Les Châtiments

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.

THE REAPING:Warner Bros./Dark Castle/Village Roadshow 2007 color 99 m Horror-Thriller Hilary Swak, Stephen Rea, Anna Sophia Robb, Idris Elba and David Morrisey star. Written by Carey and chad hayes Directed by Stephen Hopkins Rated R for strong language, violence, gore and sexuality.

I'm not quite sure why Warner shelved this film for so long. That said The Reaping is one of the most original horror films in years and packs a surprising punch in its finale. Hilary Swank stars as Katherine Winter a woman who debunks supposed miracles all around the world. After hearing about a town being infected with the biblical plagues she comes over to scientifically explain the strange events. But as she is drawn into the mystery of the town, its people and a mysterious little girl secrets are revealed as the apocalypse draws near. And there's a lot more going on than that. The film is extremely complex and multi layered, it's chaotic and even a bit confusing at times but when the final revelations come together it's well worth your thought process. Swank is of course sensational in the lead she gives Katherine an heir of disbelief and confidence. Her swagger alone carries the film through it's rough patches. Anna Sophia Robb coming off the under rated Bridge to terebithia is wonderfully spooky as the mysterious child and the rest of the cast is filled out nicely by Idris Elba, Stephen Rea and the sexy David Morrisey. The direction from Hopkins is surprisingly unique and inventive that goes as well for the screenplay from the Hayes brothers. The film is far from perfect, the spfx tend to be a bit cheesy and the film seems a little muddled and unfinished in parts. But what the film ultimately succeeds at is in its originality. I've seen a lot of horror films and I've never seen something like this. It's pretty unpredicatable and infinatly interesting. It also is smart and handles it's subject matter surprisingly well playing it straight. The cinematography is complimentary and matches the film it's fills the film with dreamlike arches of landscape and a mood of eminent danger. The score like the recent premonition matches the film chaotically in a weird way making every scene seem much more intense than it actually is. This is a smart movie and has a lot going on it. At 99 mins. it feels a lot longer especially after you've made all of the films discoveries. It's a rare thing these days to be blown away by something so creative, don't miss The Reaping!

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.

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.