Colheita Maldita 4: O Encontro

I first saw this in the late 90s on cable tv.

Revisited it recently.

Part 3 is so horrible that inspite of being on the series' marathon, i took a 5 months gap between this n part 3.

Late 80s n early 90s were my vhs days. Late 90s n early 2k were my cable tv n theatre days. Those were the days man.

This is the fourth in the series n much better than its predecessor.

Also this time the rural settings is back.

The film marked the first time Naomi Watts received first billing n she did a fine job.

The movie has lots of jump scares via dream sequences.

It is also very gory.

Fingers get chopped via a scythe, a fat doctor gets sliced into two parts, a fat alcoholic gets decapitated, etc.

A cop while investigating a murder along with other cops goes in the corn fields chasing a kid and later he gets killed while the remaining cops doesn't seem to bother where he disappeared or what happened to their fellow cop. Some mighty good direction there.

Also, a girl is submerged in a bathtub of blood n hell lottuva time passes but she is later revived back. This is another feather for the director.

The previous three Children of the Corn movie has all been theatrical releases, Children of the Corn: The Gathering is straight to video release, so you would think that this movie has a crappy production, so wrong! This movie is the best looking CotC movie ever made. Good camera-work, good editing, good directing, good sound design, good blood/gore, great casting. No doubt that this movie has good filmmakers behind the camera. Getting Naomi Watts starring was a great deal, I know this was before she became a Hollywood star, but she has a very charming and likable character and it fits her perfectly. Not only Naomi Watts, but the whole cast is great, and that's nothing usual in a CotC movie. Storywise is The Gathering a little different, it is like crossing a virus film with Children of the Corn, it kind of works i guess, some might not like it, I can see that. The Gathering has also a more serious tone and is much darker than previous movies. The Gathering is a different kind of CotC movie, but almost all of them are different, that's one of the things i like best about this series, unlike Friday the 13th where every movie is exactly the same, you know what they say, Children of the Corn movies is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

This movie is pretty cool compared to part 2 and 3. I really like the plot. It isn't too satanic. Naomi Watts and Jamie Renee Smith play excellent parts.

If a franchise is lucky enough to get to the fourth movie then it needs to be ready to adapt, it needs to be ready to change so that things don't get boring but stay true to its origins.

Here in "The Gathering" we see all the towns children get sick with a mysterious virus only to awakan claiming to be someone else. Soon the killings begin and it comes down to a young Naomi Watts to combat their evil scheme.

Going in I expected the worst, all 3 previous movies had failed to impress and could not be referred to anything beyond passable. Somehow this has been the best one so far and is true 90's horror at its core.

I think the whole Children Of The Corn concept has gotten somewhat over convoluted by this stage and doesn't even remotely resemble Stephen Kings creation. Regardless this is a passable enough little fluff piece that should keep fans of the series entertained.

The Good:

Looks great

Some inventive kills

The Bad:

Still suffers many of the franchises weaker tropes

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

A scythe to the genitals might be an unpleasant way to go

"Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering" is the fourth installment in the "Children of the Corn" series, and was surprisingly a decent sequel. After the horrible monster effects in Part III's finale (which almost completely ruined the movie for me) I was hoping "The Gathering" would head in a new direction, which it did. This sequel concerns a small town in the midwest. Naomi Watts plays Grace, a medical student who returns to care for her mother, and in turn, her young siblings, who begin to display a strange illness manifesting in all the town's children. Turns out that the cult of children are back, trying to recruit more young'ns (after killing their parents) into their organization for "he who walks behind the rows".

No doubt, one of the most memorable things about this film is Naomi Watts' performance, who showed chops even her in her first lead role. I'm sure most people who see this will recognize her from the hit Japanese remake "The Ring."

Even still, "Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering" is one of the standout films of the series for a variety of other reasons. It is well-shot, for one; while it is a direct-to-video picture, it surprisingly doesn't really look like one. There is an unnerving sleepiness to the film that plays off of the bucolic midwestern set pieces, and some phenomenally creepy sequences featuring Karen Black as Watts' agoraphobic mother. The film makes ample use of its dusty farmhouses and the sinister images of children lurking across the road.

Granted, the film does show its B-movie teeth in some of the murder sequences, which are far- fetched and at times absurd, but the splatter factor here is strong and the gore effects are rather convincing overall. Another obvious but vital element to this film working as well is it does is the strength of the performances. Watts, again, is great in her first lead here, and Karen Black is phenomenal as she always is— the role leaves her plenty of room to act out the eccentricities she does so well. Even the performances from the children are above-average for a film like this.

Overall, if you're a fan of the series, this is one of the better (and perhaps maybe the best) sequel. It's a "Children of the Corn" sequel, so obviously it is not a flawless film, but it is well-shot and there are a handful of genuinely effective moments to be had, and the film paces itself well without devolving into schlock. Enjoy your straight-to-video splat with a side of Watts and Karen Black— how can you go wrong? 7/10.