Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return (Kari Skogland, 1999, USA)

Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return is the sixth installment in the Children of the Corn franchise, and the first to have any continuity with prior entries in the franchise. This time we are revisiting Isaac, the original leader of the Gatlin cult. Reprising the role is John Franklin, who also co-wrote the film and was instrumental in bringing the entire film about. Isaac has been in a coma for almost 20 years, but he awakens at the beginning of the film. Unfortunately, Isaac is not the creepy figure he was in the first film. He feels rather impotent here, and something is depressing about the whole affair.

The plot - from what can be gathered - involves Hannah, a woman who was born to members of the original Gatlin cult, returning to Gatlin to find her birth mother. There is a prophecy at work here. Children of the Corn 666 is perhaps the most muddled plot-wise of all the franchises. I had thought I was missing something as I was watching the film, but all reviews of the film agree that this movie is very hard to understand, and not in a good way. In principle, it was not a bad idea to bring back Isaac and revisit the original film, but in this instance, the execution is quite poor.

Another character named Gabriel, who looks like a character out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, turns out to be the actual "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" at the end of the film. There are some unintentional laughs during the finale. Children of the Corn 666 is the weakest entry in the franchise thus far, as it fails to deliver on any creepiness, nor does it have the self-referential laughs of Urban Harvest. Very weak entry into the franchise.

4/10