Weekly Review -- Religion squared

The Reaping (2007) -- Take a few elements from some classic horror movies, add an in-demand actress, a relatively interesting story dealing with people's religious views, a lot of jumps and gore, and you get The Reaping in a nutshell. Hilary Swank plays Katherine Winter, a former Christian missionary with a horrific past, who has given up on faith and now travels the world debunking supposed religious phenomena. One day, she gets a call regarding strange occurrences in a Louisiana town, appropriately named Haven. It seems that the town has become the site of the ten Biblical plagues and the residents are blaming it all on an exiled little girl, Loren McConnell (AnnaSophia Robb), who they believe is a Devil incarnate. At first skeptical, Katherine is soon forced back into religion by indisputable facts and tragic events, but is it too late to save Haven? The film suffers from illogical plot points -- the lack of proper law enforcement comes to mind -- and overblown close-ups, not to mention various elements lifted directly and unabashedly from other, and incomparably better, horror films. The flashbacks are pointless, having nothing to do with the present story. Swank does all right with what she is given, although the role is not up to par with her talent. Stephen Rea and Idris Elba's talents are also mostly wasted. The dialogue is generic and uninspired, while the direction is too hectic for a tale that would have benefited more from subtle, unassuming storytelling. Overall, The Reaping does not offer anything new, even though the story is mildly intriguing; however, the film feels more like a rough draft than a final cut.

4/10