User reviews

Well I'm shocked-this is a pretty good little thriller.

Hillary Swank is an ex-missionary turned scientist and debunker, she's called into investigate a small town in the deep South where the river has turned red or as some suspect to blood. this is followed in close order by other Biblical plagues. They all seem to to be tied to a young girl living in the woods.

Creepy little movie thats better than many recent Bible thrillers. Here we start off with science and find as time goes on that it can't explain whats going on. well acted with a couple of nice set pieces this is a movie that works mostly by simple visualization, we see a red river, we see flies, we see frogs. except for a plague of locusts and some fire in the sky what we see out side of dreams is all simple effects given weight by the sincerity of the script and the performances. This is a film where the classic idea of its all better in the mind works to great effect with just a small push.

Is it a great film? No, but its a good one. Its the sort of thing you sit and watch on a Saturday night with a big bag of popcorn and a soda. Is it worth paying ten bucks in the theater for? I doubt it but on a rainy Sunday afternoon it may fit the bill on the bargain priced matinée. (Certainly worth a rental) Somewhere between six and seven out of ten.

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.

but fails in the end. The plot for this film sounded good to me. A debunker of miracles, Katherine, investigates a small town that appears to be experiencing the 10 plagues of the Pharohs. I thought the movie was very good at the beginning. The mysterious bloody river and the death of a young boy right before it turned red. And the townsfolk seem to be saying a young girl, Loren, is the one causing the plagues. Katherine with the help of her colleague, Ben, and local Doug collects samples from the river and dying livestock. When the results come back that it's real human blood, I thought wow, this is getting good. But at the point when some of the locals go out to hunt down Loren and the attack of the locust, the movie gets silly. The once good plot just goes stereotypical Hollywood with the twist at the end and whom is really the bad guy. And how does Katherine know they are all first born. The plot holes begin to creep in.

It's like the writer knew this was a good idea for a story, but didn't know how to finish it so just put in a lot of explosions and a very silly conclusion.

FINAL VERDICT: If you like horror films, you may to check this out but expect to be disappointed.

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.

(My Synopsis) Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank) is a college professor at LSU who doesn't believe in miracles and goes around the world debunking them. She lost her faith when her daughter and husband were killed in Sudan when she was a newly ordained minister on her first mission. Whenever Katherine is called to investigate a miracle, she is able to prove that what people believe is a miracle can be explained using scientific facts and no divine intervention has occurred. Her next case is in her own backyard in Haven, Louisiana. Doug Blackwell (David Morrissey), a schoolteacher, is asking for Katherine's help. The river has turned to blood, and the townspeople believe that Loren McConnell (AnnaSophia Robb), a young 12-year old girl, has brought this plague upon the town. They also believe that this is the start of the Biblical ten plagues that are about to occur in Haven. Katherine and Ben (Idris Elba), her partner, go to Haven to investigate. At first Katherine is able to explain all the strange occurrences with science, but she soon comes to the realization that science can't explain all of them away. Katherine must reclaim her faith to fight these evil forces.

(My Comment) The storyline is a simple story about a woman who has lost her faith and meets it head-on by regaining her faith to fight an evil cult. From the previews you would think that this supernatural thriller would be scary, but you would be wrong. For the first 20-minutes, you are absorbed in the movie, and then the pace slows down to a crawl, then builds up to a spectacular ending. The CG special effects of the ten plagues were visually interesting, but that is about all there was. The movie did not lure me in and scare me as I thought it would. The worst thing was that they wasted Hilary Swank's talents in this movie. I think the writers probably came up with an ending at the last minute, because there wasn't must thought that went into it. I can't believe the writers even set it up for a sequel. (Warner Bros. Pictures, Run time 1:36, Rated R)(3/10)

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 :)

Well. how can i begin? I really think Hilary is a really good actress, remember million dollar baby. So, you will think this is a good movie... but, like most the times, good actors not guarantee a good movie. The idea is good, but its not well performed by the director...AND... well... the people who writes this movie and everyone related to research are really ignorant. At the beginning of the movie, they show a city of Chile, called Concepcion. If i not was Chilean, i thought that city is located in some place with tropical weather, maybe Cuba...etc. You can "sense" the heat and humidity of the ambient, people dressed like "mexican" or Peruvian style and a cop .. well what country he is from? really, Concepcion is cold, the people is NOT as ignorant like in the movie Hilary says, etc...

Besides, the movie i not good, a bit boring and with some lagoons, yo don't understand at all the connection between the protagonist and the plot, etc... there is a lot of new movies around...so watch anything else!

The Reaping is one of the many high budget horror movies, doing their best to "resurrect" the genre. Although being watchable and even creative at times, it fails to complete the mission.

Katherine Winter is sent to a small town with the task of solving the death of a boy. She soon finds out the river, the boy's body has been found, is red. Locals claim it's human blood, but Katherine refuses to believe.

Stephen Hopkins, a popular director, makes another movie that is almost successful, but couple of wrong decisions affect the overall result. I really can't say I was disappointed. For my surprise, Swank is not a miscast. She does a decent, believable performance. The film's major mistakes involve needless plot details that could easily annoy the viewer.

Somewhere in the middle of the film, clichés take over the action. Most of the plot ending becomes predictable. Pointless, long scenes of flashbacks, romances and dialogs contradicts the general idea of the film. The second act is almost not horror, but a rather dramatic ride through Katherine's past. It's obvious that the movie depends too much on good acting moments. Something that is not typical for horror and so, I was normally upset by the emptiness of some scenes. Emptiness, that nearly made me fall asleep.

