DAY OF RECKONING (2016)

Studio:       SyFy - Epic Pictures
Director:    Joel Novoa Schneider
Writer:       Gregory Gieras
Producer:  Patrick Ewald, Shaked Berenson
Stars:     Jackson Hurst, Heather McComb, Nick Gomez, Jay Jay Warren, Hana Hayes, Randy Vasquez, Barbara Crampton, Raymond J. Barry

Review Score:

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Summary:

Fifteen years after a worldwide invasion from subterranean creatures, humanity braces for another devastating attack.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

During an eclipse, subterranean creatures unexpectedly rise from underground and swarm the globe attempting to exterminate mankind. Militaries of the world eventually battle back the monsters during the daylong event, which comes to be known as ‘The Day of Reckoning.’

15 Years Later – With the world bracing for another eclipse and possible creature attack, David Shepherd picks up his teenage son Tyler from his ex-wife Laura for weekend visitation. When word later breaks that an attack is imminent, Tyler sneaks away to a skate park to make sure his girlfriend Maddie is safe.

David eventually finds his son with Maddie at the park. Having heard from her ex-husband that Tyler went missing, Laura also arrives with her co-worker Milton, who has a romantic interest in Laura. Laura, David, Tyler, and Maddie get into Milton’s car and head to the Topanga shelter for safety.

The group discovers the shelter is at capacity. While arguing over their next course of action and who should drive, a creature kills Milton. David, Laura, Tyler, and Maddie make it to another vehicle and head to the desert outside Barstow, where David’s Uncle Ted has a fortified bunker.

David and the others make it into the bunker only to discover Ted and his wife Stella are being held hostage by Corporal Garrett Jensen, who forced his way inside. A tentacle creature gets into the bunker and slashes Stella’s neck. In the commotion, David recovers Garrett’s gun and directs Tyler to tie the soldier’s hands.

Realizing the bunker door will not hold back the creatures for the duration of the eclipse, Garrett explains he has a vehicle nearby that can take everyone to The Gate, the deep drilling facility where the creatures originally came from. With no other options, the group agrees to follow Garrett’s plan.

David, Laura, Tyler, Maddie, Ted, Stella, and Garrett make their way on foot to Garrett’s jeep. Creatures suddenly swarm. Having succumbed to infection from her injury, Stella goes mad and heads into the approaching horde. The others escape to the mining facility.

Creatures attack everyone inside the refinery, causing Garrett to flee on his own. David rigs the pipe system with saltwater. Ted sacrifices himself to a swarm of monsters so he can pull the fire alarm. The resulting rain of saltwater disintegrates the creatures. Outside, the eclipse ends and the creatures retreat back underground.

Infected from a creature wound, Garrett returns and shoots Tyler in his arm. David knocks Garrett down. Another creature rises up and kills Garrett. David, Laura, Tyler, and Maddie defeat the beast and escape outside into daylight.

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Review:

In the midst of an eclipse, subterranean creatures ranging in appearance from “The Dark Crystal’s” skeksis to “Resident Evil’s” hallway dog that made gamers sh*t themselves, suddenly swarm the globe.  Mankind manages to battle the beasts back underground, though not before millions die in an extinction event that comes to be called ‘The Day of Reckoning.’

With each subsequent eclipse in the 15 years since, sweat has beaded on the brow of every living person.  They fear this next descent into night might at last mark the monsters’ return.

Considering what is at stake, namely the lives of everyone on Earth, you’d think men and women would prepare for this eclipse like it could be the end of the world.  Since, you know, it legitimately is.  Particularly after signs like the mass migration of birds confirm in advance that the upcoming orbit into daytime darkness will indeed begin the day long dreaded.

Not so in “Day of Reckoning.”  The movie has nearly no attention to detail that might make it seem serious, even though it thinks of itself that way.  With mere minutes to go before the moon’s shadow swallows sunlight, people are still casually driving around town and shuffling into shelters where they should have been hours ago, if not days.

It’s comical how quickly traffic clears, how people leave cars wherever they please, and how orderly soldiers wave people through checkpoints with hardly a hint of hysteria anywhere.  Los Angeles can’t keep it together when the Lakers win a championship.  As if the city could be remotely this calm when facing impending Armageddon.

From here the story kicks back with a cigarette in one hand and the other patting its belly, taking the easiest road possible to a pat plotline of a broken family struggling to reconnect amid external turmoil.  Will the hero and his ex-wife rekindle their romance?  Will the cowardly adversary receive his comeuppance?  Will anyone at home make it this far before changing the channel?

Even the most slapdash SyFy creature features can usually count on a modicum of professional polish.  These productions are often crewed up with experienced people between better gigs.  They’re merely looking to cash a quick check for two weeks of work, but they still do a competent technical job, even if it is halfhearted.

Except “Day of Reckoning” is a front to back eyesore and that’s without including the god-awful effects.  The flick is an energy-sucking mélange of beige and gray, with scenes set against concrete curves of a dry L.A. riverbed, dusty Southern California hills, and cinder block walls in a fortified bunker.  Put a dark wash over everything because of the eclipse and you have consistently colorless settings matching the movie’s murk.

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This is what poor cinematography looks like.

Close-ups can’t be bothered to put a bounce card in front of an actor’s face so it can actually be seen.  The camera may even be on autopilot as focus goes in and out oddly.  Exterior exposure changes mid-shot during at least one vehicle sequence, as if the lens is fighting itself to figure out what it is even framing.

Then there’s the CGI.  Crom help us, this movie’s CGI.  Advancements in readily available software long ago invalidated any excuse a 2016 film might have for amateur animation looking like outdated stop-motion.  Yet here is “Day of Reckoning” with CG beasties moving as though every other frame is missing to cut back on costs or rendering time.  Movies like this can live or die based on how cool its creatures are or how convincingly they are brought to life.  “Day of Reckoning” dies.

What’s sad about the acting being halfway decent is you can’t help but feel for the cast.  They do what they can with unambitious material and likely flailed around under the assumption that empty air would be filled with killer computer creations.  Instead they’re stuck in the slime at the bottom of a barrel built from an assembly line of apathy.  It’s a waste of Raymond J. Barry and an even greater waste of Barbara Crampton in an irrelevant role worth a scant few minutes of screentime.

A low-grade level of schlock is expected when dealing with a Full Moon feature.  But Epic Pictures knows better.  Seeing the company behind the terrific “Turbo Kid” (review here) and holiday horror hit “Tales of Halloween” (review here) drop this deep into a B-movie abyss is dismaying.

At least The Asylum’s silliness often has tongue-in-cheek charm that can make its cheesiness fun.  “Day of Reckoning” only has bare minimum enthusiasm, a lame script, and lamer execution.  How does that do anyone any good?

Review Score:  30

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