Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing to scare your socks off, despite what the trailer and posters suggest, 27 Sep 2007
"The Reaping" is supposed to be this year's entry into the horror/thriller/lost faith genre, but doesn't quite know where to go. Should it be just a horror flick? No. How about a "lost faith" story? Nope. But it does qualify for being a thriller, in my opinion. The Reaping is as formulaic as it may be; it's still fun to watch. Hilary Swank finally looks feminine despite portraying yet another fearless female. She plays Katherine Winter, an ex-woman of the cloth who turned her back on the Church after suffering personal tragedy, and now spends her time as a professor debunking miracles as myths.
But she runs out of plausible explanations when what appears to be the Bible's Ten Plagues begin to afflict a small town and she is called there to help its citizens. They blame a young girl, Loren McConnell (played frighteningly well by AnnaSophia Robb), whom they accuse of having killed her brother in a river that has now turned into blood, the first plague. Katherine encounters her several times and has trouble getting into an objective frame of mind as she likens Loren, no matter how creepy looking she is, to her own daughter.
During the time I was watching this I notice that some of the plagues could have used a scarier execution. Like, when the frogs fell out of the sky, they were only a few, and oddly, none fell on the characters, just around them. That would have been a perfect eww-gross opportunity. Also, with the frequent references to the eerie wind chimes that everyone in the town seemed to have, I kept expecting to see some connection in the end but it was unsatisfying a mere misdirection. Hilary Swank is a phenomenal actress, there is no question, and she deserves far greater than her role as Katherine Winter gives her to work with. David Morrissey, as Doug, is as bland as he was in 2006's Basic Instinct 2 (Unrated, Extended Cut)And coming off of her wonderful recent performance in Bridge to Terabithia (Widescreen Edition)Annasophia Robb has nothing at all to do but squint her eyes and look suspicious. The amount of dialogue she is given could be recited in full in the span of thirty seconds. It's a haphazard gimmick of a part that no child actor should be cursed with having to portray.
Like Louisiana needed more problems after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it gets ten Biblical plagues in The Reaping, a great-looking thriller that's all beauty and no brains. Director Stephen Hopkins, who's done some good work on television but mostly bad work in features, starts early and keeps the shocks coming thick and fast. The trouble is, they're all tricks of editing and sound effects - nothing shocking actually happens. The obvious intent is to unnerve viewers and keep them on edge, but it will have the opposite effect on some, building up their immunity instead. Katherine's scientific explanation of the plagues in Exodus, whether you believe it or not, is the highlight of this movie. Everything else is just for effect, and enough of it is effective that The Reaping reaps a sow-sow rating. Nevertheless, watch "The Reaping" if you want to pass the time; if anything, it will keep your mind off your present life.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Film With An Excellent Performance By Hillary Swank, 5 May 2008
More of a Thriller than a Horror. A film which offers not only great visual effects, but also a great story line. Which would be it's only downfall to some people..........
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19 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You reap what you sow..., 19 Jul 2007
In a small town called Haven in Louisiana there are series of bizzare events that seem to point toward there being a biblical plaque on the loose, like rivers of human blood, livestock dying mysteriously, boils and locusts erupting and swarming through the town.
A former Christian missionary Katherine who no longer believes in God or miracles played by the versatile Hilary Swank along with her intelligent assistant portrayed by the yummy Idris Elba are persuaded by one of the town's residents, the hunky Doug, David Morrissey at his smoldering best, to come along and investigate the strange goings on in his home town.
He persuades Katherine to come by telling her that the town is blaming a little girl, a child who is not much older than Katherine's murdered daughter. It's a ploy that works and she and her assistant accompany Doug to Haven.
What happens next is both thrilling and nerve racking. There are enough heart stopping moments in this movie that will make your pacemaker go into overdrive, I certainly jumped on more than one occasion!
Great special effects, solid acting, Stephen Rea only has small part as the tormented priest who tries to warn Katherine that she is great danger, but he does it with great aplomb and conviction.
Anna Sophia Robb is Lauren, a girl who you are not sure is good or bad only that she seems to be around a lot when terrible things happen and that she is the key in all that is going on it what should be a lovely little bible belt town hidden from the outside world.
There are two good twists in the tale in this movie, I won't spoil them by telling you what they are but they are good.
This is a great film and Swank steals the show though everyone else is excellent in it.
A bit slow moving at first but it gathers momentum and culminates in the ride of your life as as you try to work out who is good, who is bad and what the hell is going on in the supposed God fearing town of Haven?
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