Originally subtitled FIELD OF SCREAMS, this is a well-intentioned but ultimately ineffective attempt to take the CHILDREN OF THE CORN franchise in a more dramatic direction.
A young quartet--Alison (Stacy Galina), Greg (Alexis Arquette), Tyrus (Greg Vaughan), and Kir (Eva Mendez)--drive to a rural area with the cremated remains of Kurt, Kir's recently deceased boyfriend. Little do they know that a murderous cult of local children, headed by Ezekiel (Adam Wylie), has
murdered Laszlo (Ahmet Zappa) and Charlotte (Angela Jones), two more of Kurt's pals who had preceded them there. The group crash their car, are briefly confronted by Ezekiel and his followers, and find their way into town, where they learn that the kids are in thrall to mysterious Lucas Enright
(David Carradine) and a deity called "He Who Walks Behind the Rows." Alison realizes that this is the cult her brother Jacob joined years before.
Alison insists on staying to find Jacob, and the others reluctantly agree. Alison tracks Jacob (Dave Buzzotta) down and learns that, like all the kids, he must sacrifice himself to He Who Walks on his 18th birthday--the next day. But instead of leaping into the burning silo housing the evil
spirit, Jacob flees, and Kir, still anguished by Kurt's death, jumps in in his place. Jacob is captured and stabbed by Ezekiel's minions, and when local sheriff Skaggs (Fred Williamson) confronts Lucas, the latter becomes a demonic creature, kills Skaggs and then expires himself. Alison, Greg, and
Tyrus discover the dying Jacob; Greg and Tyrus are slain by the children, but Alison manages to pitch Ezekiel into the burning silo before extinguishing the demonic flame with fertilizer. Later, she adopts the baby Jacob had with one of the cult girls--an infant whose eyes glow with evil.
FIELD OF TERROR's story is notably busier than that of the previous CHILDREN films, and it's to writer-director Ethan Wiley's credit that he has attempted to reimagine the basics of this seemingly pointless series. As opposed to the rural fanatics of past installments, the children here are mostly
troubled youth who have fled abusive homes and unhappy lives to follow Lucas and Ezekiel--an updated touch that gives the story more resonance. Unfortunately, Wiley's development of his premise is shaky, and he seems to have felt compelled to throw in generic horror set pieces at the expense of a
more realistic approach.
Too much of the film is simply implausible, from the fact that Alison would just happen to stumble upon the cult that long ago seduced her brother to Kir's apparently sudden decision to kill herself. Some of Wiley's dialogue is equally unbelievable, and there are a number of ill-timed humorous
moments reminiscent of his previous feature, HOUSE II: THE SECOND STORY (1987). If nothing else, FIELD OF TERROR does suggest that the CHILDREN movies might still have possibilities, but it hardly makes one anxious to see future installments of the series. (Graphic violence, sexual situations,
adult situations, profanity.) leave a comment
