Dark Castle’s latest film, THE REAPING, is an abomination of God. Plain and simple, I am beyond disappointed. With a premise so incredibly cool, how is it possible to blow this one? Only God knows.

In the film directed by Stephen Hopkins, Hilary Swank plays a former Christian missionary who lost her faith after her family was tragically killed, and has since become a world-renowned expert in disproving religious phenomena. But when she investigates a small Louisiana town that is suffering from what appear to be the Biblical plagues, she realizes that science cannot explain what is happening and she must regain her faith to combat dark forces threatening the community.

Just the idea of seeing the ten plagues on the big screen created by modern day technology is exciting. Can you imagine how crazy it must have been to see them happen in real life (assuming it actually happened)? THE REAPING touches on all ten plagues (blood, frogs, gnats, flies, disease, boils, hails of fire, locust, darkness and death of the first born), but rush through them so quickly that they become nothing but a mere plot device. Instead of seeing frogs plummet from the sky (like in Magnolia), we see a few dead over-turned frogs in the blood river. Apparently that’s supposed to be awe inspiring. With the exception of the locust and the fire-hail all other eight plagues created a massive yawn effect (no wonder the Pharaoh wouldn’t release the slaves).

The twist of the film is so incredibly obvious I wonder why they even bothered; and the tired plot of a woman who lost her faith and needs to regain it in order to triumph has been so over used in the past few years. If you want this same story, sans plagues, go see THE EXORCIST again.

Per usual, Dark Castle spent their money on everything but the development of the story. The special effects are astounding (when used) and the cast couldn’t be better (having yet another Academy Award winner in Hilary Swank). But at times it feels like they cast characters for absolutely no reason. Take Stephen Rae’s character for example, he’s attacked by a certain someone, which makes absolutely no sense once the film has concluded. To elaborate would ruin the twist (not that you should care).

Dark Castle puts on a flashy show at times, but in the end they’ve dropped the ball once again. I swear that one day they’ll make a good movie; it has to happen sooner or later, right? Until that day comes, save your money this Passover and go pick up some macaroons, they provide more entertainment and taste so damn good!