It's very surprising that "The Reaping" doesn't work; religious messages have been notoriously well acquainted with the horror genre, and most of the time, it works quite well ("The Exorcist," "The Omen," "Frailty," the original "Wicker Man," etc.). Maybe that's because they relied on both shock value and story for advancement. "The Reaping" certainly succeeds in being shocking, with plenty of pop out scares and a few well placed disturbing images. But in terms of story, something was seriously lacking. The events of this film make absolutely no sense, with one crucial plot device clashing against every other, turning it into a convoluted mess. This isn't a case of leaving with more questions than answers; you leave with no answers at all.

The plot centers on Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank), a Louisiana State University professor. When not in class, she travels the world, using her scientific skills to debunk claims of miraculous events. She was once a devout Christian, but she lost her faith when her husband and daughter were murdered on an African missionary excursion. This clearly adds conflict to the story, as shown when a man named Doug (David Morrissey) seeks her assistance. Strange things have been happening in his hometown of Haven, namely the first plague of the Old Testament (a river turning into blood). Upon entering Haven and examining the river, Winter learns of Loren McConnell (AnnaSophia Robb), a young girl believed to be responsible for her brother's death. She's also believed to be a servant of Satan, which may account for the condition of the river.

Winter is initially unwilling to accept anything the town believes; she's confident that she can find a scientific explanation for the river turning red. But then another biblical plague occurs. Then another. And another. And another. After a while it becomes obvious that something powerful is at work here, something that cannot be explained through science. This understandably leaves Winter unsure of anything anymore. Are the plagues actually religious phenomena, and is a young girl responsible for it all?

That's about as much of the plot as I can describe; the last half of the film is wall-to-wall revelations, none of which I can give away. What I can say is that the revelations are confusing and nonsensical. There's a complicated subplot involving a satanic cult and birth order, with the first borns safe from harm and the second borns in danger, or something like that. There's also a brief performance by Stephen Rea as Father Costigan, a priest who was with Winter when her family was murdered. He knows that she's in danger because of an ancient prophecy that predates Christianity. What no one seems to know is why she needed to be involved at all; were it not for the fact that she's the main character, one would have a hard time explaining why the simple folk of Haven, Louisiana would need her. I can't elaborate on this, but I will say that the final plot twists are of no help.

Apparently, this film was delayed, with an original release date of August 2006. I can't help but feel that such a long delay contributed to the mess it's currently in; it seemed as if important details were edited out in order to appease the studio execs, the MPAA, the test audiences, or any combination thereof. I can definitely say that the film's structure is bad, but I'm not sure I can say the same thing about the film in general. I obviously don't know this for sure, but I have a feeling that a well-edited director's cut would fix everything, or at least enough of it to make the events of the story much more understandable. When and if such a version of "The Reaping" comes to fruition, I'll recommend it. Until then, keep as far away from this film as possible; it's a disaster of biblical proportions.

- Chris Pandolfi

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