Review of The Reaping (2007) by Jeff W — 20 Jun 2009

While I found the premise of the movie interesting,It also felt more like a made-for-TV movie than anything else. Hilary Swank plays a professor who has dedicated her life to debunking religious phenomenon, after a traumatic incident in which she loses her faith. As the story opens, she is 48 for 48 in providing scientific explanations for the occurrences she investigates.

Her character is approached by someone from a small Bible Belt town, and is asked to investigate a biblical-like event that has occurred there. She agrees, and she and her partner travel to the town, and one-by-one, different unexplained incidents unfold.

I loved the idea of this movie : science vs religion. The end result, however, was very sloppy. The writing and editing seemed to be dueling it out for slipshod effect. Parts of the movie were unintentionally confusing, in which the viewer was unable to discern hallucination from reality. Some might argue that was the exact effect that the producers were going for, but I don't think so.

With at least 30 minutes left to go in the movie, I was already planning the next day's grocery list in my head. I had mentally checked out long before the end credits rolled. The movie started out very strong, but just circled the drain as it went on.

I didn't hate this film, but I can't recommend it, either. I wouldn't even necessarily call this one a renter. It will be on cable soon enough.