Neil Marshall’s The Descent is a firmly established cult favorite amongst horror movie fans. Marshalls’ ‘The Reckoning’ comes with additional writing by Edward Evers-Swindell and Charlotte Kirk. This made the Witch and Plague movie a much-anticipated film release. Based on a story called RED HEX, by Antony Jones & Edward Evers-Swindell, the film follows a familiar tale about witch-hunting alongside a historical-ish fuelled narrative set in 1665. The title works with hysteria towards anything connected to sickness. Survivors or anyone disagreeing with men is struck down as working with evil devilish forces. Grace (played by Kirk) settles into life alone after her husband’s death for a few minutes.
Of course, in a town where everyone is keen to point fingers to keep any suspicious eye off themselves, Grace ends up in a bit of a pickle. The local Squire, responsible for collecting rent around the place receives a well-earned rejection. In turn, he decides to embark on an act of vicious revenge. Almost immediately the people in town are keen as mustard to burn the newest accused witch after asserting Grace has more than certainly used her wiles to encumber any bad luck within the village. A mob burns down her house, takes her baby, and throws her into the nearest dungeon.
The Reckoning Tries But Fails
By halfway, The Reckoning movie becomes less of a tense and scalding horror movie and more of a story based purely on how much torture one woman can take before she begins to look bad. I mean before she confesses. Seems quite a bit actually. Having been whipped, examined, stripped, and starved before being beaten and tortured, Grace still looks as beautiful as she did in the opening scenes.
The narrative turns into a somewhat mediocre blend of d*ck swinging amongst the menfolk. The plague takes a backseat to sexy visions and mystical dreams. Somewhere between a Mills and Boon novel and a Lifetime horror movie, The Reckoning just doesn’t cut the witchy mustard. There’s really no underlying empowerment message to speak of, everyone is weak as p*ss. Everyone except Grace can still walk after being on the receiving end of an unseemly pelvic device. If it wasn’t for the inclination to find out how The Reckoning ends, I may have turned this film off. The introduction of the notion that Grace indeed enters into a tryst with the Devil is a lost idea that was truly wasted.
End of Days
I give The Reckoning
2.5 Even looks pretty while scarfing an apple after being stabbed while in a contraption like Hannibal Lector out of 5
- You can watch The Reckoning on Shudder from May 13th, 2021. Rent or buy in the UK from April 16th, 2021.
- The Reckoning was acquired as a screener for review purposes.
- Produced by Fourth Culture Films and distributed by RLJE Films and Shudder
- Starring: Charlotte Kirk, Sean Pertwee, Steven Waddington
- Neil Marshall also directed Hellboy 2019
- South African Devils: 8 aka The Soul Collector
- Shortfilms: RIP review from Daniel Hess.
