28 reviews
Day of ultimate boredom...
I am a sucker for the horror genre, and I am the first to admit that I was lured in by the promise of the movie cover/poster. Especially because it did seem rather interesting, sort of a mixture between something demonic and zombiesque.
First of all, it was an uphill struggle to actually sit through the entire movie, because it was a massively generic storyline, which offered very little in terms of entertainment value, and even less so in originality. Furthermore, the storyline was horribly predictable, to the point of where you just shake your head well ahead of things actually happening.
But for a horror movie, then "Day of Reckoning" was scarily devoid of anything even remotely scary. And it would have served the movie well if they had opted to go for a proper storyline that could have bolstered the fact that this was intended to be a horror movie.
Furthermore, as a horror movie it is essential to have proper practical effects and/or CGI. Alas, it can be said in all honesty that this is something that "Day of Reckoning" didn't have. And it was showing blatantly on the screen, because the CGI was laughable at best, and it was super poorly animated to the point of being an eyesore.
I can't recall any of the acting performances in the movie, so it is safe to say the cast weren't particularly memorable. I am sure that they did the best they could given the severe restrictions they had anchoring them down.
Surpringly enough I managed to suffer through the entire ordeal that is "Day of Reckoning", but it was a very hard struggle. And I can honestly say that this is not a movie that you will return to watch a second time, providing you get through it the first time.
First of all, it was an uphill struggle to actually sit through the entire movie, because it was a massively generic storyline, which offered very little in terms of entertainment value, and even less so in originality. Furthermore, the storyline was horribly predictable, to the point of where you just shake your head well ahead of things actually happening.
But for a horror movie, then "Day of Reckoning" was scarily devoid of anything even remotely scary. And it would have served the movie well if they had opted to go for a proper storyline that could have bolstered the fact that this was intended to be a horror movie.
Furthermore, as a horror movie it is essential to have proper practical effects and/or CGI. Alas, it can be said in all honesty that this is something that "Day of Reckoning" didn't have. And it was showing blatantly on the screen, because the CGI was laughable at best, and it was super poorly animated to the point of being an eyesore.
I can't recall any of the acting performances in the movie, so it is safe to say the cast weren't particularly memorable. I am sure that they did the best they could given the severe restrictions they had anchoring them down.
Surpringly enough I managed to suffer through the entire ordeal that is "Day of Reckoning", but it was a very hard struggle. And I can honestly say that this is not a movie that you will return to watch a second time, providing you get through it the first time.
- paul_haakonsen
- Apr 23, 2017
- Permalink
Lame and Senseless
When the world was invaded by underground creatures that wanted to wipe out mankind from Earth, the post-apocalyptic survivors called The Day of Reckoning. Fifteen years later, people have the same signs indicating that a new attack is coming and they seek out shelter for protection. What will happen to mankind this time?
"Day of Reckoning" is another SyfY Channel garbage with a lame and senseless story and awful computer-generated imagery. The plot begins with no explanation or character development. Then the viewer sees a teenager (Tyler) jeopardizing his family and friends with a stupid unexplained attitude. There is a fight to survive from his family and friends and nobody misses the death of his mother's girlfriend. Then his uncle and aunt die and nobody grieves. In the end they laugh as if they were on the beach of in a picnic, forgetting those who died. But the worst is that the appalling creatures that destroy the world are easily killed by salt and saltwater. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): Not Available
"Day of Reckoning" is another SyfY Channel garbage with a lame and senseless story and awful computer-generated imagery. The plot begins with no explanation or character development. Then the viewer sees a teenager (Tyler) jeopardizing his family and friends with a stupid unexplained attitude. There is a fight to survive from his family and friends and nobody misses the death of his mother's girlfriend. Then his uncle and aunt die and nobody grieves. In the end they laugh as if they were on the beach of in a picnic, forgetting those who died. But the worst is that the appalling creatures that destroy the world are easily killed by salt and saltwater. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): Not Available
- claudio_carvalho
- Mar 18, 2017
- Permalink
CGI, weak story, contrived action
I've given up on the SyFy Channel. This is typical of all their productions. Terrifying and spectacular scenes involving CGI monsters/aliens/whatever separated by deserts of arid narrative with little or no purpose other than taking the characters to the next scene involving CGI. It's just crap. Some visual engagement but zero intellectual value otherwise. The suits at SyFy either are idiots or venal purveyors of weird trash -- or both. Don't waste your time. There's so little artistic value, other than the yeoman efforts of the put-upon casts, that I honestly believe SyFy is soliciting scripts from middle-schoolers. With a title like "Day of Reckoning" and the very rare religious references made in dialog, one might suspect that some attempt at rationalizing the cause of a disaster threatening the existence of the human race might be made. One would be mistaken in that assumption. There's nothing here. Watching while drunk might improve the experience.
