Apr 28, 2007 03:46 PM
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(Updated Apr 28, 2007 08:55 PM)
This might be a break from the horror trail. But no need to get all worked up. "The Reaping"
ain't quite the hot freakshow or religious extravaganzza it promises to be. As an X-Files fan Iinitially thought this was some kind of X-Files clone in the offing. Sadly “The Reaping” isn’t all that “X-Files” at all. It tries to create some enigma in its own way. But not much really. If you come to watch this movie by keeping your expectations low, then its fine. There isn't much of a credible story. Yet this is how it unfolds-
In Philadelphia, priest Costigan(Stephen Rea) is shocked during his evening prayers when a photograph of his old friend and ex missionary Katherine Winter(Swank) suddenly starts burning in front of his eyes. He retrieves the picture. Strangely all other snapshots of Katherine lying inside his desk are also smote in the same fashion. As the baffled priest spreads out the burnt photos they form a foreboding mythological symbol. However, Katherine has no idea about this. She had long given up the religious path when she had lost her family. Currently a professor at Louisiana University and teamed up with old student Ben(Idris Elba), she is busy traveling the world dispelling religious/occult myths and busting miracles using scientific explanations/experiments ala X-Files style. In fact movie viewers are treated to some logical undoing.
Father Costigan call’s Katherine and tries to explain the strange incident and how it prophesizes danger for her. Naturally Katherine rejects his warning as just another of those silly things she strongly disapproves of. Things take a strange turn when she is approached by a guy named Doug who tells her that the river in his hometown has turned to blood, and the townsfolk are blaming a strange little girl named Lorren for it!
Katherine and Ben set out to investigate and are appalled when they see the river—like a canal of blood stretching away. They take water samples. The scenario turns even sicklier with blood everywhere and dead frogs falling from the sky! That’s a start as one by one the ten Biblical plagues come to life—Meals get covered by swarms of flies, cattle act strange and start dying. While her student Ben and new friend Doug is baffled and wondering if this was a heavenly plague, Katherine launches into a perfect scientific explanation of how the ten plagues happened in Egypt and there was nothing miraculous at all about it. The logic of a toxic red fungus in the Nile, breaking down of the food chain, epidemics and sandstorms is quite acceptable and you may shift your focus away from the movie too.
The gents give up. While Katherine checks a weird picture of the strange little girl on her laptop, she has a vision of her dead husband and daughter. Well its night and spooky. And so inevitably Katherine and Doug find solace in booze and lovemaking. Yeah!
Back in Philadelphia, Father Costigan too has some visions that force him to focus on a picture of angels descending upon a little child. Things get freakier for Katherine too when Breakfast eggs turn out to be full of blood, and there are more visions of the little girl and her dead brother. The plagues seem to be on a roll with many dying strangely and lice and boils appearing on people. When Father Costigan tries to warn Katherine about 1st born children, his room suddenly catches fire and he dies too. By this time you wonder whether you should actually shoot the script writer!
After that its kinda like a dog-mess-Things go haywire with the overdose of cut-scenes, Visions, locusts, the spooky little girl, and skeleton piles—You loose track of things. Ben dies in a crypt while trying to save himself from the incidents. Doug takes a dip in the bloody river yet seems unhurt. The sky darkens, fireballs fall from the sky. To the folks demand the little girl has to die. But that’s what Katherine has fought against all these years. While Doug tries to kill the little girl and Katherine, the strange fire obliterates him and the others. The girls survive. The next morning while leaving the torrid town Katherine remembers that she’s carrying Doug’s child—her 2nd child. As per the preist’s warnings if her 1st born was already dead then her 2nd child would be the devil’s child. There you are- The shitload comes to a full circle.
The same old crap tale and its not even in the league of “The Omen” or as I have said before the "X-File myth buster appeal. This movie doesn’t have a strong storyline and makes a mess as it moves forward. Direction is neither here nor there. At times the viewer will end up wondering what’s going on as the sequence is not well charted. Special effects are good. Acting is best not talked about. Even a Swank obviously needs tailor made roles to get away with it. It might be her joint direction/production but she ain't no agent Scully and the guys are nowhere near the ever thoughtful persuasive Agent Mulder. So forget any comparison to X-Files.!
There's a little mystery to solve, with a couple of idiotic twists at the end, in a hog and bull tale about the devil and avenging angels. Even the end, though suspenseful, does not suffice to make both ends meet! Hah! The only redeeming grace from the tardy, unscary story, is the special effects. Nothing more, nothing less, “The Reaping” doesn’t have much to offer save being an above average flick. You can watch it once.
