Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (David F. Price, 1992)

[jacksmith1983]

Although I feel that few would readily describe it as a bona-fide horror classic, the original Children Of The Corn nevertheless stands beyond a shadow of a doubt as one of the best known and successful of the almost innumerable horror films adapted from the literary work of the legendary Stephen King. Originally released in 1984, Children Of The Corn was directed by Fritz Kiersch and adapted from a memorably macabre tale of the same name taken from King's sublime short story anthology Night Shift. At the time of its original US theatrical release Children Of The Corn was universally panned by critics and generated only a modest profit at the box-office. However, Children Of The Corn would eventually enjoy a major reversal in fortunes when it later became a hugely successful rental title during the early days of home video, it's tale of a young couple stumbling across a small Nebraska town where murderous adolescents have sacrificially slaughtered every adult presumably striking a chord with an audience who missed out on the film during its original cinema run.

By 1992 the cult status and enduring profitability on video of Children Of The Corn had grown to the point that a belated sequel was produced that year in the shape of Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice. This time around directorial duties were handled by rookie director David F. Price who had started his career in the film industry in the early eighties as a young actor, but soon jettisoned that in order to pursue a largely unsuccessful career behind the camera. The fate of Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice would largely mirror that of its own predecessor. Once again critics were united in their derision and the film managed only meagre financial returns on its short-lived US theatrical run, however, as with the original Children Of The Corn, it eventually proved to be another money-making hit on video. Indeed, the combined profitability of Children Of The Corn and Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice on both rental and sell through video was such that a horror franchise was duly spawned. Indeed, between 1995 and 2001 there has been no less than a further five Children Of The Corn sequels, all of which were tellingly released directly to video. Meanwhile Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice director David Price would go on to enjoy a totally forgettable career, the only real "highlights" of which were co-producing the surprise horror hit Leprechaun (1993) (which itself spawned an unlikely straight to video horror franchise) and directing the woeful horror comedy Dr. Jekyll And Ms. Hyde (1995) starring Sean Young.

The plot of Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice picks up shortly after the events depicted in the orginal Children Of The Corn. The film begins with the world finally learning of the horror which befell the tiny bible belt town of Gatlin, Nebraska when authorities from the nearby town of Hemmingford discover the mass grave of the towns entire adult population, murdered several years previously by their own children who had formed a fanatical cult dedicated to the mysterious, bloodthirsty deity of the surrounding cornfields known as "He Who Walks Behind The Rows".

Believing that the children of Gatlin had been acting under the influence of an evil child preacher and were not directly responsible for the slaying of their elder townsfolk, the generous people of Hemmingford generously decide that the orphaned children will be fostered by families in their town until other arrangements can be made for their care. However, little do they realise that the children are still in the power of "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" and soon they reform their cult under the leadership of twisted adolescent Micah and promptly resume their reign of terror, slaughtering the well-meaning residents of Hemmingford.

Meanwhile, while all this is going on John Garrett, an opportunistic journalist recently fired from his job with a trashy supermarket tabloid, is passing through town with his teenage son Danny in tow and when he hears of what has happened in Gatlin his "professional" interest is piqued and he decides to stay on in Hemmingford in order to land a story which could potentially reinvigorate his flagging career. However, father and son have been estranged from one another for many years and consequently the bitter, resentful Danny is soon preyed upon by Micah who attempts to persuade the disillusioned youth into joining his fanatical cult of murdering youngsters leading Garrett, Danny and several other locals into a desperate battle for survival.

Unfortunately Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice opens with a scene that sadly blows whatever slight sense of credibility the films narrative might otherwise have possessed straight out of the water from the outset. The film opens with the macabre discovery of the decomposed, mutilated remains of the numerous poor souls who were once the adult population of Gatlin, Nebraska. However, the children of Gatlin - who were of course responsible for the deaths of their parents and the other townsfolk - are allowed to stand around completely unchallenged, staring blankly whilst greeting any question put to them by the swarm of journalists and police officers with the senseless answer "I saw the corn". This is despite the fact that these murderous tykes make for a picture of pure malevolence, resembling extra's from an Amish amateur theatrical production of Lord Of The Flies. Indeed, whilst the bodies of their slaughtered parents are still being excavated, the children are already being examined, given a lollipop and loaded onto a big yellow school bus set to take them to the nearby town of Hemmingford where they are set to be fostered by local families.

When one elderly lady voices the (sensible) opinion that the people of Hemmingford inviting murderers into their midst and that Hemmingford will suffer the same fate as Gatlin she is shouted down by others who claim that the real killers are dead and that the children were simply innocent bystanders. However, as the bodies are still only just being uncovered, no forensic work has been carried out and none of the children - as far as the viewer can discern - are ever questioned about their role in what happened in Gatlin, how can they possibly be so sure of this? Now I know that small backwoods towns in middle America are supposedly renowned for their hospitality, but the notion that the Hemmingford residents would, for the most part, welcome these devilish looking children with open arms having witnessed with their own eyes the grim fate that the adult population of Gatlin met with is just ridiculous beyond words and impossible to swallow. Perhaps more pertinently it also harms Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice further in that when the inevitable occurs and the Hemmingford residents begin to die horribly, it is quite hard not to feel that they're simply paying the price for their own bleeding heart liberalism!