- mrcrashhappy-1
- Oct 7, 2016
- Permalink
I have a question
So you have monsters coming out of a hole in the earth every fifteen years. Salt kills them. And no one thought to dump salt water in the hole? Just wondering.
Why Bother?
A vote of 1 is too good for this movie. I stopped viewing after a few minutes.
You could tell from the start it was going to be awful with the cardboard acting.
The CGI must be an example of the worst CGI possible, it makes old Sinbad Plasticine creature look 100% real. ( I loved the old Sinbad movies as a kid)
Why do these people even bother? I downloaded it for free and feel cheated and criminal that it took space on my hard drive.
I worry about people that voted this above 1
You could tell from the start it was going to be awful with the cardboard acting.
The CGI must be an example of the worst CGI possible, it makes old Sinbad Plasticine creature look 100% real. ( I loved the old Sinbad movies as a kid)
Why do these people even bother? I downloaded it for free and feel cheated and criminal that it took space on my hard drive.
I worry about people that voted this above 1
- paulwattriley
- Feb 1, 2017
- Permalink
Amateurish - very bad
Not quite as bad as those from the 1950/60's, but surprisingly poor CGI for 2016: The monsters are visually obvious additions. At one point, a dog-like creature attacks a man who - instead of trying to use his hands, throws them up! The acting was OK, as was the dialogue. The plot had reasonable promise but only for about a half-hour. The interactions between good and bad guys was believable for the most part. I don't think any interaction between the monsters and anything else - buildings, humans or other monsters - was believable. Shocking when almost all films rely heavily on such nowadays. Perhaps Sc-Fi channel has too rigid production schedules, or lousy quality control?
- billsoccer
- Oct 20, 2016
- Permalink
They Really Tried
A far from hellish rise
Part of me knew what to expect from 'Day of Reckoning' and that it was meant to be not take it too seriously and take it for what it is films. The idea was a good one and the cover looked cool and a little creepy, so while not expecting much part of me wanted to enjoy it.
While there are certainly far worse films than 'Day of Reckoning', even taking it for what it's meant to be it is a major failure and really not a good film at all. There are similar films and low-budget films that have been surprisingly average and above, so actually 'Day of Reckoning' could have been good with the right execution. Instead a good idea is ruined by the terrible way nearly everything is executed and the coolness and creepiness stays in solely in cover and doesn't translate in the film.
'Day of Reckoning' at least has occasional splashes of fun and some semi-decent scenery.
However, while there has been worse acting it is still poor, both bland and forced. None of the characters are easy to get behind or interesting, it's all very flimsy and any attempts to develop them feel like melodramatic padding. Their decisions and behaviours also don't make sense and they show very little emotion to tense or dramatic situations.
Nearly everything severely underwhelms. Not just being visually cheap and poorly acted and written even worse but what seemed like a decent, if very generic, idea was executed in typical fashion, with no imagination whatsoever and only occasional splashes of fun.
