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Hilary Swank plays a missionary-turned-cynical-scientist in The Reaping, a religious horror-thriller. Katherine Winter is called to investigate when a small town river starts flowing with blood. Can she disprove rumours of a Biblical plague? Is a small spooky child to blame? Do we care? At first, perhaps, but the suspense soon fades away in this hokey, unoriginal tale which fails to create a real sense of threat. Points are also deducted for zero sexual tension with an American-accented David Morrissey.

The Reaping has B-movie written all over it – glamorous actress playing an eminent scientist, small town teaming with suspicious characters, Stephen Rea in a dog collar prophesying doom... but that's no reason why it shouldn’t be any fun. Sadly, there's barely an ironic laugh to be had from this dull affair. Swank never convinces as a grieving woman who’s lost her faith: the film relies on melodramatic flashbacks to inform us of her state of mind. David Morrissey also appears to have left his talent at home with a blank performance as the local man who calls for help.

"BELATED AND HURRIED"

The editing is perplexing: potentially interesting scenes are brief, others drawn-out. It takes far too long to get to the small town, far too long to meet the girl everyone's blaming, far too long to get to the darned point. As a result, the reveal is so belated and hurried it's almost pointless. It's a sad state of affairs when the fit of Hilary Swank's casual slacks is more interesting than a plague of locusts.

The Reaping is released in UK cinemas on Friday 20th April 2007.