Movie review

"The Reaping"

Three and a half stars

What makes a good scary movie you might ask? It has to have all of the following:

* The element of surprise;

* A great twist ending;

* Scenes that give you that squirmy feeling in your stomach;

* Gore.

There are only a few movies that I can think of that have all of these. Some include the "Saw" franchise, "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and "The Silence of the Lambs."

I can faithfully say that "The Reaping" has earned its spot there. While sitting in the theater watching this movie I thought: Could this get any better?

And you know what? It did. Everything you would look for in a great scary film is there. Gore, jumping parts, and an all-right ending. The ending was the only thing I disliked about the film - it was good, and I didn't suspect it, but it wasn't original. I've seen it before in about half a dozen films.

"The Reaping" follows a former Christian missionary (Hilary Swank) named Katherine who has spent her life debunking religious phenomena after her family was killed. She is sent to a small Louisiana town named Haven, which is being cursed by the 10 Biblical plagues thought to be brought upon by a young girl named Loren (AnnaSophia Robb). Katherine soon finds out that her past experience might not help in this case.

"The Reaping" is an excellent horror film if you like horror films. But if you aren't a fan of boils, locusts, lice and other creepy things, then I wouldn't check this movie out. If you are one of the few who can handle that, then this is perfect for you and is definitely worth the $9.50 ticket.

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Matt Lawson is a teen correspondent for All That.