Children of the Corn: Revelation (2001)

   

Directed by: Guy Magar

Written by: S.J. Smith

Starring:

Claudette Mink .... Jamie
Kyle Cassie .... Armbrister
Michael Ironside .... Priest
Troy Yorke .... Jerry
Michael Rogers .... Stan
Taylor Hobbs .... Girl #1
Jeffrey Ballard .... Boy #1
Brad Mooney .... Boy #2
Maxinne McKay .... Girl #2
Crystal Lowe .... Tiffany

Release Date: Direct-to-Video: October 9, 2001

 

Rating:

 

Jamie (Claudette Mink) keeps trying to contact her grandmother in Gatlin but doesn't aget a response so she goes to her run down apartment and finds out that it's been overtaken by possessed children and warned by a Priest (Michael Ironside) on the history of the village there and tells her to leave else she will be next.
She ignores his warning and goes to the aid of a detective named Ambrister (Kyle Cassie) to dig deeper
into the unsolved mystery.
She discovers a dark secret about her grandmother and awakens a dark, demonic force that wants Jamie dead and will stop at nothing.

 

A very impressive and dark beginning when we reveal a dark and creepy run down suite as well as good dark shots on a cornfield nearby. Plus good close up shots on an old lady having a nightmare and then comes outdoors to call out someone in which this is a nice start for a horror film for sure.
Nice shots on the lead character Jamie driving by the run down suite as well as good shots looking up on this building with nice stormy clouds leaving it a good feel to the story for sure. However when we continue to watch the area you could tell it was shot in the city making it look like a country.
A perfect moment with Jamie walking into the village with the mist giving it a nice creepy feel to the story as well as a good shot on a little girl in an alleyway playing hopstock on a satanic pentagram as this is perfect for a sequel like this one since it involves Satan and his evil powers in the town of Gatlin. Also nice misty shots on the Priest stalking this woman in odd areas like this scene which is another good attention grabber. Plus a good moment with her going into a run down corner store which looked like a good area in a rough city. Plus we spot a situation with two expressionless children staring at a video game which is House of the Dead as that was a horror film adding a nice touch to everything too. Plus a good moment with Jamie nicely showing the kids on how to play the game which looked good and still and a nice surprising moment on them snatching something to play the game as this leaves a good impression that these were kids from the cult. Plus a nice suspenseful approach by one of the kids that was doing hopscotch saying something deadly towards Jamie when she is leaving the store which is a good surprising and unexpected moment. However there's moments when she is arriving to the building where she hears children giggling in the cornfield which sounds terribly phony and you can tell it was pre-recorded. Also there's a perfect still moment when she stares out the window in the building and suddenly smack some object hits the window which is a perfect jumping moment.
A good nightmare sequence which involves Jamie when she dreams her grandmother walking in the middle of the railroad tracks near the cornfield and the train charging at her which looked good and shocking making you watch carefully within this moment.
We have a perfect moment with one of the residents at the suite drinking and having a good time in his balcony as this looked uplifting like you'd want to be in this situation as there's nice shots on this but a real screw up is that you can see buildings in the distance as this was supposed to be a famrland like you'd spot in the previous films. Also there's a moment when he is eating a piece of corn as you get a feeling that something deadly is going to happen since we've seen in the previous films that this often happens with nice side effects of his mouth being bloodied which is impressive and makes you still watch for something deadly to happen and then he spots two children there and then a supposed moment when he gets pulled down which is supposed to make you jump but this moment fails a bit.
A nice discussion between both Jamie and Ambrister are in his office discussing her grandma's disappearance as well as talking about the historical moments in Gatlin with the children killing adults as well as showing newspaper clips as this looked impressive since the film did follow the legacy not too badly here.
We spot a nice still moment with the character Tiffany taking a bath and good close up shots on her shaving her legs and then cutting herself which looked painful and a nice start to something deadly happening later on in the story which is often the case. Also a good shot on the two kids watching her take a bath and pouring pieces of corn into the water as this looked suspenseful and wondering on what's going to happen later on. Plus neat effects on corn growing in her bathtub which looked bizarre to watch as well as a nice camera shot looking up on a grumpy man in a wheelchair banging on the wall next door screaming obscenities towards her as this looked genuinely dysfunctional to watch and showed nice timing.
Also have a good moment with this grouch in a later scene rolling by a hallway and the kids taunting him in which you hope he gets his in the end. Plus a good shot on him being pushed off a ledge which looked suspenseful to watch by what we see here.
Perfect deep and dark discussions between both the Priest and Jamie when he tells her the history on "He who walks behind the rows" which is an attention grabber still keeping up with the legacy as well in which the moments here perfectly serious and still too.
There's a perfect twisted shot with two children playing a sort of patty cake game in the suite with them holding something gruesome due to a slaughtering incident along with a good moment on Jamie slowly walking up to them and acting scared in which this was done in a fine fashion.
However we do spot a moment when Jamie is brought to a cult of children and one of them acts powerful and evil which looked awfully phony while watching this as well as her trying to get away. Plus she's cornered or a spirit of her grandmother is speaking through one of the children as none of this looked convincing. But there's neat effects on the corn growing inside the basement of the apartment where this all takes place.
Bottom line is that although there's certain postivie moments mentioned above the story isn't strong enough and doesn't focus alot on the cornfield so much and is just as much a bore as part 4. It's not too believeable with the surroundings of the city in Toronto since the previous films had no cities at all and could've looked more convincing with the camera shots by covering this all up.

