Movie Info
Movie Name: Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror
Studio: Dimension Films
Genre(s): Horror/B-Movie
Release Date(s): June 21, 1998
MPAA Rating: R
Hey…she fell on my scythe…a lot
A group of teens prepare to say goodbye to their friends with a weekend in the country when tragedy strikes. Alison (Stacy Galina), Greg (Alexis Arquette), Kir (Eva Mendes), and Tyrus (Greg Vaughan) find themselves stuck in a small town. Alison discovers a group of children led by a boy named Ezekial (Adam Wylie) and cared for by a man named Luke Enright (David Carradine) worship “He Who Walks Behind the Rows”…the religion who took her brother Jacob (Dave Buzzotta). Now, Alison is out to discover if Jacob is with the other children, and she could find the horror that they worship.
Written and directed by Ethan Wiley, Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror is a low-budget straight-to-video horror movie. Following Children of the Corn IV: The Following in 1996, the movie received negative reviews.
For the most part, the Children of the Corn series is pretty bad. Generally, they are bad in the sense that they are just really average horror films with no scares. Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror is one of those bad films…but at least it falls into so-bad-it-is-good territory.
Gotta eat your Smeat!
The movie moves it location from the Midwest to a very California looking location with mountains surrounding the corn fields (weak corn fields at that). It starts out about a group of friends concerned their other two friends were murdered, but they get over that rather quickly. It then becomes about Allison rescuing her brother from the “He Who Walks Behind the Rows” cult that worships a burning silo. Chaos of course ensues and at one point you have David Carradine’s head popping open and burning a hole in Fred Williamson’s head like a blowtorch with no explanation…it is that type of movie.
The cast is surprisingly good (another common threat of many of the Children of the Corn films). It is an early role for Eva Mendes as the easily suggestible Kir (who is obviously not 17 years old) and Alexis Arquette in a pre-transition role is the Smeat loving Greg. The movie features small roles for David Carradine, Ahmet Zappa, Fred Williamson, and Jason Voorhees himself Kane Hodder as a bartender.
I give the movie this…I could have never called what happened in this scene
The film is pretty cheap looking and it doesn’t really inspire any fear. Adam Wylie (who was appearing in Picket Fences) at the time isn’t the worst evil kid, but he’s no Isaac or Malachai. David Carradine had the potential to be a scary cult leader but fails when he becomes a Zippo lighter, and the killer silo isn’t even as scary as the big groundhog from the first film (which you can debate is scary).
Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror only terror lies in its title. It is virtually a comedy that happens to have a lot of murders and unplanned laughs. Since it is so bad, it can be a fun watch with friends and on a “bad movie night”, but be warned, you might need a lot of alcohol or other substances to make it worth your wild. Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror was followed by Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return in 1999.
Related Links:
Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1993)
Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995)
