"Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice" is precisely what it appears to be from the ads, a cheapjack sequel to the idiotic first film, which was based on a Stephen King short story and could at least boast that Linda Hamilton was in the cast.

Here we have Terence Knox as a tabloid reporter with his estranged, smart-aleck son (Paul Scherrer), traveling through Gatlin, Neb. (wasn't the first film set in Iowa?), where 50 parents have been slaughtered by their kids.

For some reason, despite the heinous crime to which they were a part, the children are simply placed in local homes instead of sent to juvenile hall. So, naturally, they gather together at night and chant, worshiping "He Who Walks Behind the Rows." Or maybe it's "He Who Walks Behind the Rose."

The creature they worship is apparently a giant gopher in the cornstalks, though it's never made clear how or why this satanic incarnation has a hold on these kids.

The special effects and gore are very low-budget, and though some are intended as humorous, as when an older victim (Marty Terry, who plays two doomed women) has her home lowered on her (to parody "The Wizard of Oz"), all are very poorly handled.

"Children of the Corn II" is sort of "Village of the Damned" with an environmental edge, complete with a wisecracking American Indian (Ned Romero) who, in the end, walks off as a spirit in traditional Indian garb.

Right.

"Children of the Corn II" is rated R for considerable violence and gore, profanity, sex and brief nudity. We can only hope that the subtitle, "The Final Sacrifice," is truth in advertising.