Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return (1999)

Movie Info

Doctors are certainly “hands on” in Gatlin

Hannah Martin (Natalie Ramsey) has always wondered about her life before she was adopted and has decided on the verge of her nineteenth birthday to seek out her birthmother in the town of Gatlin.  Gatlin has had a long history of death and sacrifice and when Hannah returns it could not only reawaken the speaker of the word Isaac (John Franklin), but a prophecy of evil.  Time is running out for Isaac’s word to become reality, and Isaac and his followers will stop at nothing to ensure the prophecy occurs.

Directed by Kari Skogland, Children of the Corn 666:  Isaac’s Return is a horror movie.  Based on ideas from Stephen King’s 1977 short story “Children of the Corn” which was originally published in Penthouse (March 1977) and was later part of his short story collection Night Shift, the film is a sequel to Children of the Corn V:  Fields of Terror from 1998 and released direct-to-video.

I’ll be your Malachi, Isaac

The creepy Isaac was a highlight of Children of the Corn which frankly isn’t the best movie (though it has some good jumps).  Isaac however was nailed to a cross like a Jesus scarecrow, shot into the sky, and returned as a demon seeking Malachi…now, he’s back from a coma (which doesn’t really make much sense).

The story is pretty typical of Children of the Corn (and most of its sequels).  A stranger rolls into Gatlin, gets caught up in the cult of “He Who Walks Behind the Rows”, and discovers leaving Gatlin is harder than expected.  The idiot stranger this time is Hannah…the first born daughter of the children and “the future” for their beliefs.  She is prophesized to join the first born son in carrying out the word from Gatlin.  This is all supposed to be before her nineteenth birthday and of course keeping herself from sleeping with someone for like two days is the challenge.  Even when she is seduced, she can’t say “can we just wait fifteen minutes to be sure”…nope…it’s sex time.

Blah, blah, blah, “Corn”, blah, blah, blah…let’s eat cake!

Like many of the Children of the Corn movies, Isaac’s Return manages to snag some names for the movie.  Nancy Allen and Stacy Keach are the “famous” actors who appear in this one and Natalie Ramsey is pretty average as the lead (there have been worse).  John Franklin continues to be a hook even years later as the odd Isaac, and the movie is worth visiting to see Isaac back (though he is underused).

Visually, the movie is low budget.  Even in comparison to some of the sequels, it feels like Children of the Corn 666:  Isaac’s Return is really cheap.  There aren’t really many special effects, the deaths are mundane, and you can only get so much use out of running through a cornfield at this point (most of which happens in the dark which also doesn’t help).

Children of the Corn 666:  Isaac’s Return is what it is.  The movie is rather bland, but it is the type of bland you can put on and halfway listen to.  The movie isn’t shocking or surprising and lacks suspense or scares (so pretty much everything a horror movie might need).  It does have the return of a strange creepy guy and a continuation to a story that probably doesn’t need to keep going.  Children of the Corn 666:  Isaac’s Return was followed by Children of the Corn:  Revelation in 2001.

Related Links:

Children of the Corn (1984)

Children of the Corn II:  The Final Sacrifice (1993)

Children of the Corn III:  Urban Harvest (1995)

Children of the Corn IV:  The Gathering (1996)

Children of the Corn V:  Fields of Terror (1998)