The Reaping: A Boring "Religious" Horror

Christian missionary turned scientist and religious miracle debunker, Katherine Winter, is called to investigate a small town in which the townspeople believe it is being attacked by the ten Biblical plagues. They believe that one little girl, Loren McConnell, is responsible because she is the child of Satan.

*yawn* I've little to say about this movie but I'll do my best. I saw previews of this movie months ago and thought it looked a bit like The Seventh Sign (1988) with Demi Moore but I wanted to give it a chance. What I got was a real yawner, nothing like the much better Seventh Sign. In fact, the first three-quarters of The Reaping almost put me to sleep. That first majority of the movie is basically a straight-up detective/investigative story. There is just a scientific investigation and discussion of the plagues in the Bible which we don't really see except for the blood red river. Only after that do we really get into the supernatural and horror aspects. Then it goes from boring to almost entertaining but still mediocre.

The story is unoriginal and predictable. It's your typical hick town of religious nutcases with a young girl, Loren McConnell, who is suspected of killing her older brother, Brody, turning the river into blood and, naturally, the child of Satan. Believable stuff like that. Clergy woman turned scientist and religious miracle debunker, Katherine Winter and her assistant, Ben, are called in to help find a plausible reason for the river turning red (the first of the Biblically predicted plagues) and to help alleviate the town's overly-religious and superstitious citizens. What follows is a slow, boring and tedious investigation into the river turning red and other plagues that arise, such as frogs floating dead in the river and cows becoming sick and going mad. Boring, boring, boring! Only after the river samples come back from the lab as being confirmed as real blood does the story pick up a little bit. Then the townsfolk create a mob to kill Loren. It's fairly entertaining after that point, comparatively speaking. Still, it's very predictable what happens next until the ending.

Another part of the story is reticent of The Exorcist - that being Katherine's denial of the existence of God after being a devout missionary. She was in a superstitious third world city along with her husband and daughter and the townspeople blame and kill them for causing their problems. Before Katherine is called to the hick town about the red river, she receives a call from her friend, Father Costigan. He claims to have seen a bad religious symbol on a group of her photos. After she arrives there, he gives her religious advice. He says that the Bible speaks of a child of Satan imitating God by causing the town's plagues.

One part of Katherine's past that bugs me is that we see it throughout the movie as confusing dream flashbacks. I've always been against seeing characters' pasts through non-sequential flashbacks. So this annoyed me. And weird abstract confusing dreams rarely work in video form, at least for me. Of course, some viewers probably enjoy it and say to their friends "heavy man, heavy!" while I just say "what the f$%@ did I just see? who cares?"

The acting is good. Hilary Swank puts in a solid performance Katherine Winter and Idris Elba is very likeable as her assistant, Ben. AnnaSophia Robb plays great as Loren McConnell but doesn't talk until the end. She reminds me a little of Dakota Fanning. The rest of the cast is okay but no one stands out.

The SFX are few but believable. Nothing really gory here.

The twist ending is REALLY predictable. I saw it coming almost from the beginning. It sets itself up for a sequel; oh God! No pun intended.

Overall, this an unoriginal, predictable and mediocre film with nothing new to the Biblical plagues child of Satan type movies. Stick with The Seventh Sign for a much better movie in every way. Hilary Swank carries the film but it's not enough to pull this one out of the land of mediocrity. Watch this at your own risk but you've been warned! However, it's not a total wash out. It might entertain you if you set your expectations low. 2/5 stars.

Cast/Characters:
Hilary Swank ... Katherine Winter
David Morrissey ... Doug
Idris Elba ... Ben
AnnaSophia Robb ... Loren McConnell
Stephen Rea ... Father Costigan
William Ragsdale ... Sheriff Cade
John McConnell ... Mayor Brooks
David Jensen ... Jim Wakeman
Yvonne Landry ... Brynn Wakeman
Samuel Garland ... William Wakeman
Myles Cleveland ... Kyle Wakeman
Andrea Frankle ... Maddie McConnell
Mark Lynch ... Brody McConnell
Stuart Greer ... Gordon
Lara Grice ... Isabelle
Cody Sanders ... Hank Small
Burgess Jenkins ... David Winter
Sabrina A. Junius ... Sarah Winter
Jillian Batherson ... Janet
Karen Yum ... Nun
Afemo Omilami ... Haman
Axel C. Cartagena ... Chilean Boy
Javier Ortiz Cortés ... Monastery Cop
Iris Martínez ... Old Chilean Woman
Axel Anderson ... Blind Man
Robert Alonzo ... Hazmat Worker #1
Eddie J. Fernandez ... Hazmat Worker #2
Abraham Henderson ... Man Speaking in Tongues #1
Felipe Febres Rivera ... Man Speaking in Tongues #2
Gregorio Allende ... Man Speaking in Tongues #3
Sixta Rivera Romero ... Woman Speaking in Tongues

Directed by
Stephen Hopkins

Writing credits
(WGA)
Carey Hayes (screenplay) (as Carey W. Hayes) &
Chad Hayes (screenplay)
Brian Rousso (story)