One thing that really sucked me into watching this film was a modern take on the ten deadly plagues of Egypt found in the Exodus book of the Bible, but each of these plagues is happening in modern time. That’s something I really found interesting, along with the intelligent scientific explanations for the plagues that happened in the Bible. That being said, I hated the idea that all of these Bible-thumpers immediately thought the plagues were happening thanks to Satan. I grew up on the Bible. I know those plagues very well. If they were to happen today, I wouldn’t think of Satan. I would think God’s doing it again, and there’s no real reason to think otherwise. So, their explanation that it’s the devil inside this young girl was fun and all but made no logical sense from a religious standpoint.

That’s just my first impressions, though. Let’s dig deeper and break down _**The Reaping**_ to interpret the stars.


**PEOPLE SCORE – 8/10**
_Acting – 2|Characters – 1|Casting – 2|Importance – 2|Chemistry – 1_

First, we look at the people category, which did an alright job. In general, the film seems to have a good understanding of what it wanted to do – so a lot of the acting is actually pretty decent all around. I wouldn’t say the characters are very memorable, though. They’re all fine, but they just aren’t unique enough to remember. Casting-wise, I’m slightly shocked at their ability to cast some very well-known actors in this film. Especially since it’s partially considered a horror film. Everyone, memorable or not, had a pretty important part to play in the film and added to the film. That being said, I didn’t think it was a very chemistry-centric film, so there wasn’t a lot of that.

**WRITING SCORE – 9/10**
_Dialogue – 2|Balance – 1|Story – 2|Originality – 2|Interesting – 2_

Onto the writing category! Remarkably, they did a pretty good job here. I would say the one area that could’ve used improvement was probably the actual balance. I think it went a little too far with strange side stories about a possible antichrist, visions, and nightmares – when I was solely interested in the plagues and scientific explanation storyline. Like I said before, I liked the scientific explanations throughout the film, which goes into the dialogue, full points there. What’s the story? Modern biblical plagues…that’s awesome – and a story I want to hear. Why? Because that’s not only interesting, but it’s original, too. We’ve seen plenty of modern day Noah’s Arc stories – not enough plague stuff.

**BTS SCORE – 8/10**
_Visuals – 2|Directing – 2|Editing – 2|Advertisement – 1|Music – 1_

Alright, behind-the-scenes was also done pretty well, but it was slightly false advertisement…for a couple of reasons. First of all, I found this on a list of films about possession, which there’s none to be found. I also thought it’d be more about the plagues than the evil entity crap – which it’s unfortunately not, either. That being said, we’ve got some really nice visuals surrounding the film. You know most of the plagues are CGI, but they’re done pretty well. There were some definite challenging points between the directing and editing – as they seemed like a lot of thought went into making it look good on a natural level, which it definitely does. I wish the music was a little more memorable to fit with everything else in this category, but alas, it isn’t so.

**NARRATIVE ARC SCORE – 9/10**
_Introduction – 2|Inciting Incident – 2|Obstacles – 2|Climax – 2|Falling Action – 1_

Another nearly perfect score for the narrative arc category. The one place where it falters is during the falling action, which it sort of teases something – which isn’t a perfect return to a new norm. Everything else works really well. The introduction lets us get acquainted with the scientific angle behind biblical “miracles” and the woman responsible for finding them out. The inciting incident is when she travels to the town of Haven to investigate the plagues. The obstacles are, well, the plagues. The climax is a decent culmination of everything else before it. Everything here is pretty decent.

**ENTERTAINMENT SCORE – 5/10**
_Rewatchability – 2|Fun – 2|Impulse/Buy – 0|Impulse/Talk – 0|Sucks you in – 1_

As far as how entertaining _**The Reaping**_ was? I’d say decent enough, but could be better. I definitely consider this rewatchable because it’s really fun to just watch. It almost sucks you in throughout the film, too, if it weren’t for the weird side story about the devil worshiping cult. Other than that, I have no impulse to buy this, own this, or talk about it with anyone.

**SPECIALTY TOTAL – 20/50**
_Mind Control – 0|Possession – 0|Horror – 5|Plagues – 5|Halfway Decent – 10_

Here’s what makes a potentially high-scoring film…low-scoring – expectations. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I found this movie among a list for demon-possessed films, and that’s not what it is…at all. That means both the mind control and possession themeed categories get zero points. As for being listed under horror? I can see the idea surrounding the devil and cults to be potentially scary, but it…isn’t. Half points for trying! I also thought there’d be more plague discussion than there actually was…half points as well. Finally, was it halfway decent? For this, I’ll say yes. They had an exact idea behind this film – and they achieved what they wanted to do.