Hopkins's movie has the premises. It isn't only the high-budget and big names to help the movie reach the theaters. The story involves element from the religion which appears to be a really big cliché these days. However, the structure of the film remains balanced thanks to the good writing. The idea of Katherine's personal nightmares, being a barrier between reality and illusion fits perfectly into the plot.

There are also some great visuals that recreate a feeling of realistic terror.

The Reaping could have been better, but still, it deserves a look. There are some impressive scenes, I'm sure all whimsical horror fans will like.

Since there has been no re-make of The Ten Commandments, I thought this movie might adequately do what's advertised: show the 10 plagues (with today's special-effects). However, except for the attack of locusts, the plagues were confined to a tiny area and nothing really to see. I mean the flies were limited to a small barbecue!!! When the real plagues came, in Moses day, they encompassed quite an area and frogs, flies, locusts, etc., came by the millions. Here, about 20 frogs dropped from the sky in a lake. It was ridiculous....and disappointing.

I also thought Hilary Swank was enough of a big-name actress that this wouldn't be some cheesy B-movie.

Wrong. This has a "B" feel to it all the way. Even the "twist" at the end is very predictable.

A 'B' film is exactly what it was, making me wonder how someone could go from "Million Dollar Baby" to this in so short a time. The only other name actor in here is Stephen Rea, and he has a small role.

Overall, it's not as terrible as I might be making it to be because it's entertaining enough to keep your interest - so I give it five points for that - but I expected more.

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!

God and the devil are at it again.

Religion in general is a minefield of horror film premises. Apparently, the production company Dark Castle realizes this and so we have "The Reaping" purporting itself to be a supernatural thriller treading a spiritual undertone in the league of, say, "Stigmata" (or at least that's what it seems). The problem is, it fails to even make the cut of simply being a decent horror movie, with its attempts at scares and twists painfully obvious and its narrative eventually falling into a pattern of genre clichés. Let alone its balderdash on the Christian mythology.

The plot engraves its cardboard foundation with Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank - probably just here for the paycheck) trying to disprove every miracle occurring in this world. An LSU professor with a tragic past that took away her faith in spirituality, Katherine is convinced that everything irrational that happens can be debunked by logic and science. But one day, she is called to investigate a strange thing happening in a small town called Haven in Louisiana. The river has turned into blood after a boy has just mysteriously died, and the townsfolk are placing the blame on a twelve-year old girl (AnnaSophia Robb), who they believe is a harbinger of the devil, and with her are the ten plagues from Exodus.

Swank, a two-time Oscar winner, gives a performance that is nothing to either praise or disparage - just a humdrum. The other cast members don't seem inspired either, like somnambulists in a maudlin project and aren't even interested in being interested. Robb doesn't seem as menacing as she should be, and Stephen Rea is largely wasted with a role merely there to provide the obligatory religious backstory.

Speaking of which, the ten plagues, which is supposedly the film's selling point that requires a myriad of special effects, and whose nature itself should be ominous enough for building tension, are simply there as red herrings that lead to an even more unsatisfying finale, which you could've figured out twenty minutes into the movie. Director Stephen Hopkins fails to extract a sense of eeriness from them and it was more fun and scary when the Stephen Sommers enumerated them in "The Mummy".

"The Reaping" has virtually no scares (unless you count the score's crescendo accented with a screech as scary) and even lesser sense. Honestly, I have more fun watching National Geographic's "Is It Real?" series.

When i went to see this movie i knew there wasn't very good reviews about it, but after i saw it, i disagree with some of them. at the beginning it's a bit boring , and the Concepcion story it's terrible because i'm from Chile, and the city they showed has nothing to do with the real Concepcion, they also let people from there like ignorant, which is not. I put that away and saw the rest of the movie, which wasn't that bad, at the end it was very attractive, the effects, the girl, everything really makes you stay focus on the movie, even if it's a bit predictable, the end is the best. I don't know why people put this movie that bad... it isn't. The cast worked really good, specially Swank and Robb, this last was good at her character , which was complex. Well for my point of view you wont regret of watching this movie, so don't listen if they say it's too bad to watch.

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 (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.

This is a mediocre film from a mediocre director but at least the film is not too boring. (This is the reason why I'm not giving only one star)

As the film is mediocre I will not waste time in criticizing it. But what is really disgusting is the level of ignorance and lack of care of the team or whoever that was in charge of the movie script.

Concepcion weather is not tropical, our policemen don't look like the one that appears in the film, the type of native people is not at all similar to the ones shown in the film, we have some mapuche and other type on indigenous but not Africans. Maybe Concepcion and my country are not fully developed yet, but Concepcion is by far more developed and has considerably less poverty that as was shown in the film, is really disrespectful to show something too different from reality specially when it can damage the real appearance of a country and a city. It is a shame.

A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."The Reaping" (R - 2007 - US)

Sub-Genre: Paranormal/Biblical My Score: 7.0

Cast=8 Acting=7 Plot=9 Ending=8 Story=7 Scare=3 Jump=4 F/X=8 Creep=9 Bible=7

A former Christian missionary, who specializes in debunking religious phenomena, investigates a small town which seems to be suffering from the 10 biblical plagues.

"You deceived me so I would murder her. This...this innocent child." This was one of those movies that was greater than the sum of it's parts. It wasn't particularly scary, but the concept and the creep factor were really good. Considering the cast, it's good they did this movie in 2007...they couldn't afford it now. When I took it out of my player, I thought it was a solid watch.