Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998)

This series has become a genre in itself, and therefore, people will like it or hate it. Personally, seeing the original COTC when I was growing up, it was not a great movie, but it had originality back in the era of Jason, Michael and Freddy.

It also tapped into childhood car trips into the country, with all the country sounds and smells, and of course, the claustrophobia of endless open spaces (which this movie breaks with to it's detriment, with it's mountain background), with rows and rows of corn, just too high to see over. This what the concept _does_ have going for it.

Now, it's just another vehicle for unknown actors to cut their teeth on, instead of daytime soap. Eva Mendez stands out, though, and her portrayal of Kir is both sensitive and fragile, while she is gorgeous to look at. She is being set up, though, and her killing herself over a boyfriend makes no sense whatsoever.

Because of the stale concept, there is very little suspense just there, and the director doesn't add any, either. You _know_ there is a cornfield possessed by a demon and a horde of "telepathic" children doing most of the killing for him. This being based on the 80's slasher concept, you also know that most of the protagonists are going to die. And they do. There's no suspense in that. Also, little Adam Wylie needs a lot more acting lessons.

What this series needs is more titanic battles, more ambivalent leads, more esoteric lore and simply more imagination on the part of the writers (plural). And a bigger budget too (which the original didn't have either). With the X-Files series running for 5 years now, I think there has been an over-exposure of horror, and what could shock in a movie a decade ago, now is something you're likely to see for free on week night television.