The acting is in very good shape but with a small cast so I will try to dig up some people worth mentioning.... Lead actress Claudette Mink (Jamie) really stood out strong in her role as someone whom is good and calm as well as showing a nice and warm type of attitude which also shows off well. She focused on this quite nicely and made everything believeable by this. Also does a good job while having a serious discussion as well as showing a perfect upsetting and emotional attitude too. Also does well acting tense and frightened while talking to a couple of onscreen children and shows good energy quarter way through the story for the final terrors involving her.
Kyle Cassie (Armbrister) portrayed a perfect detecitve in the film with his wise and sharp attitude in which he draws some great adrenaline and has a believeable outgoing type of attitude and charm within whatever he does here. He rolls with the punches a great deal within whatever he did and does well by springing into action here and there. He was a perfect lively character actor.
Michael Ironside
(Priest) had the most effective role in the film and a nice key supporting role too as he comes off perfectly dark and mysterious like he nromally does in any horror film that I've seen him in having a nice serious and expressionless look to him. Also has the normal deep speaking which shines off well and knew on how to discuss a historical moment into the film which he got into this wonderfully. Two thumbs up for this guy.
Michael Rogers (Stan) seemed to know his craft fairly well as a drug smoking landlord of the suite in which he acts beleiveably stoned out or acting bubbly too. This was drawn i nicely. Also does a great job by acting paranoid by what's happening and drawing the intensity totally perfectly as well as acting good and freaky too.
Jeffrey Ballard
(Boy #1) really stood out well with his expressionless and dazed out type of behavior in which he seemed to come across as a zombie type of child as well as showing a nice evil type of attitude when planning something evil. He for sure offered some terrific aggressions here and there as someone not to be trusted and acting perfectly deadly too.
Maxinne McKay (Girl #2) was perfect and sharp with her screaming out deadly words just drawing out as someone who knows on how to act like a typical shit disturber and was great with her fast action aggressions too. She shoots out well in her blocking and knew on how to act powerful within everything that she did in her performance.
Crystal Lowe (Tiffany) added a nice spunk into her part as someone whom is outgoing in which she comes across as one of those party girl types with a sort of skanky attitude too. Added some nice charisma into her speaking. Plus she does well reacting to things as well as getting short and blunt towards two onscreen children as she offers some nice sterness into her voice while saying what she had to say.

Crystal Lowe is behind a drape taking off her clothes and her breasts being revealed as well as when she is taking a bath

A decaptitated head is revealed in a corner store.
Piece of a hand is shown while two children are playing a game with one another.

The composing sounds alot different than in most of the previous films in which we hear perfect banging sounds for the jumping moments as well as good metal screeching or pipe bangings too. There's alot of good deep violin playing and other types of classical scores making the moments sound perfectly dark. Also we have different female chanting sounds for the terrorising of the children and peaceful sounds for the ending of the movie. This was nicely put together by Stephen Edwards.