D-
The plagues visited on Egypt through the hand of Moses might have historically been a one-time event, but “The Reaping” proves that as a narrative device they can still have a baleful effect. The supernatural thriller, in which the same ten disasters enumerated in the Book of Exodus befall a modern community—a place called Haven in Louisiana—is a disaster itself—for the audience, that is. And while one doesn’t want to read too much prophecy into the movie, it’s surely a sign of the paucity of good roles for actresses in today’s cinematic world that a two-time Oscar winner like Hilary Swank should find herself starring in such stuff.
Of course, it just may be that Swank saw this as her Ripley role (referring to Sigourney Weaver’s character in the “Alien” franchise, of course, though there’s also a “believe it or not” quality at work here)—a chance to show off her action-heroine side. If so, she’s miscalculated badly. Katherine Winter, the once-a-minister-now-an-atheist, miracle-debunking academic she plays here, comes across less as a strong, self-sufficient woman than one likely to put herself in the same dangerously isolated situations that damsels in distress have stumbled into since time immemorial (and requiring external help to extricate herself from), as well as one likely to melt immediately when her maternal instincts are aroused.
The catalyst that puts Katherine in jeopardy is the arrival at her Louisiana State office of Doug Blackwell (David Morrissey), a science teacher from the small bayou community of Haven, where a boy has died mysteriously, his younger sister is blamed for it, the water of the local river has turned into something that looks like blood, and the locals attribute all the evil goings-on to the fact that the boy and girl are from a family of suspected Satanists. Doug persuades Winter and her devoted (and religious) assistant Ben (Idris Elba) to come to Haven and provide a scientific explanation for the river’s transformation to prevent any harm from being done to the girl, Loren McConnell (AnnaSophia Robb), who’s now living as a sort of wild child in the bayou, or her mother (Andrea Frankle).
But it turns out that the water has in fact turned to human blood, and pretty soon the other Mosaic plagues follow in order—frogs, flies, death of livestock, boils, locusts, darkness and death of first-born (though unless I nodded off, the mosquitoes and hail are either ignored or passed over with unbecoming speed); and, amidst her romantic interludes with widower Blackwell and arguments with local officials, Katherine’s disbelief gradually turns to acceptance, particularly because an old friend of hers, Father Costigan (Stephen Rea), a Catholic priest she served with in Sudan (where her husband and daughter were killed, a fact that led to her loss of faith), warns her about signs he’s received indicating that she’s in danger from demonic forces (before he’s killed, “Omen”-style of course).
There is, in fact, more than a little of “The Omen” in “The Reaping.” But although I don’t want to give away too much, there’s a big helpful of “The Wicker Man,” too, though with a Satanic twist. (Just a hint: notice that though there’s a church in Haven, no preacher makes an appearance—an odd omission in a self-professed “Bible Belt” town.) Indeed, the script by Carey and Chad Hayes is pretty much an amalgam of those two pictures—with lots of cheap scare tactics (plenty of lurking in darkened hallways, loud sounds to accompany “gotcha!” moments, and even unpleasant dreams that pass briefly for “reality”), though the Biblical motif does add an opening for some splashy plague effects, which are reasonably well pulled off. Unfortunately, Peter Levy’s cinematography overall isn’t of the best. It too often resorts to deliberately jumpy, blurred montages that make for visual vertigo rather than spookiness, and in one instance emphasizes a windshield’s glare so terribly that the result is headache-inducing.
As for the acting, it’s surprisingly pallid, given the names involved. Swank offers nothing but a generalized resoluteness, and Robb, in a distinct change of pace from “Bridge to Terabithia,” isn’t given much more to do than frown and run around in a tattered little dress. As for Rea, if he seems awfully familiar that’s because he’s done this sort of sad-sack shtick before, and he’s no better his time around. Morrissey is nondescript as the apparently helpful Doug, and while it’s nice to see William Ragsdale, who played the young hero in the “Fright Night” movies years ago, in this kind of flick again, he has virtually nothing to do as the town sheriff. The most personable performer around, in fact, is Elba as Winter’s T.A. But even he isn’t helped by Stephen Hopkins’ workmanlike direction.
The audiences that have been responding recently to “faith-based” movies may be lured into “The Reaping” by reason of its subject matter and an ending that’s surely calculated to appeal to their beliefs. But this is actually an unholy mixture of religious balderdash and horror-move cliché. Given the picture’s Biblical theme and the precisely-chosen time of year it’s being released, it would probably be wise to Passover it.