Children of the Corn: Runaway Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Children of the Corn: Runaway Blu-ray Movie Review

The Story of Ruth.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 19, 2018

In our recent The Shape of Water Blu-ray review, I mentioned how that film’s use of another film, 1960’s The Story of Ruth, struck me as at least a little strange since I personally couldn’t divine any strong tether of content or theme to link it to the main Shape of Water emphasis on “who exactly is the freak”. There’s another kind of "story of Ruth" at play in Children of the Corn: Runaway, and at least in this instance it’s not hard to spot who the freaks are, since this franchise has never been shy about identifying murderous children under the sway of “He Who Walks Behind the Rows”. In this ninth “feature film” (albeit straight to video) enterprise in the series (one which also spawned a tenth made for television entry in 2009), Ruth (Marci Miller) is in fact a runaway from the murderous cult which has been the focus of the series, though she’s not alone (in more ways than one). She makes her escape from what one assumes is Gatlin (this film as with several others in the series isn’t especially contextualized in terms of geography), albeit pregnant and actually in labor, perhaps due to the stress of having set the mayhem prone cornfield on fire before she left. This entire setup is presented with voiceover by an unnamed young man, who is soon enough identified to be Aaron (Jake Ryan Scott), Ruth’s son whom she gave birth to in the wake of the conflagration she had set. In a perhaps bit of too on the nose screenwriting, the film’s prologue that sets up this chain of events ends with Ruth repeating “You can have him, you can have him,” as she struggles with her labor pains, despite the fact that the voiceover implies that Ruth, having seen so many of her friends die in the cornfield, wasn’t about to let He Who Walks Behind the Rows have her newborn as well. Evidently not having an epidural handy during labor can lead to a sudden change of attitude.

Note: While Stephen King's short story hasn't always provided all of the source material for the many Children of the Corn films, completists may want to peruse some of the series that have had Blu-ray releases, though in the "caveat emptor" department, fans should be aware some of these titles have been released in various versions and combo packages, so this is not a complete list:

Children of the Corn (note that this link points to the relatively recent Arrow release that I reviewed -- that review itself contains link to two other previous releases of this film, for those interested)

Children of the Corn Series: Multi- Feature

Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror / Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return

Children of the Corn: Genesis

In a way, getting Ruth and her son “out and about” is both an interesting decision and perhaps a fatal flaw for this latest Children of the Corn entry. If the series might metaphorically be thought of as at least sometimes “bringing the mountain to Mohammed”, i.e., having luckless visitors stumble into the mayhem of the cornfield and the apparently abandoned town, Children of the Corn: Runaway struggles at times at it delivers its “Mohammed” (i.e, Ruth) to a new “mountain”, where it seems that He Who Walks Behind the Rows has gotten considerably more ambulatory and is venturing out and about much like Ruth herself (this last is said with tongue obviously firmly in cheek).

That conceit tends to falter at times as the film tends to try to have its cake and eat it, too (so to speak) by suggesting that two things are happening: it’s all in Ruth’s head, and it’s all “really” happening. It’s an uneasy fit, as may be gleaned by that very description, and it tends to make this film’s kind of sparse kill scenes arguably less effective than they might otherwise be. The upshot of all the drama is that Ruth and her now teenaged son arrive in a “new” isolated town where Ruth quickly manages to secure a job as a mechanic, but where strange goings on continue to haunt her and Aaron.

If the horror side of Children of the Corn: Runaway is only fitfully engaging, there’s actually a nice mood set throughout the piece by director John Gulager (son of Clu, who appears in a bit in the film). The film’s use of wide open spaces contrasting with the increased paranoia of Ruth, along with a good utilization of what I’d term “Fellini-esque” faces in terms of some of the townsfolk gives Children of the Corn: Runaway a nice feeling of unease. But there’s nothing really all that actually scary in the film, and the lack of marauding children tends to make the film itself a “runaway” of sorts from the franchise’s very foundational premise.

Children of the Corn: Runaway Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Children of the Corn: Runaway is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films and Dimension Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is by and large a nice looking transfer that preserves some crisp digitally captured imagery of gorgeous countryside locations. Detail levels are typically quite excellent throughout this presentation, even when lighting conditions aren't completely optimal. The palette is generally pretty natural looking throughout the film, though some flashback or other "POV" material has been excessively graded and in some cases intentionally distressed (see screenshots 6 and 9). In these moments, detail levels understandably fall pretty dramatically. There's a somewhat soft, dewy look to many of the outdoor shots, something that actually contrasts kind of nicely with the underlying tension of the situation. What I assume was a miniscule budget means that the production values here aren't extremely high, but within that context things look generally fine here.

Children of the Corn: Runaway Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Children of the Corn: Runaway features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that struggles at times to deliver "wow" sonics simply because this film doesn't really exploit hyperbolic death scenes (with perhaps one notable exception). As such, surround activity is delivered mostly via ambient environmental sounds, which includes things like the cornfield being set aflame early in the film or, later, some of the well rendered effects inside the repair shop where Ruth finds employment. Dialogue and score are offered cleanly and clearly and with smart prioritization. Aaron's voiceover is anchored front and center and resonates very well.

Children of the Corn: Runaway Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scene - Found a Rabbit (1080p; 1:52)

Children of the Corn: Runaway Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a kind of odd entry in the Children of the Corn franchise, and while some of it works (at least in fits and starts), my hunch is this latest installment simply won't be scary or unsettling enough to really excite fans. Technical merits are generally strong for those considering a purchase.