Nothing kickstarts a tired horror franchise like a massive change in direction—Wes Craven's New Nightmare and Bride Of Chucky are good examples—and few horror franchises could use a shot of energy quite as desperately as the Children Of The Corn series. Children Of The Corn 666 (which follows Children Of The Corn V, not Children Of The Corn 665) tries to have it both ways, recycling from its predecessors while still messing with the Children Of The Corn mythology because, well, there's no real reason not to. A hapless young woman (Natalie Ramsey) travels to the godforsaken town of Gatlin to find her birth mother, oblivious to the evil being carried out in the name of the demonic He Who Walks Behind The Rows. Along the way, she encounters a handful of the town's eccentric denizens, including country doctor Stacy Keach, Go hunk Nathan Bexton, and an embarrassed-looking Nancy Allen. While there's a clear limit to how good a film in this series can be—even the original was universally panned—Children Of The Corn 666's sleazy, exploitative energy carries it through its brief 82-minute running time. And even if the final twist doesn't make a whole lot of sense, it does display an anything-goes irreverence that makes 666 among the best in the series. That's not a ringing endorsement, but at least it's about as good as could reasonably be expected.