The Reaping -2007

Why I Watched It: Because "religious horror" is one of my very favorite sub-genres.

What I Thought: Better than expected. The Reaping promised a scary movie about biblical plagues and it delivered exactly that.

In The Reaping, a small town believes it's suffering from biblical style plagues, water to blood and all that. Hilary Swank is sent to calm the townsfolk down and find the real, read "scientific", reason behind the strange occurrences. It turns out that Swank's character is also a devout atheist, after losing her family on a mission trip, and spends much of the movie struggling with her own faith. The horror theme and the redemption theme are covered well by the end of the movie, just before a few good twists and turns.

I was EXTREMELY delighted when the supernatural threat of the movie continued to escalate, but no scientific reasoning could be found. I get increasingly sick of all the good horror tales that promise monsters only to reveal that it was all just a guy in a suit. *Perfect embodiments of my frustration can be found in M. Night Shamble-on's The Village and every single fucking episode of Scooby Doo. I hated that show!* The Reaping promised supernatural plagues and that's exactly what I got. I was one happy Slut.

The Reaping's best quality was probably it's twists at the end. Remember the twists from great flicks like Fight Club, Usual Suspects, and Jacob's Ladder? The twist happens at the very end, right, and turns the whole movie around for you? Well, The Reaping has a really good twist at the climax, follows through with the resolution, then delivers a final blow just before the credits roll. Good stuff!

Highlights: The twists and another great performance by AnnaSophia Robb (played Leslie in Bridge to Terabithia and Violet in the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

Who Should See It: Horror fans, especially religious horror fans.

How Soon: It's already been in theaters for 2 weeks and it probably won't stay long with all the big summer movies coming. Catch it on DVD for a good night in though!