Got back from a tiring time away and decided to watch a film as an excuse for a sit down.
As luck would have it The Reaping was on, starring Hilary Swank, who I best remember from Boys Don't Cry. (A sad disappointment, I thought it was going to be like Dancer in the Dark with Robert Smith in the Bjork rôle!)
As an added bonus David Morrissey was in it. You know, the guy who was The Next Doctor in that Dr Who special. If I'd known that I'd have seen it in the cinema. I can't work out if he's a Brit with a good American accent or a Yank with a flawless British accent. Either way he's a damn good actor.
(Aside: Idris Elba, who plays Ben, is apparently also British, which totally escaped me. This movie has more quality performers than I'd realised.)
When the film came out they had some fabulous big posters in the cinema at Bracknell, done in an orangy-red duotone sort of way. The trees in the swamp looked awesome with the red river as a backdrop. But I can't find any photos, with only the internet as a resource . . .
As it happens I can't help thinking of this as a novel twist on The Wicker Man, which is more than I can say for the remake of The Wicker Man. (Nicholas Cage, shame on you! Should have made Ghost Rider II instead!) Ignorant innocent get's hauled off to the back of beyond, to stick their noses were they shouldn't be, looking out for a lost girl . . .
. . . to great effect. There are murmurings of a sequel, but I doubt it'd live up to this.
As Channel Fve goes (and who'd notice if they did?) this was a winner which I wish I'd taken the trouble to watch sooner. Such is life.
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