Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
Hattie
I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Scarlet
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
movie_jerk
In the next Star Trek film slated for 2011, Leonard Nimoy's intrepid Spock, again, travels back in time this time to warn the crew of the Starship Voyager of the dangers of the Bad Lands, thus sparing them their encounter with the Caretaker and thus sparing us the tedium of Ethan Phillips' Neelix, the Jar-Jar Binks of the Star Trek universe. I can dream, can't I? It is Ethan Phillips that stars along Jamie Alexander and Brian McNamara in David Benullo's Hallowed Ground, an insufferable exercise in rolled out horror clichés. Please, Ethan, this is what we get from an MFA from Cornell? Hallowed Ground, director David Benullo's second foray into directing since his nearly impossible to track down and deeply creepy (not in a good way creepy) incest fantasy, Cupid, left me with a few questions. Where in Kansas does corn grow on vines? How does one fall from a walk on role in I Know Who Killed Me to a starring role in Hallowed Ground (McNamara)? And how does crap like this get made in the first place? Does the pitch—or pitchfork— for an abortion like this go something like, "Yes, it's Children of the Corn meets Dark Night of the Scarecrow, you know a dense, indecipherable, mish-mash of every horror or slasher film made in the last thirty years." Who thought this was a good idea? At least Cupid had the paraphilic angle (I am truly praying Mr. Benullo doesn't have sisters), Hallowed, however, is early (pre-sobriety) Stephen King vomited up as uninspired horror, though a truly inspired and fervidly presented middle finger to rural, agricultural and Christian Americans. I don't know the man, however, my guess is he's a run-of-the-mill USC or NYU film school type, a typical, unthinking, and blinkered, North Easterner that has never spent time in the Midwest nor interacted with the people of rural America he so crudely portrays. It's a strange kind of bigotry. I'm not personally a religious man, but I find the way Christians are portrayed in this film deeply offensive. Would Mr. Benullo portray Muslim Americans in this kind of light? Unlikely. So that's it. Red state America is populated by mullet sporting, human sacrificing, scarecrow worshipping, Talaxians that grow mutant corn which grows on killer vines. Stay away from this garbage.
bobwildhorror
Compared to most of the dreck I've seen on the Sci Fi Channel, this wasn't bad. It had descent production values, acceptable acting, and a generally involving pace.But as many other reviewers have pointed out, it's so ridiculously derivative that it's sometimes difficult to watch. CHILDREN OF THE CORN is definitely an inspiration. Creepy town. Creepy cornfield. Crazed zealots loose.It's the climax that did me in, though. It was stolen verbatim from 1963's THE KISS OF THE VAMPIRE, although HALLOWED GROUND substitutes CGI crows for animated bats (and comes off the worse for it).It's always frustrating to see a film with potential, particularly an independent film, fail to capitalize on its assets. An original idea is all that was needed.
Sabalon
Most reviews make this out to be horrid. I watched it because of Jaimie Alexander and Hudson Leick. I wasn't expecting very much, especially with plot keywords like "Killer scarecrow", and it's not my particular favorite horror sub-genre.In the end, it wasn't that bad. It was somewhat predictable, falling prey to many clichés of the genre. It had a couple twists to make it seem to break away though. Overall the acting was OK...some of the townspeople seemed a little cardboard, but the leads do a good job.It could have done with a few less scenes of people running through cornfields, but at 83 minutes with credits, I think it needed all the time it could get. If you like Jaimie, it's a good view. While the storyline is a little generic, overall it is mostly put together well and better than some things out there.
James Hemphill
The film honestly isn't that outstanding, but I do give credit to the cast members, Jaimie Alexander,Nick Chinlund, and Chloe Moretz, they made the film bearable, Chloe being at such a young age did splendidly. About the film itself, it is nothing less of mundane sci-fi film.We have all seen the film before, crazed man back from the dead, goes on killing spree. The only twist being this one was a preacher, and he was a bit beyond insane when it came to sacrificing to "God" to keep away crow that had infested his fields. All in all it isn't a bad movie, but could have been much better, particularly the highly unbelievable CGI crow. I give the film a 7 out of 10, and that is being highly generous.
