Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Greg Spence and starring Naomi Watts, Brent Jennings, and Karen Black. It is the fourth film in the Children of the Corn series. The plot follows a medical student returning to her hometown in Nebraska, where she finds the children to be falling under a mysterious mass illness connected to the town's past. The film expands upon the origins of "He Who Walks Behind the Rows". The film marked the first time Naomi Watts received first billing, and was also the debut of actor Mark Salling. The film was followed by an unrelated sequel entitled Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998). Plot Medical student Grace Rhodes (Naomi Watts) returns to her hometown of Grand Island, Nebraska to take care of her agoraphobic mother June (Karen Black), who refuses to leave her yard. She is having recurring nightmares of being attacked by children. Grace must also look after her younger siblings, James and Margaret. She takes a job at Dr. Larson's local clinic, where she'd worked before. James and Margaret become ill, showing similar symptoms to those of the children in June's dreams. While working at Dr. Larson's office the next day, Grace notices that many other kids have the same symptoms. During the night all of the kids get worse as their fevers skyrocket. Suddenly it all stops and the fevers drop. Local parents Donald (Brent Jennings) and Sandra Atkins notice that their son Marcus is acting strangely. One night, a group of children descend upon the house, led by a child preacher, and Sandra is murdered in front of Marcus. The police arrive and question Donald; Marcus flees into a field and is chased by the sheriff, whom the child preacher confronts and kills. A suspect in his wife's murder, Donald goes into hiding and is taken in by two elderly sisters, Jane and Rosa (Marietta Marich). The children stop answering to their names and claim to be other people; longtime resident Dr. Larson recognizes the names they use as those of dead children from the town's history. One night, he is killed in his office by two children. When Grace arrives the next day, his body has vanished, and the children's blood tests reveal inexplicable signs of decay and death. June's recurring nightmares start up again—but she is not dreaming;