Rated R for violence, disturbing images and some sexuality.
Stephen Hopkins (Blown Away, The Ghost and the Darkness, Predator 2)
Starring Hilary Swank, David Morrissey and Idris Elba
A scary and modern look at the biblical plagues.
We meet Katherine (Hillary Swank) a young woman who investigates supernatural phenomena and provides rational, scientific explanations for every one of them. In fact she brags “Forty-eight 'miraculous' occurrences I've investigated; 48 scientific explanations, the only miracle is that people keep believing.” We quickly learn that Katherine, a once ordained minister has developed a serious resentment toward God after her husband and daughter were both murdered while on a short term mission trip in Africa. Katherine and her partner Ben find themselves in a small town in Louisiana called Haven to investigate what seems to be a recurrence of the 10 biblical plagues and the little girl who everyone thinks is causing them.
TODD’S WORD:
Right from the beginning, I love the way the film portrays Katherine, her skepticism and the pain she has experienced. It is real and gritty and speaks to so many who continue to ask the “why do bad things happen to good people” questions. Katherine makes it clear she doesn't believe in the Bible anymore and further explains that the first night she stopped praying to God was the first night she was able to sleep. On the other hand, Ben is a believer mostly because God miraculously saved him from multiple gunshot wounds.
JONATHAN’S WORD:
I really enjoyed that too. It reminded me of the subplot of Mel Gibson’s character in Signs (although I wouldn’t dare compare this movie to Signs… I think Signs is a masterpiece!)
I wish the film could have kept it up. I felt like the first half of the film was brilliant. But about halfway through it started digressing to a B-thriller.
TODD’S WORD:
No arguments here, this is not even close to Signs, and the ending was definitely weaker than I expected. But I thought The Reaping was strong in the way it brought the plagues of Exodus to present-day rural Louisiana and to the big screen. For the first time we see a quality version of what those plagues may have looked like.
JONATHAN’S WORD:
I agree. I can’t think of any other films that have done this. And the cinematography is really good. I especially liked some of the shots in the swamp where they shot from the surface of the water. Not an easy shot.
TODD’S WORD:
The characters are strong and believable…which makes most of them pretty creepy. The story itself is pretty dark and definitely disturbing, and while it may not be used as a Sunday School class curriculum, it will at a minimum provide some great conversations about God, Satan and the supernatural.
JONATHAN’S WORD:
I think this is true in the beginning of the film. But then it turned a little cheesy. The film only scored as a “rental” for me because the beginning was so good. I also enjoyed the twist at the end.
SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There are certainly enough scary scenes to keep younger viewers away and with typical foul language, violence and a sex scene (no nudity- but it’s clear what they’re doing), you’ll have to give some serious thought before letting older kids see it.
Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):
- What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
- How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
- How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
