The Reaping

26 April 2007. Hillary Swank performed in a thrilling, morally uplifting, consistent, moody occult movie that does the American job. Surprisingly, this almost religious movie, does a great job in presenting its material with serious straightforwardness without the cute manipulative attempt at humor. The underlying theme is good and evil with the classic twist that is solid and with an ending that is a nice soft landing as opposed to the traditional occult gritty jarring ending. The premise and theme of the movie is laid out with consistent presentation by the actors and the twist is a nice segue into the traditional morality twist found in many occult movies. The protagonist's moral dilemma is a delightful and painful experience accomplished in a grand American style of cinema. The nice avoidance of a bombardment supernatural events except for the religious signs done quite effectively makes this movie a straightforward occult movie without the unnecessary thrills. While this movie doesn't have a new fantastic twist that blows the audience away the little touches are complementary to make a good occult movie worth consuming for American entertainment. Eight out of Ten Stars.

10/16/2024 Review. This occult movie starring two-time Oscar award winner Hilary Swank, winning these awards several years prior to this movie, has a rather obvious but devious plot thread as it builds up to its climatic scene. The slow burn is effective in what appears to be the beginning of the nine signs of the plagues of Egypt erupting in a small rural town. Hilary Swank plays Katherine Morrissey a non-believer and a former devout Christian missionary whose young daughter was brutally slain by the hands of those who believed that her sacrifice was necessary to save them from the devastation occurring in their own land. Now Swank believes in science as the way of debunking religious curses. Director Stephen Hopkins oversaw this full featured horror movie before transitioning to television series and movies and offers a solid replication of plagues on the big screen while at the same time following a script that develops an emotional intensity regarding the apparent source of evil, a girl that resembles Katherine's sacrificed daughter. The shifting tone between evil and good and the religious and moral indecision the occurs in the movie are beacons that moves this movie with substance rather superficial gore which may have been at least one reason that Hillary Swank accepting this role after her acclaim at the Oscars. A meaningful and thoughtful movie worth watching.

Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank), some sort of scientist, is called to a Southern town to explain the onset of their rivers turning into what looks like blood. Although Winter is not religious (she has a very interesting theory about the ten plagues of Egypt that I found fascinating) she starts to become involved in a Biblical scenario anyway when the ten plagues happen one by one.

I remember seeing the trailer for this in the theater and saying to myself how awful this looked. Just really boring and starring Swank, who I have little or no use for. Even the name "The Reaping" I found weak, thinking it could sell more with a death metal name like "Death to the First Born". But, I am pleased to say whatever I thought of the trailer, the actual film was far more enjoyable and while nothing really mind-blowing, it definitely met my needs for a horror film.

Any time you have ten plagues visiting a town, you have a good plot already made out for you -- frogs, blood, insects and more! This story also throws in a crazy religious sect and a town secret, so if you're into cult movies (literally) you will enjoy this more. The plagues, I must say, were done very well -- from the beginning with the river of blood, I felt this film had a good shot of being a winner. I was quite disappointed with the locusts (I can let the fact they're computerized slide, but the animator made it too obvious). Other than that, it's alright...

I guess my only other concern (this is a straight-forward film, so there's not much to discuss) is the religious aspect. Religion and horror go hand in hand. There's the running themes of Christianity actually working (such as "The Exorcist"), Jesus or God being dead ("Hellraiser" and perhaps "30 Days of Night") and your religious fanatics who take God's word in a very bad way.

This film does a mixture of the first and third, and I'm not sure if I really think it works. I mean, it works for the film, but it may not work for me -- you have a horror movie that seems to have the subtle intention of making the viewer believe in God (because an atheist faces God-given plagues). Yet, you have the God in this film being a very unlikable agent (because of the plagues). So, it leaves you with very mixed feelings on whether this is a pro- or anti-religion film. But maybe the less than crystal plot is a good thing.

Anyway, while I had my doubts and I have my concerns and it's not the movie of the year by any means... this is still a good film. I think you'll be pleased with what you see. Talking with others who have seen this one, it seems to get a similar reaction from them: a disposable, yet not worthless, religious-themed horror film. If you've been curious, give it a spin.

Just got back from seeing The Reaping and I must say it was better than I expected. After reading the critics reviews and reading a majority of the user comments I thought this movie was going to be a real dog. One of the complaints was about the poor special effects. I've never been too impressed with CGI in the first place, but this was as good as any I've seen lately. It has never looked real to me in any movie. As far as the storyline not being original, what film has been original in the last few years. There has been so many movies made in the last 80 years or so that it's gotta be difficult to come up with a never used theme at this point. I also believe when you have an actor the caliber of Hilary Swank in a movie they are held to a higher standard and are thusly criticized more harshly than others if their movies aren't stellar. Give this one a try and judge for yourself.

I hooked right into this movie from the opening minutes to the closing credits.

It sets up the story with the creation of a fantastic atmosphere and the juxtaposition of science vs religion.

What really rams this movie home is the first class cast, who deliver credibility, passion and doubt.

It may have problems but I was connected enough with the movie to overlook them :)

The Reaping (2007) is a movie I rewatched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows a woman who investigates paranormal experiences and always believes there is a scientific reason they happen. When a town's river turns to blood, the woman and her teams head in to investigate. With each passing day another unique phenomenon happens that may cause her to change her mind.... This movie is directed by Stephen Hopkins (Predator 2) and stars Hillary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), Idris Elba (The Harder they Fall), David Morrissey (The Walking Dead), AnnaSophia Robb (Soul Surfer) and Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta). I always found this movie a bit uneven. I really like the cast and their performances. The town and various plagues from the Bible are well established. The CGI special effects to deliver the plagues are well done. The kills are just okay, nothing special. But the entire film doesn't have the intensity I hoped for based on the circumstances observed and experienced by the cast. It's just a step behind in the frantic department than it needed to be. I honestly could care less about the love story also; however, the twist at the end is pretty good and makes the audience rethink various events as the credits role. This is an okay movie that is worth watching but doesn't hit its full potential. I'd score this a 6/10 and recommend seeing it once.