The Reaping Reviews

After every Oscar, it seems Hilary Swank needs to reassert her B-movie roots, and what better way to do it than with The Reaping, a nonsensical Biblical horror flick packed with every MacGuffin and cheap freak-out trick in the book. Making yet another ploy for a sci-fi/special-effects box-office bonanza, Swank plays the most hilariously dedicated religious-myth debunker this side of a Mystery Science Theater presentation, no matter what physical evidence -- raining frogs, boils, gnats, etc. -- there is to the contrary. The ten plagues in The Reaping occur with such regularity, you could set your watch to them; most are laughable, but the locusts are a commendably creepy feat of CGI wizardry. Top it all off with a dream sequence within a dream sequence, two or three twist endings and an open door for a sequel that will most likely never happen, and you've got a terrible horror flick -- but also an enjoyably swift guilty pleasure.