**TOTAL – 59/100**

The Reaping harvests souls of the religiously devoted by subjecting them to this. “What hath God wrought?”. If ever there was a tagline that would instantly persuade audiences to leap up from their sofas, drive to the nearest cinema complex and purchase a couple of tickets, it’s this one. Sure, using a phrase from the Book of Numbers (as opposed to Exodus which is the primary plot device of the film...) certainly sets the religiously inclined tone, that eventually dissolves into the plagued river of blood but more on that later. It also indicates the unimaginative stupidity that ensues, leaving logic and science behind for a faith-based apocalyptic tale that is in need of some serious stoning. A professor in debunking miracles is invited to investigate a “river of blood” in the nearby town of Haven, but is quickly ensnared in an apocalyptic mystery.

Whilst not the worst horror film in the existence of cinema, with a tepid schlocky tone that somewhat juxtaposes the devoted Christian ideologies presented, yet is so inexplicably dumb that it will leave you questioning why such a film was created in the first place. Its initial introduction commenced with much promise. Science against religion. Simple logical explanations explaining what many describe as religious miracles. Yes, it’s relatively on the nose and misses the point of acquiring faith, yet remained an interesting direction for the first half that managed to conjure up various problematic conversations.

Hot off her Oscar win, swanky Swank muddles through this unusual mystery with much trepidation, choosing not to believe that the plagues of Egypt condemning Haven are in fact coincidental, offering scientific explanations. Algae bloom for the “blood river” that has the consistency of red-dyed water (sorry not sorry...). Infections terminating frogs, that is never explained how they fell from the sky, but whatever. Flies consuming the flesh of the frogs, and you get the idea. She remains unconvinced throughout these biblical mishaps, and provides an interesting angle.

Well, that is until about halfway through when she switches from being Bill Nye the Science Guy to Pope Francis of the Vatican. Suddenly she has faith, despite her tragic backstory clumsily spliced with the main plot, and holy reaping balls do events get crazy. CGI locust infestation, satanic cult crazes and a thunderstorm of fire that incinerates life in a matter of seconds. It went from a minor science experiment to absolute chaos, quicker than a snap of your fingers. The change of pace is so jarring and bewildering, that when the predictably obtuse third act arrives you’re stunned into silence. The tantalising debunking approach now plagued by, well, the plagues. The mystery is ham-fisted and makes no sense whatsoever. Constant flashbacks providing clues, more like clear answers mind you, were choppy and fragmented. It’s not scary in the slightest. Main characters are expended and forgotten about almost instantly, a shame considering Elba was decent as always. And what’s Rea’s purpose in this? No seriously. Except for providing basic exposition, he seemed pointless in this endeavour.

A very minuscule part of my soul wants to like this for being the barking mad mystery that it is. To an extent, it is watchable if you know to turn your brain off and devour all the spiel on religious provocations, despite the interesting first act. It has this surreal allure, making each watch tolerable. But then I think back to the last thirty minutes and I then really want to experience all ten plagues for myself. Incomprehensibly ludicrous. What hath God wrought you ask? This.

_**Intriguing first act gives way to dull second act, but decent ending**_

Released in 2007, "The Reaping" is a about a former ordained missionary who's now a professor who debunks supposed miracles around the world (Hilary Swank). She and her assistant (Idris Elba) venture to a bayou town where, amazingly, the ten plagues of Exodus are manifesting (!). David Morrissey plays their host in the town while AnnaSophia Robb plays the 12 year-old focal point of the plagues. Are the plagues real or can they be scientifically explained? If they're real, who's the source, God or the devil?

This is a haunting mystery horror film rather than a monster/slasher movie, so if you're looking for the latter don't bother. That said, this is an extremely well-made production. The visuals of the various plagues are awesome, particularly the bayou turning to blood, the locusts and fire raining from the sky. Moreover, Swank looks super sharp in the manner of Raquel Welch (neither are my type, but who can deny their looks that kill?). Elba is a likable partner and Morrissey seems creepy from the get-go. As for AnnaSophia, it's clear even at 12 years of age that she was gonna morph into a curvy cutie.

Where the movie goes wrong are elements of the story/script. It starts out good and is intriguing for the first 45 minutes or so, but then the next 30 minutes seriously lag. When the plot twist is revealed in the last act it turned me off the first time I watched the film, but I was braced for it with my second viewing and was able to accept it. The ending, while cartoonish, is spectacular in the manner of the end of "Raiders of the Lost Ark." So this is a solid mystery/horror movie, but it could've been better if they worked out the kinks in the screenplay, like the draggy second act and unsavory plot twist.

The film runs 99 minutes and was shot in St. Francisville, Louisiana (the bayou town), Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Shreveport & New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as San Juan, Porta Rico (the opening sequence) and Austin Texas.

GRADE: B-