Faring worse are the production values, story and writing. 'Day of Reckoning', aside from the scenery, is drably shot and sloppily edited, but it's the truly abysmal special effects that are the worst. As the creatures were made on a low-budget it would have been forgiven a little if it was not great, but when the effects for the sharks look as if no effort was given in making them without looking so goofy and unfinished-looking that is hard to ignore or forgive.
Can say no better about the portrayal of the creatures either. They exude little personality either, no menace, not even any unintentional goofiness. Generally the attack scenes, apart from the odd mild amusement, are sloppily edited, too brief and devoid of suspense or sense of horror. Moreover, there is no attempt to give them any explanation or development so the motivations and such are confused and vague.
It is hard to not take 'Day of Reckoning' seriously, when it itself doesn't know whether to take itself seriously or not. Some parts make earnest attempts to not be stupid but come over as pedestrian and over-serious. Other parts go well overboard on the silliness that one is cringing rather than being entertained.
Really wanted to like the story here because the concept was intriguing slightly, but while it starts nicely the further the movie progresses the lazier, cheesier and more formulaic it gets and it gets stale quickly.
Overall, very poor. 2/10 Bethany Cox
While there are certainly far worse films than 'Day of Reckoning', even taking it for what it's meant to be it is a major failure and really not a good film at all. There are similar films and low-budget films that have been surprisingly average and above, so actually 'Day of Reckoning' could have been good with the right execution. Instead a good idea is ruined by the terrible way nearly everything is executed and the coolness and creepiness stays in solely in cover and doesn't translate in the film.
'Day of Reckoning' at least has occasional splashes of fun and some semi-decent scenery.
However, while there has been worse acting it is still poor, both bland and forced. None of the characters are easy to get behind or interesting, it's all very flimsy and any attempts to develop them feel like melodramatic padding. Their decisions and behaviours also don't make sense and they show very little emotion to tense or dramatic situations.
Nearly everything severely underwhelms. Not just being visually cheap and poorly acted and written even worse but what seemed like a decent, if very generic, idea was executed in typical fashion, with no imagination whatsoever and only occasional splashes of fun.
Faring worse are the production values, story and writing. 'Day of Reckoning', aside from the scenery, is drably shot and sloppily edited, but it's the truly abysmal special effects that are the worst. As the creatures were made on a low-budget it would have been forgiven a little if it was not great, but when the effects for the sharks look as if no effort was given in making them without looking so goofy and unfinished-looking that is hard to ignore or forgive.
Can say no better about the portrayal of the creatures either. They exude little personality either, no menace, not even any unintentional goofiness. Generally the attack scenes, apart from the odd mild amusement, are sloppily edited, too brief and devoid of suspense or sense of horror. Moreover, there is no attempt to give them any explanation or development so the motivations and such are confused and vague.
It is hard to not take 'Day of Reckoning' seriously, when it itself doesn't know whether to take itself seriously or not. Some parts make earnest attempts to not be stupid but come over as pedestrian and over-serious. Other parts go well overboard on the silliness that one is cringing rather than being entertained.
Really wanted to like the story here because the concept was intriguing slightly, but while it starts nicely the further the movie progresses the lazier, cheesier and more formulaic it gets and it gets stale quickly.
Overall, very poor. 2/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Apr 19, 2018
- Permalink
Oh dear
Abysmal! Dire acting diabolical cgi and no story or plot to speak of.
I gave it 2 stars for the effort n for the music.
Another low cost crap film fro SyFy.
Please don't make any more movies like this one cos you are nearly as bad as Assylum!
I can not recommend this movie at all cos it is terrible.
I gave it 2 stars for the effort n for the music.
Another low cost crap film fro SyFy.
Please don't make any more movies like this one cos you are nearly as bad as Assylum!
I can not recommend this movie at all cos it is terrible.
