I am just curious how the hell the Children of the Corn
movies can shoehorn quality talents into them! Stacey Keach has no business
stuck in something with
666: Isaac’s
Return in the title. Yet here he is in such a throwaway (if a bit fun in
this eccentric sort of way) part as a doctor in a Gatlin hospital fully aware
of Isaac’s potential return if he ever awakens from a comatose state. Yes, the
question of how he could return after dying rather convincingly in the first
film did cross my mind as well. And Nancy Allen is in this awful sequel. It is
quite obvious Allen would rather be anywhere but in yet another sequel devoted
to “He Who Walks Behind the Rows”.
There
is only so much of that cornfield god’s mentioned name I can take. The fifth
film (
Fields of Terror) I watched
again Tuesday night repeated that name over and over again ad nauseum. Franklin
does return as Isaac, though, and he is still quite a presence, small in
stature with that villainous voice that reaches out with a certain distinctive
sound. He awakens with plans for his son to mate with Allen’s daughter,
supposedly dead at childbirth…yet very much alive, returning to Gatlin from LA
to find her birthmother. Her adoptive parents had treated her well and Allen
sent her away specifically so Isaac couldn’t fulfill a prophesy, a seed would
be planted (through pregnancy), and a child would be born to once again lead a
flock in Gatlin. With such time spent on dirt roads kicking up dust and bleak
halls/rooms in the Gatlin hospital, those involved (including Franklin who
contributed creatively to the production) in the making of
666: Isaac’s Return did try to incorporate a style through the use
of warped angles (tilting, with close-ups of faces often and unconventional
camera placements), surreal hallucinogenic images (often startling the young
woman in the wrong side of Americana), choppy editing (never does the film
decide to linger its camera on anything for more than three or so seconds), and
an actual introduction to the god that always seems to lure kids back to it. A
wrinkle in this sequel is Isaac getting a bit drunk with power, wanting to have
some worship aimed in his direction, quite dedicated to the idea that his boy
would produce a child to continue their lineage and create a church all their
own. Natalie Ramsey, and her convertible, drives down plenty of rural roads and
past plenty of cornfields. She basically gets lost in the plot, stumbling
through teenagers and kids once again under Isaac’s command, running from
mental patients in the hospital, getting creepily checked on by Keach who
clinches her throat as if his hands were a vice, carrying on uninspired
conversations with Allen over returning to Gatlin as danger presents itself,
and trying to avoid He Who… She meets Popowich who considers himself quite the
cool guy with his shades and black leather jacket, wavy black hair and jeans.
He is the kind of guy who hops into the back seat of a convertible, drops his
arms in a relaxed pose, and flashes a sleazy smile. He's full of cock-of-the-walk bravado. For some reason, Natalie
fails to see there’s something obviously sinister about him. When he reveals
something at the end, I can’t imagine few will be all that shocked. He’s
clearly got bad intentions, but Natalie just doesn’t have a clue. In fact with
all she sees, Natalie never quite gets out of Gatlin, and lucky for Allen she
doesn’t. All that said Natalie having sex with Popowich is a bit unrealistic.
With all that had been happening, is she going to take the time to roll in the
hay with Popowich? Yeah, no. Alix Koromzay is the corrupt sheriff beholden to
Isaac with a brother suffering mental handicap. John Patrick White is the son
of Isaac who really wants to be with a red head in Gatlin but his father
persists that he sow the seed as expected. Instead he just takes a dive on a
scythe so he doesn’t have to endure without the girl he truly loved…her head
split open by Franklin! Gary
Bullock is
this imagined preacher Natalie sees, quoting about Samuel being born from
Hannah (Hannah is Natalie’s name). The plot is a mess, the attempts at styling
and editing the film for effect annoy instead of impress, and the cast is
saddled with lackluster material. Franklin somewhat gives the film some needed
juice but even he can’t rescue this from mediocrity. Amazingly, the franchise still had another sequel left in it. Talk about not knowing when to quit!
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| Perfect description for how I felt watching this |
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