In entertainment, there is an old adage that it is best to go out on top. To many times athletes and performers stay around to long, and are reduced to a shell of their former self and the image of them in their prime is tarnished by the diminished or uninspired efforts that are often all they have left to offer.
There is nothing worse in Hollywood then a film series that started out well and is run into the ground by subsequent sequels that get progressively worse, and in many cases bear little resemblance to the original or have little continuity with the previous films in the series.
The lure of horror films is big for film studios as they are generally cheap to make, and if the film is a modest success, then a line of sequels is likely to follow ensuring big returns from video and cable revenue. Furthermore, by releasing sequels direct to video the production costs are greatly lowered and profits are ensured in many cases by name recognition amongst the renting public. Simply put, if a person is out looking for a film and they see the next release in a series they have heard of before, then they are likely to rent the film as they have some idea as to what to expect.
Such is the case with the new film, “Children of the Corn Revelation” The film is available on VHS and DVD and is the latest chapter in the series that originated in a film based on a Stephen King Story.
In this new installment, viewers are introduced to Jamie Lowell (Claudette Mink), as she attempts to find out why calls to her grandmother have gone unanswered. When Jamie arrives at her Grandmother’s residence, she is shocked to discover it is a condemned apartment complex. The complex has a few eccentric people living in it as well as some everyday people going about their lives without bothering anyone.
Jamie notices some very odd children that seem to appear and vanish no matter where she goes. They are in the store, the police station, the hallways of her Grandmother’s apartment building and they seem to vanish before her eyes. Jamie is not questioning her sanity though the local police detective (Kyle Cassie), investigating her Grandmother thinks she may just be stressed. Adding to the mystery is a dark and sinister looking priest (Michael Ironside), who seems to be stalking Jamie and has a hidden agenda.
While this is a setup that holds potential, sadly the film fails to achieve much. The pacing of the film is very slow, and there is little suspense, horror, or character development. We do not learn much about the main characters and even less about the mysterious children and priest.
Guy Magar who also directed “Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century” directed the film, and it seems that a weak script and a series that has run out of ideas hamper him. The location of the films may have changed, but the premise of deadly children is getting stale and lacking any shock or menace. Victims seem to accept their fate with little struggle and the death scenes are so uninspired. Pushing a person from a building and dropping deadly corn seeds in a bath are hardly tension builders and they are played out with as much enthusiasm as a the local time recordings.
The film suffers from a lackluster plot that never gets going and pacing that is slow and slower. The finale of the film was so generic and was easily predicted by events leading up to it, that it like much of the film disappoints.
I had enjoyed some of the previous chapters in the series, but this chapter shows a serious lack of anything new to offer. The characters were gathered on the flimsiest of pretenses and dispatched routinely with little effort or explanation directed to the motivation of the characters and the plot. I found the film had very little to offer and the acting was nothing special nor were the effects. Lets hope the makers of the series come up with something better next time out, as this is one film that should have been left to wither on the vine.
1 star out of 5