- jhmoondance
- Nov 1, 2021
- Permalink
UNWATCHABLE
After the first 5 minutes you understand the film will have no meaning. Pointless dialogues, poor trama... I watched all the 85 minutes through to leave a negative feedback and a warning: do not watch this
- corradomarsili
- Dec 25, 2019
- Permalink
I QUITE ENJOYED IT
I'm a sucker for apocalyptic/end of the word stuff so I have to admit to enjoying this film. Not the best but by far not the worst in the horror genre that I've seen in recent years. Yeah the CGI for the scary creatures wasn't brilliant but they made me jump and hide behind a cushion several times. The continuity in one particular scene (that I noticed) was a bit dire (the son and his gf ... one minute standing together in each others arms and from another camera angle miles apart) but which film doesn't have those moments?? Glad I watched it and would definitely recommend it going forward. Seen a lot worse.
OMG! I Actually Enjoyed it! HELP!!!
I feel like this movie was a sin...Where's my day of reckoning?
- soulminded
- Feb 6, 2017
- Permalink
This is my car!
- nogodnomasters
- Aug 4, 2017
- Permalink
Delivered What I Expected!
I saw a recap of this movie on youtube and it seemed interesting so I gave it a watch. It was exactly what I expected going into it so I was not disappointed.
The story is pretty decent actually, with a transformers or world war z level budget and cast it probably could have been a block buster. The story follows a family trying to survive a horde of monsters that appear every 15 years for 24 hours to kill the human population before retreating back underground. Simple, solid idea that: interesting.
The cast was okay, no actors or actresses that I know but everyone did a good job with their limited resources. Overall a decent job by all and a good enjoyable on-screen portrayal for the audience.
The VFX and SFX were by far the weakest point of the film. I didn't mind it personally as I already knew what it would look like going into it but for those expecting good VFX don't bother, it looks like a teenager designed and animated all the monsters and creatures on their laptop before slapping it into the film.
Overall a 5/10 from me. The movie has a solid premise and okay cast but could definitely benefit from a bigger budget for some decent special effects with the potential for a block buster if given enough money for the production, cast etc and having the write director at the helm of the movie.
The story is pretty decent actually, with a transformers or world war z level budget and cast it probably could have been a block buster. The story follows a family trying to survive a horde of monsters that appear every 15 years for 24 hours to kill the human population before retreating back underground. Simple, solid idea that: interesting.
The cast was okay, no actors or actresses that I know but everyone did a good job with their limited resources. Overall a decent job by all and a good enjoyable on-screen portrayal for the audience.
The VFX and SFX were by far the weakest point of the film. I didn't mind it personally as I already knew what it would look like going into it but for those expecting good VFX don't bother, it looks like a teenager designed and animated all the monsters and creatures on their laptop before slapping it into the film.
Overall a 5/10 from me. The movie has a solid premise and okay cast but could definitely benefit from a bigger budget for some decent special effects with the potential for a block buster if given enough money for the production, cast etc and having the write director at the helm of the movie.
Independence Day Of Reckoning...
- FlashCallahan
- Feb 5, 2017
- Permalink
Good theme, bad movie
Horrible CGI
Bro this movie was made in 2016 and had the cgi of a ps1 horror game I could make something better my self in 10 damn minutes I don't care why they look like that but if a movie is gonna have demons that look like that it shouldn't be made
- felishakleesh
- Oct 29, 2019
- Permalink
Seen better, seen worse
D'oh of Reckoning
As everyone says, mostly shameful CGI. You can literally see CGI errors happening on the screen.
Tbh, I've seen worse acting, but the characters themselves are incredibly poor. You just don't care about any of them.
The best parts are the goofs:
If the creators can't be bothered to even try making a decent film, what's the point of watching it?
Tbh, I've seen worse acting, but the characters themselves are incredibly poor. You just don't care about any of them.
The best parts are the goofs:
- The cities have been destroyed but in several night-time scenes you can see a perfectly normal city in the distance from the hills.
- One character is shot in the shoulder and in incredible pain - and then completely forgets about it for the rest of the film.
If the creators can't be bothered to even try making a decent film, what's the point of watching it?
