As a religion minor, and a generally decent person, I just couldn't pass up the chance to see a movie about the ten plagues of the Old Testament being brought back and inflicted upon a small, backwater town in the Bible Belt. Then again, I am somewhat liberal and wouldn't mind seeing god take out a few of his backwards believers OT style. Of course I joke when saying that, but it was at least a chance I couldn't pass up seeing in theaters.
The plot revolves around Hilary Swank, an ex-believer turned scientist who investigates and disproves miracles all over the globe. Her passion for disproving the so-called "works of god" comes from past scars as a believer; she was an ordained missionary who ventured to Africa where her family was killed to appease false gods in an attempt to end the drought their country had suffered since the missionary's arrival. Since her scientific career began, she hasn't stumbled upon one "miracle" which couldn't be scientifically proven otherwise. But a small town, called Haven, is the first to test her faith in science and start to rekindle her belief in god.
In terms of originality, this movie is a complete hack; it takes the demonic styling's of the Exorcist movies, combines them with more recent movies (like The Order and Emily Rose), and places it in town reminiscent of Specter from Big Fish. With these glaring similarities to other mainstream movies (which were successful, I might add), along with several others I'm leaving you to pick out, it was difficult to really get into the movie.
Along with being unoriginal, which isn't hard to do, The Reaping also went to the trouble of being very predictable as well. The few twists that the plot does have in it are visible from half an hour away even if you aren't paying close attention. And, as Hollywood loves to do, the predictable ending is open ended, just in case it made enough money to justify pulling off a sequel. However, I can't complain about that too much, because its better to leave it somewhat open rather than having to re-write a very tight, concise ending with the sequel, just so its justified (Evil Dead 2 comes to mind).
Despite these glaring flaws, I couldn't help but find The Reaping to be enjoyable, or at the very least entertaining. But, I do want to warn you that I have a soft spot in my cold, critical heart for bad horror movies. Some consider it a flaw, but I'll consider it a gift. Either way, I'd wait for this to hit the cheap DVD section and see something more worth while on the big screen.