The Reaping (2007) Warner Bros./Horror-Thriller RT: 99 minutes Rated R (violence, disturbing images, some sexuality, brief strong language) Director: Stephen Hopkins Screenplay: Carey Hayes and Chad Hayes Music: John Frizzell Cinematography: Peter Levy Release date: April 5, 2007 (US) Cast: Hilary Swank, David Morrissey, Idris Elba, AnnaSophia Robb, Stephen Rea, William Ragsdale, John McConnell, David Jensen, Yvonne Landry, Samuel Garland, Myles Cleveland, Andrea Frankle, Mark Lynch, Stuart Greer, Lara Grice. Box Office: $25.1M (US)/$62.7M (World)
Rating: ***
God love the Biblical horror movie that manages to keep a straight face amidst much silliness. It’s a miracle the actors in The Reaping never collapse into fits of laughter as its tale of a modern-day Ten Plagues unfolds. They had to know how ridiculous it all is, but somehow never let on. I’d never be able to do that myself.
I watched The Reaping with a slight smile on my lips. It’s goofy, no question about it, but it goes a little deeper than that for me. You’ll have to excuse me for once again waxing nostalgic about the B-movies of my cinematically misspent youth, but I can easily see it bearing the New World Pictures logo if it came out in the 80s. Like most of their output, it’s 100% pure junk, but entertaining in a way more serious-minded moviegoers will never understand. It’s one of those movies you just have to settle in and let happen.
Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) stars as Katherine, an ex-minister/missionary who lost her faith after her family was killed in Africa. She now travels around the world debunking so-called miracles by finding scientific explanations for them. At home in Louisiana, she’s approached by Doug (Morrissey, Basic Instinct 2), a science teacher from the small bayou town of Haven, who asks her to find out why the local river suddenly turned red. The small-minded locals believe it’s the first of the Ten Plagues described in the Bible. They blame it on a little girl, 12YO Loren (Robb, Because of Winn-Dixie), they believe killed her brother. You see, Haven is one of those backwoods religious communities that get only one radio station and it doesn’t play Top 40 hits.
Katherine and her assistant Ben (Elba, The Wire) show up and begin their investigation. She approaches it with her usual skepticism. She won’t be easily swayed, not even when dead frogs fall from the sky and local livestock starts dying off. That’s followed by a lice infestation and boils. So what’s going on? It has to do with a Satanic cult and a prophecy about a demonic child. The only thing missing is an exorcism.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a negative review of the Demi Moore supernatural thriller The Seventh Sign. Considering how much I like The Reaping, I may have to rethink it. It could be I simply wasn’t in the right frame of mind to enjoy it like I did the later religious horror picture. Directed by Stephen Hopkins (Predator 2), it doesn’t really stand to close scrutiny. Plus, it really goes off the rails in the third act when things get convoluted. I wouldn’t say it completely falls apart, but it definitely doesn’t hold together like it should. I’ll give the writers credit for coming up with a plausible scientific explanation for the Ten Plagues in the Bible though*. LOL! I can only imagine how this would have gone over with this Southern Baptist pastor I used to know.
You might ask what Swank is doing in a junky movie like The Reaping. It’s a fair question. It could also be asked of Mira Sorvino (Mimic), Halle Berry (Gothika) and Kim Basinger (Bless the Child). Who says Oscar winners have to restrict themselves to prestigious films? A truly gifted actor/actress excels in all kinds of films. To the writers’ credit, Swank has plenty to work with. Loss of faith is a common theme in religious-themed horror movies, but it doesn’t feel stale in Swank’s capable hands. She makes her sense of loss palpable as she tries to help the little girl everybody believes is evil. As Loren, Robb does a fine job, an incredible feat considering she has no dialogue until the final minutes of the movie. Her eyes and facial expressions perfectly convey her fear and rage. Morrissey is rather stiff as Doug who’s obviously not telling Katherine everything. Stephen Rea (The Crying Game) literally phones it in as a priest friend of Katherine, the first one to realize she’s in danger.
Although The Reaping has a few decent gross scenes, the effects are CGI and look it. I was disappointed in that. It’s not scary either. It does have atmosphere though. It’s filled with a sense of backwoods dread and gloom that doesn’t conceal the overall silliness of it all. That’s okay, I like my Biblical horror movies to have a silly side. It makes them a little more palatable, don’t you think?
*= If you want to know it without seeing the movie, just look it up on IMDb. It’s the first item in the quotes section.