- martrpeden
- Oct 10, 2021
- Permalink
A Haunting Vision of a Hell Earth
Day of Reckoning is a powerful film which is nothing less than science fiction at its most cinematically electric. Gifted director Joel Novoa (God's Slave) brings his horrific vision to incredible realization as he works from a brilliant screenplay by Gregory Gieras (Dark Island.) There are unforgettably haunting vistas of desolation captured magically by cinematographer Petr Cikhart with a skill unique to film. The suspense and horror is high intensity with a cast of exciting young people bringing to life characters who are very real and vivid in their humanity. Jackson Hurst (The Mist) is memorable and Heather McComb even surpasses her fantastic work in The Event. Jay Jay Warren (Beverly Hills Christmas) is wonderful as usual but it is Hana Hayes in the role of Maddy who gives one of the most powerful performance within this outstanding ensemble cast. The acting, direction, screenplay, and cinematography all come together to create a motion picture depicting an apocalyptic hell from which the audience can not escape. A superb film that no fan of science fiction will want to miss and one it will be impossible to forget.
- jlthornb51
- Feb 19, 2019
- Permalink
B Movie Horror, watchable.
Day Of Reckoning: Strange creatures burst forth from the bowels of the Earth. Some fly, others walk, trot or whatever, generally of a lizard/dinosaur type but a couple of varieties are humanoid. an epic battle is fought with them for 24 hours, eventually they are beaten. Fifteen years later and all of the signs which preceded the previous attack are lining up: seismic activity: check; dead esalife being washed ashore in shoals check; an Eclipse of the Sun: due shortly. Yes the creatures arrive again.
The ground creatures are well imagined but the flyers look a bit ropey. Still there's one darkly funny scene where people are arguing about who'll drive a car when the loudmouth knowitall is carried off by a flying creature. Some see the coming of the creatures as God's Judgement, literally accepting them as Demons. A Cult even welcomes this End of the World. The film follows one family as they attempt to escape from the attack. Chaotic traffic jams as people flee, shelters full.
So-so acting but a couple of likeable characters, some dodgy effects, pedestrian direction but enjoyable nevertheless. About what you would expect from most SyFy Channel films. 5.5/10.
The ground creatures are well imagined but the flyers look a bit ropey. Still there's one darkly funny scene where people are arguing about who'll drive a car when the loudmouth knowitall is carried off by a flying creature. Some see the coming of the creatures as God's Judgement, literally accepting them as Demons. A Cult even welcomes this End of the World. The film follows one family as they attempt to escape from the attack. Chaotic traffic jams as people flee, shelters full.
So-so acting but a couple of likeable characters, some dodgy effects, pedestrian direction but enjoyable nevertheless. About what you would expect from most SyFy Channel films. 5.5/10.
Look The Other Way, But Not Because You're Scared
Hollywood believes if a film contains alien monsters, it will be successful. By Hollywood standards, this Monster Turkey flies high. If you insist on watching it, get high like the turkeys first. Being high won't make the film better, but you won't harm yourself for watching it.
- raoulmagneto
- Feb 19, 2019
- Permalink
Usual Racism, Ageism
In a nutshell. Apocalyptic event. Monsters, close calls. All the people of color are killed off first, then the old people, usually saving the younger white folks. You know, the people who matter. Religious overtones.
Skip it or watch while vacuuming.
I would like the last out of my life back, the title should be painfully cringe
This without a doubt the worst movie I've ever watched, the acting is lazy to say the least the CGI would put the Bollywood action effect to shame by comparison, last advice if u have some time to kill u can watch a boiling egg you'll be more entertained. Plot is not exiting, and you can't relate to any of the characters if fact the long you watch it the longer you'll start to strongly dislike 'em I started to root for the horrible horrible built catastrophe of the CGI monster, I've seen a better monsters in amateur kids shows, The category of the film is horror/ sci-fi and that's only cause there no category of painfuly cringe and boring.
- bader_gsxr
- Jan 15, 2023
- Permalink