. The actual story, as with the previous two entries, is far away from King's original short story but that might not be such a bad thing. This entry also contains some of the most brutal killings, which leads to all types of gore. One scene has a farmer getting all the equipment used to rip him apart and the every loving scythes. The red stuff is constantly pouring but it never gets in the way of the story, which believe it or not, is trying to be told here.