'The Reaping'
(Hilary Swank, Anna Sophia Robb, et al / DVD / R / 2007 / Warner Bros.)
Overview: Investigative scholar Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank) is a debunker of modern "miracles," bringing scientific light to superstition and fraud. But events in tiny Haven, Louisiana, defy even her expertise. There, the 10 Biblical Plagues seem to be reoccurring. And the more she seeks answers, the more she questions her own beliefs. Two-time Academy Award (R) winner Swank headlines this electrifying Dark Castle Entertainment production that reaps locusts, frogs, a river of blood and more - all to eye-filling, fear-inducing, heart-probing, must-see effect.
DVD Verdict: In a small town called Haven in Louisiana there are series of bizzare events that seem to point toward there being a biblical plaque on the loose, like rivers of human blood, livestock dying mysteriously, boils and locusts erupting and swarming through the town.
A former Christian missionary Katherine who no longer believes in God or miracles played by the versatile Hilary Swank along with her intelligent assistant portrayed by the yummy Idris Elba are persuaded by one of the town's residents, the hunky Doug, David Morrissey at his smoldering best, to come along and investigate the strange goings on in his home town.
He persuades Katherine to come by telling her that the town is blaming a little girl, a child who is not much older than Katherine's murdered daughter. It's a ploy that works and she and her assistant accompany Doug to Haven.
What happens next is both thrilling and nerve racking. There are enough heart stopping moments in this movie that will make your pacemaker go into overdrive, I certainly jumped on more than one occasion!
Great special effects, solid acting, Stephen Rea only has small part as the tormented priest who tries to warn Katherine that she is great danger, but he does it with great aplomb and conviction.
Anna Sophia Robb is Lauren, a girl who you are not sure is good or bad only that she seems to be around a lot when terrible things happen and that she is the key in all that is going on it what should be a lovely little bible belt town hidden from the outside world.
One by one, the ten plagues start to affect the town and are linked to a backwoods family shunned by the towns folk. Hilary and her assistant investigate but have trouble dismissing the plagues with the help of science. It all builds up to a magnificent locust attack scene that you MUST see on the big screen. I haven't seen anything as fun since Hitchcock's The Birds!
With a twist at the end that you will never guess, there is hope for a sequel! This is a great film and Swank steals the show though everyone else is excellent in it.
A bit slow moving at first but it gathers momentum and culminates in the ride of your life as as you try to work out who is good, who is bad and what the hell is going on in the supposed God fearing town of Haven? This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:
Science of the 10 Plagues: The Search for Scientific Explanation
The Characters: Cast Members Reflect
A Place Caled Haven: Explore This Exotic Landscape
The Reaping: The Seventh Plague: Those Creepy Bugs
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