Children of the Corn: Genesis (Review)
United States/2011
Format Viewed For Review: Netflix Instant
Netflix Streaming: Yes
Amazon Prime: No
"...the horror is nearly nonexistent..."
When
their car breaks down on the scenic route, Tim (Corey Walker) and Allie
(Kelen Coleman) find themselves in a remote farmhouse with a mysterious
man known as Preacher (Billy Drago)...
Children of the Corn:
Genesis follows Tim and Allie as they call for a tow. The pair won't be
able to leave for another day, so Preacher allows them to stay the
night. The couple are told not to wander, but, of course, Allie does so
anyway. They find that there may be a kid in danger, and soon find
themselves trapped in the home by a mysterious force. Some
hallucinations and mistrust occurs, then it leads to this big set-piece
climax that feels like it belongs in Bad Boys 2. I didn't like the
ending, either.
In fact, I didn't like most of Children of the
Corn: Genesis. Before I get too deep into this review, I'd just like to
state: I'm not all too familiar with Genesis and the bible. The only
Genesis I'm familiar with right now is Terminator: Genesys, and I don't
think that's the same genesis. Anyway, this film suffers from the same
basic issues most horror films suffer from nowadays. The characters are
insufferable, the horror is nearly nonexistent, and the story is riddled
with clichés and illogical plot points.
First and foremost, the
characters are annoying and not too bright. Right off the bat, Allie
comes off as annoying with her snarky attitude and poor decisions. This
is the type of character that does all of the wrong things, like
jeopardizing your safety by insulting an ominous man or crapping on your
house rules. This is the type of character that grips her purse because
she's in a low-income part of town. Tim, on the other hand, is nearly
incompetent -- he really can't do anything right for some particular
reason.
The horror doesn't fair much better. There are some
suspenseful scenes, but most of it is due to convenience. For example,
there this dragged out scene where Tim takes forever to return something
to its rightful place while his wife is used as a distraction. This was
somewhat suspenseful, but then you start screaming at the screen
because Tim is so damn incompetent! (Okay, I digress) Otherwise, there
isn't much horror going on. There isn't an ominous atmosphere, there are
very few jump-scares, there's hardly any violence... It's pretty much
deprived of horror.
The story is interesting, but the execution
is flawed. It offered enough for me to watch it until the end, but there
are some holes in the plot, as well as some sloppy storytelling. Also,
for a Children of the Corn film, there are hardly any children in this
film, let alone any corn. It's not the worst story I've ever seen,
but it definitely doesn't do much to differentiate itself or even
entertain its audience. I liked some of the telekinesis aspects, but
that is barely used. The ending with the highway scene didn't make much sense, either; why did they follow the car-carrier when cars were clearly falling off it? They could have just pulled over! All-in-all, it doesn't seem to have much, even for a
mere 80 minute runtime.
The acting is okay. Kelen Coleman plays
her character well and Corey Walker is passable; the car scene
towards the end with these two was fairly bad, though. Billy Drago
is good, though. There some good-looking scenes here, some of the
scenery shots are nice. I don't remember much of the music. Writer and
director Joel Soisson has an interesting story in hand, but his
execution is flawed. It shows promise, though. It could've been a good film with more polish, but, in this form, it feels rushed and sloppily made.
Overall,
I didn't like Children of the Corn: Genesis. The film has some
interesting elements, like some plot points and the telekinesis, but the
positive is easily overshadowed by the negative. The characters are
shallow and annoying, the plot is occasionally confusing and contrived,
and there is a severe lack of effective horror. If you're looking to
watch every film in the series, it may be worth your time. Otherwise,
there are far better horror films to spend those precious 80 minutes on
-- why don't you try [Rec]?
Score: 3/10
Parental Guide: Some violence and blood, some sexuality. (An areola slip.)
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