The Reaping

   There's still that last plague, Doug. Death of the firstborn. You come

            from a long line of only children.

The film opens with Father Costigan finding his photo collection burning very selectively. When he puts them together, he finds they form a pattern of an upside down sickle, with a cross through it. This symbol is the inverted astrological symbol for Ceres), thought to represent motherly love.

Meanwhile in Concepción, Chile, Katherine Winter and assistant Ben are investigating claims of a miracle. Upon exploring the area, Katherine uncovers a cache of hazardous waste illegally stashed in an underground oil well, which has ruptured and is causing the effects of the 'miracle', as well as infecting the local people. When Katherine returns home to Louisiana, she receives a call from Father Costigan, who warns her that it was her face burning in his photographs and that it is a warning from God. Katherine ignores the warning. Doug, a science teacher from the small town of Haven, begs Katherine's help in finding a reason for the local river turning red (1st plague), which the locals believe is a plague caused by a twelve year old girl who witnessed (and they think caused) her older brother's death.

Katherine and Ben head down to Haven, and while examining the river, Katherine meets Loren McConnell. They also bear witness to dead frogs falling into the lake (2nd plague), apparently out of the high trees. As they wait for samples from their lab, they encounter flies (4th plague), which ruin their dinner, and disease (5th plague) which kills off all of Jim Wakeman's cows. Later, Katherine appears to dream a sexual encounter with Doug, then a meeting with Loren, and finally the history to her lack of faith. Katherine was once an ordained minister, and took her husband and daughter to the Sudan for missionary work. But after a year long drought, the locals sacrificed them to God, leaving Katherine alive, but disillusioned.

In the morning Katherine goes to McConnell house alone, where she finds the cult symbol carved on the walls there she meets Loren again and had a vision with some incomplete depiction of what really happened with Loren and her brother. She also meets Loren's mother, who asks why Katherine won't kill her daughter before being attacked by a maniacal Loren. Katherine is asked to get out by Loren's mother. Meanwhile in town, Ben and Doug learn of the cult, and the results prove that the river was in fact turned to blood. The citizens are having to shave the heads of all their children due to a mass outbreak of lice (3rd plague) and degenerate into a mob, ready to go out and kill Loren themselves. Ben and Doug try to get the mayor to evacuate the town, but he and his staff are struck down with boils (6th plague) and so, helpless.

Against her better judgment, Katherine calls Father Costigan, who explains to her that the symbol he saw was that of a satanic cult. He informs her that they sacrifice every second born in an attempt to create "a perfect child", with "the eyes of the Devil" to bring them power. He also states that at some point, an angel, who cannot be harmed by the cult, will appear to destroy them. He insists that Loren is that "perfect child" in the satan's image and the plagues may just be a trick of satan to protect that child. He also tried to convince Katherine that she is that angel sent forth by God to destroy this cult, and hence she has to kill Loren.

Desperate to find logical answers, Katherine goes to the McConnell house alone, where she finds the sacrificial chamber and cult symbols in a basement there she saw Loren's mother, who told Katherine that "he" (satan) controls her daughter now and that she has failed, saying so she kills herself. Loren finds Katherine, but is distracted by the arrival of the townsfolk. The sherrif and angry people of town gather around McConnell house, preparing to attack and kill Loren, but suddenly the area gets swarmed by thousands of locusts (8th plague), who cover every surface and kill Wakeman, his son and the sheriff. Ben and Doug are forced away from the scene, while Katherine must lock herself inside the house. When Ben informs her that Loren has him trapped locked inside a crypt filled with children's remains, she hurries after him, knowing that she is the only one Loren trusts.

When she arrives and finds Ben dead, she confronts Loren. Darkness falls (9th plague) and fireballs shoot from the sky (7th plague). Katherine pretends to be glad to see Loren, but overpowers her in a number of seconds and tries to kill her.

As Loren screams, they share a bit of a vision, which shows Maddie and Brody McConnell holding someone's arms down. Loren is being held on the ground by Katherine, gasping and shaking, about to be stabbed by Katherine, and she gasps "I'm so lucky." "Why?" asks Katherine, bewildered. "Because silly", Loren gasps. "God gave me you." These are the exact words that Katherine and her daughter had exchanged at one point. Therefore, Katherine cannot bring herself to kill Loren. She instead questions her own faith ("How do I know what's real?") When Loren tells Katherine to use her faith, Katherine comes to realize that the townsfolk are not God-fearing people as she had thought, but rather members of the cult....

Then they begin to have a real vision: Loren's whole family was part of the cult, and the cult attempted to kill Loren, who was a secondborn child. Loren escaped and her older and only brother Brody chased her and stabbed her, although she did not die. It only appeared to have a reaction on Brody, who collapsed dead at Loren's feet. Their mother Maddie, who had followed and watched the entire thing, hastened back to the cult's hideout. This reveals that Loren did not kill her brother. Katherine realizes, as Loren lies on the ground crying and shaking, she is completely innocent, she is also the angel that God has sent..

However the townsfolk are still surrounding the two...although not for long as fire falls from the sky (10th plague). People die...yet can Loren and Katherine survive??? And wil there be a final twist to this story.....

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