This aside I must confess that it is actually quite difficult to find all that much I can really say about Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice. In all honesty it really is a listless effort, no better yet no worse than the vast majority of the other countless middle of the road, generic and forgettable horror films which were produced with the home video market squarely in mind during the dark days of the late eighties and early nineties. In this case the plot in which the children Of Gatlin, fallowing their move to nearby Hemmingford once again fall under the demonic influence of the malevolent cornfield god "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" is utterly predictable and the film suffers for the lack of well defined, nicely characterised chief child villains, which is something that worked strongly in the favour of the original Children Of The Corn. One thing Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice does share with its predecessor however, is unfortunately that particular films one fundamental shortcoming. This is namely the fact that it is very difficult for director David F. Price to really generate much in the way of any real palpable tension or suspense due to the fact that it is abundantly clear from the films outset that the Gatlin youngsters are in the power of "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" and are a bunch of dangerous, homicidal fanatics.

One quite notable thing that does set Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice apart to a degree from the orginal Children Of The Corn, is that this time around instead of his adolescent followers shouldering all of the weight, the onus for a lot of the scares actually falls upon the unseen presence of the much talked about "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" himself. In principal this actually isn't too bad an idea. but in practise what it sadly results in is a lazy over-reliance on naff, cheap-looking special effects as dark CGI clouds roll across the sky and disposable supporting players foolhardily trampling through the corn are zapped by unconvincing bolts of electricity. Additionally Price also chooses to convey the presence of "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" via an absolute proliferation of infrared demons-eye POV shots as he stalks his prey through the rows of corn. Clearly a motif stolen from the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Predator and its underrated sequel Predator 2, this recycled effect has nothing like the same effect here, but certainly does begin to grate once it has been repeated for the umpteenth time.

While I do realise that the tone of this review must come across as fairly negative thus far, in the interest of fairness it would be amiss of me not to concede that Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice whilst making for a pretty unedifying whole, does at least have its moments. For instance a scene fairly early on in which "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" emerges from the corn to dispatch two prying journalists is pretty silly stuff, but it does at least boast a pleasantly nasty punch line as one of the unfortunate reporters is gorily impaled through his throat by a flying corn stem. The antics of the deadly adolescents also result in the occasional highlight such as a scene in which an elderly woman has an entire house dropped on top of her (yes you did read that right), which is then followed by the films most memorable moment in which the ritual manipulation of a wooden effigy results in an unfortunate churchgoer developing a nosebleed which soon develops into a full blown bloodbath as he literally gushes the old red stuff from every cranial orifice.

Less effective however, by contrast, is a ridiculous, laughably risible scene in which the young menaces kill an aging disabled woman by hijacking control of her wheelchair via the remote control set of a toy car and mercilessly directing her into the path of a speeding lorry. Moments such as this make the film impossible to take seriously and it's safe to say that for most viewers Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice will outstay its welcome long before it drags itself along to its eventual conclusion, which despite boasting lots of hammy histrionics and lots more cheesy special effects, still manages to wind up feeling anticlimactic. Of course "He Who Walks Behind The Rows" himself is never actually seen, but given the quality of the effects work of display elsewhere in Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice that's probably just as well.

In fairness the films writers Alan Katz and Gilbert Adler (who also penned several episodes of Tales From The Crypt and Freddy's Nightmares together) do make a creditable attempt to inject some sorely needed human interest into the picture via an ongoing subplot in which the films central protagonist John Garrett attempts to mend his damaged relationship with his teenage son Danny. Unfortunately however, Danny - intentionally or otherwise - comes across as so obnoxious, insolent and ungrateful that I'm sure most viewers wouldn't blame Garrett if he had just ditched his thoroughly dislikable offspring in the middle of a cornfield and drove off. To be fair though Terence Knox and Paul Scherrer are at least functional in their leading roles as John and Danny respectively and do strike up a modestly decent onscreen chemistry, even if Scherrer - who was 24 years old at the time Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice was shot - looks far too old for his role.

Elsewhere Ryan Bollman is suitably sinister as the child cults cold, dark-eyed new leader Micah, but in truth he is really a pretty poor substitute for either the evil boy preacher Isaac played by John Franklin or his bloodthirsty henchman Malachai played by Courtney Gains who so memorably enlivened the original Children Of The Corn. Predictably the only really decent performances come from a few members of the supporting cast. Particularly enjoyable is the amusingly OTT performance of Marty Terry as the elderly Mrs Burke, formerly a schoolteacher in Gatlin who frantically cautions against allowing the children to take up residence in Hemmingford and meets with a sticky end as a result. Seasoned character actor Ned Romero also turns at around the halfway mark as a Native American anthropology professor who attempts to explain away the events with some cod Indian philosophy about "life out of balance". Of course this makes no real sense, but then you have to remember that at the time Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice was produced it was actually quite fashionable for listless horror films to attempt to wash down their narratives with a dose of mystical Native American mumbo-jumbo.

