Hannah goes back to her hometown (Gatlin) to find out who her mother is, but on the way she picks up a strange man who fore-shadows her life with a passage from the bible. When she gets there she wakes up Isaac from a coma he has been in for 19 years. Isaac is awake and wants to fulfill the final prophecy!

 

It’s hard to believe that they have managed to turn over so many sequels to a film as mediocre as the Children of the corn. I can understand the likes of Michael Myers, Freddy, Jason, Leatherface, and even Pinhead getting constant sequels because they’re pop culture icons now, not just horror characters. But Children of the Corn...are you fuckin' serious? I understand sequels are made because they are considered a cash crop...but the only crops I see in these films, are literally the ones you see in the films.

 

Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return plays out pretty much like I would expect from a dragged out sixth installment of a franchise. Running out of steam to generate new ideas, while being bogged down by disappointing previous entries; and pretending like those sequels don't exist, and making a direct sequel approach to the first film.

 

It’s a smart move as it allows some breathing room in the story but then again, the story was never short of breath to begin with. In trying to replicate the original by bringing back its main villain, Isaac’s Return just shows how tedious the formula has become – or rather how tedious it was to begin with. The problem with these sequels is that they all blur into one because they’re so unmemorable.

 

At least the series finally shows a bit of continuity here with the return of Isaac, once again played by actor John Franklin who doesn’t look to have aged one bit since his original appearance (i'm being sarcastic). But then again, I thought that character was killed off, not simply drifted into a coma where he was forgotten about while the rest of the sequels took place.

 

Isaac’s return was the biggest reason I was so intrigued to see this film when it first came out; being that he was one of the biggest reasons I still watch the original film to this day. Franklin co-wrote the script and it’s blatantly obvious that he’s trying to carve himself a niche here by transforming Isaac into a horror icon that can become the focal point of the series.

 

But, you’d think that Franklin would do himself some favors with the script but all he ends up doing is giving Isaac a load of nonsensical Biblical dialogue which will irritate everyone to no end. And not to mention, for Isaac's return, he sure isn't in the film all that much. Come on Franklin, you are writing a sequel to bring your character back...PUT YOURSELF IN THE MOVIE MORE. Unless you knew this wasn't going to be what the fans want to see, and were trying to be facetious by making this film. You sly dog you.

 

Isaac’s Return has its best moments early on as the script tries to tie the film in with the events of the first one. Isaac starts off strongly as the focal point but as the film goes on, it becomes less about him and more about the new group of children that are worshipping He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Isaac’s return then becomes a side-issue as the film leads into a stupendous final third in which logic goes out of the window, plot holes increase in size ten-fold and common sense is ignored. Characters see dead animals everywhere which are revealed to be warning signs. Events occur which are then revealed to be dream sequences. This rug-pulling is only effective once or twice in a film before the audience gets annoyed at the cheap tactics being employed by the writers and Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return outstays its welcome long before it should.

 

Thankfully, at eighty-two minutes, the film doesn’t spend too long writhing around in its own agony. The same can’t be said for the respectable names who appear in the cast. Some well-known actors like Stacy Keach and Nancy Allen appear in supporting roles but they look embarrassed to be here and I don’t blame them. Keach hams it up to no end as a crazy resident and Allen looks to have walked in off another set. The only shining light is newcomer Natalie Ramsey who plays the lead role. She does a good job in investing her character with a little spirit and pluckiness (plus it helps that she looks mighty fine doing it too). But she gets lost in the mix, a victim of some daft script decisions which have her flitting between being a clever know-it-all who will never fall victim to these kids, and a Penelope Pitstop-style dim heroine who seems to stumble into every problematic scenario possible.

 

After watching this film a few times, I can't say it's good...but I really haven't been able to say that about too many of these sequels. All in all, I wish Isaac had stayed in his coma if this was the product we were going to receive. It would be like bringing Freddy back in a sequel, but he is only in the movie for 5 minutes of screen time. Doesn't really work.

 

Will Children of the Corn ever manage to get it right? That is a good question. There are three more films for me to review...let's find out if any of them hit the mark, or if they end up falling short like all these other films.

 

Till Next Time Kiddies...

 

-RJ