Colheita Maldita: Fugitivos

2018 has been a poor year, we simply haven't had very many decent movies and this latest (And hopefully last) offering from the Children of the Corn franchise hasn't helped matters.

For a movie to attain a 1/10 from me means it had no redeeming features at all and Runaway fails to tick a single box.

The plot is baffling and simply doesn't connect to the other films, the pace is an 82 minute sleeping pill and it's hard to even identify this as a Children of the Corn movie.

In fact if I didn't know any better I'd say this was a movie released that didn't do very well so they decided to add the franchise name to it to increase popularity.

At no point did it even remotely engage me, I was bored to tears and waited the entire duration of the film for something to happen or at least something to be explained.

I said several movies ago that this series needed to die, this is the final nail in the coffin.

The Good:

Absolutely nothing

The Bad:

Incredibly boring

Plot makes no sense

Doesn't feel connected to the rest of the movies at all

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I learnt that not all brands of pain reliever will assist in removing a migraine as big as this movie caused!

When I saw the name Gulager it reminded me of the great old actor Clu Gulager who starred alongside greats like Lee Marvin in The Killers and immediately my interest was perked when I saw his name in the cast list - sadly his son who directed this I beleive hasnt a clue how to make a horror movie.

It is as though he watched the original movie and then went on to make this which in no way has any bearing on the original - there are hardly any scenes where even corn is featured just a little girl running around and patchy flashback scenes.

Totally forgettable; when I start to wish it was all over after 30 mins then you know the film is bad and its bad - The leading actress is the only redeeming feature - sexy and she can act but that is about it and we only see Clu Gulager for a 3 minute scene - what a waste!

The last Children of the Corn remake was a hundred times better than this even though it wasnt all that good either - avoid the tedium and bypass this poor effort!

Children of the Corn: Runaway (2018)

1/2 (out of 4)

Ruth (Marci Miller) is a member of the killer children but when she discovers she's pregnant she burns the other children and heads off with her unborn child to give it a better life. Thirteen years later Marci and her son are trying to start over in a new town but pretty soon she begins to feel that the children are after her.

You know, I love horror films and I especially love horror series. Sure, the majority of them don't deliver as many good films as bad ones but I still get a thrill whenever a new sequel is announced to a series. One could really argue that the entire CHILDREN OF THE CORN series hasn't turned out any good films but sadly this one here is without question the worst yet. It's really too bad that this film turned out to be so awful but there's very little here to enjoy.

I'm really not sure what director John Gulager and writer Joel Soisson were trying to do with the picture but it's one of the most boring films that I've seen in recent years. The problem with the screenplay is that we're given a lead character that is downright boring and it's someone that the viewer simply doesn't care for. Another major problem with the screenplay is that there are way too many dream sequences and these just get rather tiresome after a while. Heck, I'd even argue that it seems the two are trying to make something other than a CHILDREN OF THE CORN film but were forced to throw that subplot in to sell the film.

I really hated most of this movie with a passion. I hated the characters, the setting and the story. There wasn't anything here that I really enjoyed and even the short running time seemed triple what it really was. I'm not sure if the director was trying to deliver some sort of psychological movie but it doesn't work. There's a minor issue with the lead character working for a black man and a local principle causing some trouble. What was all of this about?

The one saving grace to the film was Lynn Andrews III who plays the black boss. Again, I'm not exactly sure what the screenplay was trying to do with his character but the actor was very good here and I hope to see him in other projects. CHILDREN OF THE CORN: RUNAWAY has the perfect title because you really should runaway from this film and avoid it at all costs.

Perhaps if you like loads of blood-soaked murders, then maybe you'll find some value in this 9th installment of the series, based originally on a Stephen King short story. I was hard pressed to find anything of value here, as the movie was just filled with bleakness and grimness.

Marci Miller stars as Ruth, who escaped from a murderous and demonic children's cult in Nebraska to try and protect her soon to be born baby. Now thirteen years later, she's trying to establish roots in the small town of Luther, Oklahoma with her now teenage son Aaron (Jake Ryan Scott). However, she will soon discover the demon-seed children are there also committing sadistic murders and haunting her with memories of her past.

For me, it all added up to a grisly turn-off, with even the twist at the end fairly well telegraphed. Overall, I would say don't waste your time or money here.

Here we are at Children of the Corn 9: Runaway. As a franchise, this series is a complete mess, with no sense of continuity, canon, or anything remotely interesting to keep viewers coming back. And if you are a fan, it must be crappy to see the powerful filmmakers constantly churning out crap with zero care. Parts 5 through 8 were made with little regard for anything, or anyone. And as if the last entry Genesis wasn't insultingly vague enough, we come to Runaway.

The good: this film is much more competently made and acted than most of the entries in this series, especially the cheap Genesis. Shot composition, lighting, music, performances, surprisingly top notch. There is some slightly cheap CGI but nothing that looks like total crap, just the low budget showing. You came for gore? You'll be happy to know there is quite a bit of blood in this film.

The bad: Starts off boring and kind of slow, and you wonder, where is this going?

The ugly: you then realise, it's going nowhere.

The plot concerns a young mother and her son. The mother, ably played by the pretty Marci Miller, belonged to the corn cult in Nebraska some time ago, but set fire to the corn and killed all of the kids and vanished. Since then, she's been a drifter with her son. She settles in the town of Luther, OK., gains a job as a mechanic, and tries to live her life with her son as normally as one can. However, the locals act strange and hostile, she sees visions of demonic kids (specifically an ethereal looking girl in a yellow dress), and random murders happen. Her boss, who initially takes pity on her, apparently only wants something else. And she kind of befriends a local waitress who acts a little too friendly. Don't worry, this doesn't add to much, despite all of this being the setup.

As I said, this movie goes nowhere. There is no satisfying pay off, no climax. The plot starts off straightforward, boring... but straightforward... there is the odd gore scene sprinkled here and there... then it comes to a "what?" conclusion.

It's more connected to the saga than the last few entries. Lots of mentions of Gatlin, He Who Walks Behind The Rows. The scenes in the cornfield are splendid and feel right. Too bad they don't happen more often. There are some stylish moments here and there (including a scene that I can only conclude is a modern take on the diner massacre from part 1), and as mentioned, the acting is all credible. The gore is good, nothing special though. But what the hell is it all for?

In short, this films makes zero sense.

Overall, it's a waste. You can have a well shot and well acted film, but when you have no plot, it doesn't added to anything.

For the curious only.