So in conclusion Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice is a fairly typical product of the downturn in fortunes the horror genre suffered during the early nineties. Whilst it certainly ticks all of the right boxes and David Price's direction is seldom less than proficient, the result is still a narratively flawed, run of the mill, instantly forgettable modern horror film. Despite featuring mostly solid performances and a few surprisingly gory and imaginatively staged deaths, Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice is fatally hamstrung from the outset by the fact that the notion of the people of Hemmingford taking in the Gatlin children simply defies belief and this fundamental flaw is only confounded by an over abundance of silly moments and the fact that only two films into the series the central concept of bible belt adolescents murdering adults already feels predictable and tired. Indeed, the idea that somehow another five sequels were wrung out of this basic concept following this film really does beggar belief when you actually sit and think about it. So ultimately Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice stands as no more than a markedly inferior follow up to a horror film which in truth was not really all that great to begin with.

Not Recommended.

Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice is currently available on UK region two DVD from Anchor Bay UK/Starz either as part of a three disc box-set also containing the original Children Of The Corn and the next sequel Children Of The Corn III: Urban Harvest or as a stand-alone release. The Anchor Bay UK DVD presents the film in a choice of either a decent looking 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer or in 4:3 presentation. In addition the Anchor Bay disc also contains a few extra's including an audio commentary, the original theatrical trailer and some brief film notes and biographies. There is also an earlier now out of print UK DVD of Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice released back in 2000 by Cinema Club. However, this release apparently offers no real discernable improvement over the older VHS editions of the film and is therefore best avoided.


Children Of The Corn Collection 1 - 3 (Anchor Bay UK/Starz - UK R2): amazon.co.uk

Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (Anchor Bay UK/Starz - UK R2): amazon.co.uk

[reaper72]

Yep agree.As a Children of the Corn original fanatic,this was a huge disappointment.Even though the first film was let down in the last ten minutes bigtime,number two was rather bollocks.Plain to see that none of the original characters were involved,it smacks of cash in.The third part IMHO took a rather more original spin on the idea,and was an improvement on this.....

[jacksmith1983]

The original Children Of The Corn is a film I'll always have a bit of a sentimental soft spot for, purely because it was one of the first horror films I ever saw back in my childhood and as such it played a part in forming my love for the genre early on.

Of course watching it now I do realise that it really isn't a particularly great film. The opening coffee shop massacre is still a magnificent, genuinely shocking curtain raiser but in truth the film plays its entire hand in the first five minutes. After that the suspense is negligible as we've seen all there is to see already and the final twenty minutes is an anticlimactic, silly mess of pointless, cheesy special effects. Having said that Children Of The Corn certainly isn't terrible. Despite these faults it does have some things in its favour, namely good leads in Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton (who is always watchable IMO), a wonderfully haunting score and two memorably malevolant child villains in Isaac and Malachai. I know King is said to hate it, but in my opinion as far as film adaptations of his work go Children Of The Corn, unlike some others, certainly doesn't disgrace his name.

As for Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice? Well I think I've said it all already to be honest. However, I agree with you 100% Reaper that it was a cash-in. Executives have clearly looked at the original Children Of The Corn and the mountain of money it made through video rentals and decided it was a financially shrewd decision to make a sequel in the same vein aimed at the same. The result isn't dreadful, but it is a totally forgettable by the numbers horror film made for the video market which suffers due to a fundementally stupid premise that no-one could ever swallow. The idea of these people from the next town clamouring to foster a pack of devil children who brutally massacred their own families and neighbours really does just beggar belief. To be honest the film just lost me there in that first couple of minutes and nothing it did afterwards was ever enough to suck me back in.

For the record I do own Children Of The Corn III and IV on DVD too but have never watched either. I'll probably get around to them one day but their pretty low on my list of priorities, even though from what I have read online III seems to be generally held in regard as the best of the six sequels.

[reaper72]

I know where you're coming from JS.The original was a favourite renter of mine when I was a pup as well.Be honest mate,it was that STUNNING artwork wasn't it?

[jacksmith1983]

The simple black on red design of the US one sheet poster which was also used for the Thorn EMI UK pre cert and later Anchor Bay DVD release is indeed one of my favourites of that era. Very simple yet very effective.

[Peter Neal]

Originally Posted by jacksmith1983

The original [I]
For the record I do own Children Of The Corn III and IV on DVD too but have never watched either. I'll probably get around to them one day but their pretty low on my list of priorities, even though from what I have read online III seems to be generally held in regard as the best of the six sequels.

I remember us discussing a bit about the franchise back in the good, old ABUK board days.

I guess I'm in the minority there, probably also because I first watched the original "Children of the Corn" in the late 90's, but I personally take all of the sequels (apart from the 7th. installment) over the first movie, regardless of their solely commercially motivated exsistance.

Part III and IV in particular are watchable snacks.

[ecc]

but then you have to remember that at the time Children Of The Corn II: The Final Sacrifice was produced it was actually quite fashionable for listless horror films to attempt to wash down their narratives with a dose of mystical Native American mumbo-jumbo.

Pretty much from the 1970's on (remember THE MANITOU).