The fourth "Children of the Corn" film takes things in a new direction with the series leaving the urban setting of the third film behind and taking the narrative back to the original small town Midwest setting. The story sees medical student Grace (Naomi Watts) returning home to care for her agoraphobic mother June (Karen Black) who is suffering from grisly nightmares. At the same time the children of the town begin to come down with a strange illness before being recruited into the murderous cult of "he who walks behind the rows". Despite its straight-to-video roots, "The Gathering" is a competently made effort with an interesting story and a number of creepy set-pieces as well as a decent splash of gore. A young Naomi Watts is highly likeable in one of her earliest roles while Karen Black is chilling as the haunted mother. There are plenty of senseless moments and stretches where nothing in particular happens, but overall this is a mildly entertaining film that manages to rise above its straight-to-video roots. ( )