Former ordained minister Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank) has turned her back on her faith after losing her husband and daughter while doing missionary work in Sudan. When The Reaping [1] opens, she’s a skeptical scientist who debunks religious miracles.

Katherine’s skepticism is challenged when she’s summoned by Doug (David Morrissey) to Haven, Louisiana, where the locals insist they’re being visited by Biblical plagues. She and her colleague, Ben (Idris Elba), are told that shortly after a local boy died, the rivers turned to blood. The culprit, according to the townsfolk? The boy's sister and the one witness to his death: a creepy little girl named Loren McConnell (AnnaSophia Robb). After witnessing a scourge of boils and lice, frogs falling from the heavens, and the death of cattle, Katherine is drawn into a mystery that science can’t explain.

But while The Reaping has all the ingredients of a great horror film, it doesn't come close to approaching greatness. For the highlights and lowlights,

The Reaping benefits from interesting characters, an eerie setting, hints of Devil-worship, and great visual effects. And yet everything in this film seems like a poor imitation of devices seen before in superior flicks: The Exorcist [2], The Omen [3], Deliverance [4], and even the lukewarm but at least coherent Skeleton Key [5]. If The Reaping were a roller coaster ride, it would be one that lurches from one cheap thrill to another, but you know where it’s going, and you can’t wait to get off.

There are some chilling and beautiful scenes in The Reaping, no question. The aerial view of the river of blood is a spectacular sight. Also heart-stopping is the moment we meet Loren, the hauntingly beautiful, backwoods child who suddenly appears at the river’s edge, setting in motion Katherine’s memories of her dead daughter. The film also captures the decaying beauty of the Deep South. Late at night, in Doug’s old mansion, Katherine discovers an old blues tune playing on a Victrola. Alongside weeping willows and a moonlit garden, the myth of the Gothic South seems to come alive.

But occasionally arresting moments cannot save a poorly edited movie that becomes so plodding that my friend was actually counting which plague we were on so she could figure out when the movie was going to end. Also, I never quite understood how Haven was significant enough for plagues of Biblical proportions, or why Doug sounded more Irish than he did Southern. (To be fair, the actor masters the Southern accent by the end.)

Ultimately, The Reaping is an incoherent mess, as murky as the swamps of Louisiana. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of horror flicks, I’d stay away or save your money and rent it. I for one, have not lost faith in the horror genre. It definitely gets better than this.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures [6]