Children of the Corn: Runaway is merely the latest sequel of a long-running franchise that had an okay first movie while this one was rather weak and, worse yet, a bit on the dull side which then turned into confusion.
Children of the Corn: Runaway
(2018)
Genre(s): Horror, Suspense/Thriller, Drama
Lionsgate | NR – 82 min. – $21.99 | March 13, 2018
Date Published: 03/13/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 2.0/5 |
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Children of the Corn: Runaway is, by my count, the ninth (sheesh) movie of the vaunted franchise and comes seven years after the last entry, Genesis. Now, I’ve actually only ever seen the first film and have very little interest in catching up with the others. As for this one, it teetered from being utterly boring to bizarrely perplexing… and not in a good way. Runaway focuses on a woman named Ruth (MARCI MILLER) and her son Aaron (JAKE RYAN SCOTT), constantly on the move going from town to town and only staying a day or two. Ruth is running from her past where she was part of the child cult and when she became pregnant with Aaron, they wanted the child… not entirely sure why, guess so he might be the chosen one to lead? In any case, Ruth and Aaron are pulled over and due to a problem with the truck, and that Ruth has no identification and frankly acted just a bit suspicious, and end up in the small town of Luther, Oklahoma. In need of money, she seeks an open job as a mechanic from Rally (KEVIN HARVEY) who, eventually, not only gives her the job but also a nice house for the two to stay in. Before she can even get settled in, Ruth begins to see some creepy children, including a little girl in a yellow dress who brings in the horror to the film taking out then locals, one in fact a little like Jigsaw to be honest… This is a movie that I actually hated but found more on the dull side early on and later downright confusing until the very end which made very little sense given what was seen earlier in conjunction with the “twist”. The performances were adequate enough but nobody really stood out. Marci Miller is a relative newcomer and manages to utter the stilted dialogue and get through some of the more inane moments well enough, though I suspect she’s the type of actress who will fill in the variety of roles in any direct-to-video horror or drama in the future. Children of the Corn: Runaway was helmed by John Gulager and he’s no stranger to the genre having previously directed the Feast trilogy and Piranha 3DD, heck even has a SyFy TV movie called Zombie Night on there! I’m not sure if Gulager was hampered by a half-baked screenplay — written by Joel Soisson whose own resume isn’t so pretty (2 Pulse movies, 3 Dracula films and a couple Prophecy DTV sequels) — but there’s really no style to this and nary a scare to be found, even if you take this as a slow burn psychological horror flick, which I presume that’s what Gulager/Soisson were after. Boiling it down, Children of the Corn: Runaway is just another lackluster entry in a franchise that frankly should’ve ended some time ago. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.0/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover and includes a code for the Digital HD copy. The only feature is a Deleted Scene (1:52; HD). |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Children of the Corn: Runaway is presented with a 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. For the most part, it is a satisfying picture with some sharp detail while colors generally moved more towards the natural tones than anything bright or multihued. |
AUDIO – 3.75/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is basic but decent. Dialogue comes through the center channel with relative clarity as the front and rear speakers were mainly relegated for the variety of screams by the victims and there is a bit of depth with the standard but sufficient score. |
OVERALL – 2.0/5 |
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Overall, Children of the Corn: Runaway is merely the latest sequel of a long-running franchise that had an okay first movie while this one was rather weak and, worse yet, a bit on the dull side. The Blu-ray release has good video and audio transfers but with only one deleted scene, basically no bonus material. |