The Reaping (C or 2/4 stars)
'The Reaping' is a suspense/thriller directed by Stephen Hopkins. Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank) is a former Christian missionary who loses faith after her family is killed in Sudan. Now known as an expert in debunking religious miracles, a schoolteacher (David Morrissey) seeks her out and requests her presence in his small town of Haven, Louisiana. The town is suffering from what appears to be the Biblical plagues. And a little girl, Loren (AnnaSophia Robb), is believed to be the source of the recent evil. Swank is fine. The filming of the plagues is great. It's quickly paced, and intermittently entertaining amid the utter ridiculousness.
The 10 Biblical plagues: 1) Blood: the local river runs red after the death of a young boy. This sequence looks fantastic because the vivid green bayou is accentuated by the blood redness. 2) Frogs: they litter the red river. Katherine takes samples and runs tests on the river, dead fish, maggots, and the frogs. 3) Vermin: rats infest certain areas. 4) Beasts: a bull attacks a car that holds Katherine and her partner, Ben (Idris Elba). 5) Cattle Disease: cows are dying left and right. Their carcasses are burned in ditches across the farmlands. 6) Boils: several town authorities are infected. 7) Hail: self-explanatory. 8) Locusts: in a most impressive scene, thousands of locust swarm some townsfolk which subsequently makes all of us squirm in our seats. 9) Darkness: falls over the land in the climactic scene; lightning bolts shoot from the sky. 10) Slaying of the First Born: the pivotal plague which bookends this mish-mash of a plot.
The townsfolk are a wreck. It seems as if this girl who resides in the backwoods is a resident form of the devil. Is she and her family a part of a demonic cult? Is she responsible for the plagues, or is there another being who's orchestrating it all? Did she kill her older brother? Is he the all-important 'first born'? Will that have anything to do with the outcome of this movie? Is it all a hoax? Is there a scientific basis to this dilemma? Since Katherine can't rationally explain why these things are occurring, will she regain her faith?
With incredibly low expectations going in, I've come out with a better feeling of it after my viewing. 'The Reaping' isn't as scary as it is unsettling. I typically enjoy this type of film (mixing genres of mystery, suspense, religious undertones, gothic intrigue, etc). It isn't the most original film. Examples of scenes here can be taken straight from The Exorcist, The Skeleton Key, & Rosemary's Baby. As mentioned, the plot is ludicrous (getting worse and worse as it goes). Its 1st half is more cohesive than its' second, but it flew by rather quickly (in a positive way), and I did mildly enjoy some isolated parts amid the fantastical melodrama.
The 10 Biblical plagues: 1) Blood: the local river runs red after the death of a young boy. This sequence looks fantastic because the vivid green bayou is accentuated by the blood redness. 2) Frogs: they litter the red river. Katherine takes samples and runs tests on the river, dead fish, maggots, and the frogs. 3) Vermin: rats infest certain areas. 4) Beasts: a bull attacks a car that holds Katherine and her partner, Ben (Idris Elba). 5) Cattle Disease: cows are dying left and right. Their carcasses are burned in ditches across the farmlands. 6) Boils: several town authorities are infected. 7) Hail: self-explanatory. 8) Locusts: in a most impressive scene, thousands of locust swarm some townsfolk which subsequently makes all of us squirm in our seats. 9) Darkness: falls over the land in the climactic scene; lightning bolts shoot from the sky. 10) Slaying of the First Born: the pivotal plague which bookends this mish-mash of a plot.
The townsfolk are a wreck. It seems as if this girl who resides in the backwoods is a resident form of the devil. Is she and her family a part of a demonic cult? Is she responsible for the plagues, or is there another being who's orchestrating it all? Did she kill her older brother? Is he the all-important 'first born'? Will that have anything to do with the outcome of this movie? Is it all a hoax? Is there a scientific basis to this dilemma? Since Katherine can't rationally explain why these things are occurring, will she regain her faith?
With incredibly low expectations going in, I've come out with a better feeling of it after my viewing. 'The Reaping' isn't as scary as it is unsettling. I typically enjoy this type of film (mixing genres of mystery, suspense, religious undertones, gothic intrigue, etc). It isn't the most original film. Examples of scenes here can be taken straight from The Exorcist, The Skeleton Key, & Rosemary's Baby. As mentioned, the plot is ludicrous (getting worse and worse as it goes). Its 1st half is more cohesive than its' second, but it flew by rather quickly (in a positive way), and I did mildly enjoy some isolated parts amid the fantastical melodrama.