This past weekend I went to the movies to see The Reaping. I’m a big fan of horror/religious/supernatural movies. The problem is that most of those movies really aren’t that good, but I still feel as though I have to watch them and find out for myself. I went into this movie not having read any reviews, but I knew that this could be a decent scare or a total waste of time. As it turns out I jumped through a number of scenes, had the chills go up my spine, and by the end was able to ignore a lot of the flaws.
Hillary Swank plays a former Christian missionary who lost her faith after her family was tragically killed, and has since become a world renowned expert in disproving religious phenomena. But when she investigate a small Louisiana town that is suffering from what appear to be the Biblical plagues, she realizes that science cannot explain what is happening and she must regain her faith to combat the dark forces threatening the community.
The movie does a really good job of building suspense and intrigue as the 10 plagues start to appear in the small town of Haven. Swank lends a lot of credit to the film and makes you believe in the characters and story just a little bit more then if it was someone else. Unfortunately as the mystery starts to unfold and the 10th plague draws nearer the movie speeds right through any details. They show some silly effects and then try, unsuccessfully, to end with a plot twist.
Many of the scenes remind me of other movies. The most prominent of them is Rosemary’s Baby, but there are comparisons to The Omen and The Seventh Sign. The run time is only 1 hour and 39 minutes which is perfect for this movie. If it were any longer I think I would have been more disappointed, but as it was I was scared, entertained, and out of the theatre before I really started to ask questions like, what’s the deal with the wind chimes?
If you’re interested in the genera and the trailers I would say go see it. If you aren’t really interested and you just want something to do you will probably hate it.
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