Children Of The Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice (1992)

 Children Of The Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice (1992)

Sometimes it happens that the second film in the franchise, ends up being the best film of the franchise, I feel like that is true with the Terminator films, and Halloween 2 is my favourite of that franchise, and it is also true that in the Children Of The Corn franchise that I feel like the second film in the franchise is the best in the franchise, it was also the last Children Of The Corn film to date to receive a theatrical release.  This film follows the events of the 1984 film Children Of The Corn, and shows the shocking discovery of what happened in Gatlin NE.  The children are taken in by families in the neighboring community of Hemingford NE.   The main characters are John Garrett and his son Danny, John is there to write an article for the newspaper that he works for about what happened in Gatlin, and his son Danny is stuck coming along for the ride they two but heads and don't get along at all.  They stay at a bed and breakfast ran by Angela who also took in one of the Gatlin children named Micah. Danny meets a beautiful local girl named Lacey and falls in love.
While investigating the events that happened in Gatlin, John befriends Dr. Frank Red Bear a professor of anthropology from the state university who is also looking into what happened in Gatlin.  But the children led by Micah are still gathering in the corn, and the cult might have moved the next town over but they are still worshipping "He Who Walks Behind The Rows", but what will be the fates of Danny and his father, and the good folks of Hemingford Nebraska?

Children Of The Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice was directed by David Price with a screenplay by A.L. Katz and Gilbert Adler.   The film is based on Stephen King's short story Children Of The Corn, and works as a direct sequel to the 1984 film adaptation of King's story.  As a sequel the film actually works quite well, other than the time period setting, with the first being set in the 1980s when it was filmed, and the second being set at the time period that it was filmed in the 1991. Children Of The Corn 2 was distributed by Dimension Films, and Miramax films, and Paramount handled some of the home video distribution, and released in 1992.  The film was a box office success  grossing $7 million with a budget of only $1.3 million, however the film did received mostly negative reviews from critics, and holds a very low score on online film review sites.  

Children Of The Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice stars Terence Knox as John Garrett, Paul Scherrer plays his son Danny Garrett, Ryan Bollman plays Micah, Christie Clark plays Lacey Hellerstat, Rosalind Allen plays Angela Casual, and Ned Romero plays Dr. Frank Red Bear.  I loved the cast of this film, Ryan Bollman plays such a great dark and creepy leader of the children's cult, Paul Scherrer reminds me slightly of Emilio Estevez in Maximum Overdrive, Christie Clark as Lacey has a breathtaking girl next door look (horror fans might remember her from Nightmare On Elm Street part 2).   The actors are all perfectly cast for their roles in this film.  The characters are also well written, and the film has some decent directing. 

Children Of The Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice might be the best looking film in the series, with an obviously higher budget than others in the franchise.   Some of the CGI effects that were used in the film, look pretty dated, but I feel like there is a certain nostalgia for early 1990's CGI effects, similar to the effects in The Lawnmower Man which would also come out in 1992.   I actually feel like those effects worked for this film, and didn't ruin it, like CGI effects often do.  I also feel like this film has a decent story, that builds upon the events of the original film, and upon King's short story.  The film also does this interesting thing, where it proposes potential causes for what happened, which are later proven incorrect, so like we as the viewer are trying to figure out the answers with John and Dr Red Bear, I like how that is done.  So the film has these false subplots, that we are lead to question if that is what is the truth behind it, because that is what the characters believe, rather than having knowledge that the characters don't.   This is an effect that won't work for all viewers, but I found it pretty effective.   The characters are well written and developed, and there is a nice story arc of Danny and John, and their relationship, as they face the trials and tribulations experienced in the film, as well as the love story elements for two couples in the film.   I really appreciate Malachi as the villian, he is well written, and plays the part well, he has an evilness to him that goes beyond the charismatic cult leader qualities that Isaac had in the original film, with Malachi there is this darker more sinister evil to him, he feels more of a supernatural evil compared to Isaac who felt more of a charismatic evil.  Like if you were talking Dungeons and Dragons alignments here I would say that Isaac was lawful evil, where as Malachi is more of a chaotic evil.   

If you have never seen Children Of The Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice, I think you should give it a chance.  The critics have never been kind to this film, but I do believe it is a much better film than it is given credit for.  This is in my opinion the best of the Children Of The Corn films, even better than the iconic original film.  I feel that this succeeds as a sequel logically building upon the events of the original film, it has great characters, that it is easy to care about and sympathize with.   The film also looks quite good, with nice (though dated) effects, and quality cinematography.  The film also has a nice pace to it, without feeling rushed, or dragging.   Sadly the film is hard to find on a stand alone copy, and you will most likely find it in a collection with other films from the series, but if you come across a copy I highly recommend picking it up.  It is just a great overall film and one that I think needs to get a second chance with the fans and critics.   I don't think that it is a must-see film, but it might rank among my favourite films, and by far the best in the franchise. 

Also just as an interesting fact, the original Children Of The Corn film, as well as the remake were filmed in Iowa, but Children Of The Corn 2 was instead filmed in Liberty North Carolina, which honestly looks a lot like the small town Iowa locations that were used in the first film.