#8 - Day of Reckoning (2016)

I'm not sure why people like post-apocalytpic movies.  For me, it seems like they are all deeply depressing, to know you're one of the few survivors of some massive die-off of most of humankind.  I guess the thinking is that surviving automatically makes these people heroes, or tough, or something.  It just seems to me that most survivors are lucky, and not particularly tough or smart or heroic.

Day of Reckoning (2016) is the Syfy movie of the week for their 31 Days of Horror.  The movie starts out simply enough.  During an eclipse, demons pour forth out of a hole in the ground and sweep across the planet, ravaging everything.  Fifteen years later, another eclipse brings another bunch of demons forth, and a small group of survivors tries to survive the second wave.

The Ugly:  I'm pretty sure Syfy has given up on plot, atmosphere and good acting, and chosen to focus on their god-awful CGI.  It's a bold move.  Not sure how well it's working for them, but, to be fair, they ARE still churning out god-awful CGI movie after god-awful CGI movie.  I guess they are in it for the long haul, and are doubling down on the god-awful CGI, because that's most of what this movie is composed of.  Hundreds of ugly CGI demons rampaging across the earth, the skies, through buildings and over people.  There's a tiny sub-plot about how some loser army deserter is untrustworthy, and that's supposed to add drama, but I think it's just kind of stupid.  There's supposed to be some tension because this guy is trying to survive with his ex-wife and estranged kid, but they never really make up through the drama.  None of the demons has any personality, it's just like a bunch of animals are running wild, and they have all these weaknesses that we should have been able to exploit to stop them in their tracks, though gunfire usually seems to do the trick.  So, what you end up with is a bunch of actors with little acting skill, running around shooting fake-looking pop-guns at bad CGI animals.  Ugh.

I think I recognized one veteran actor who didn't get much screen time.  None of the other actors was anything but decently good-looking, in an average way.  You're not missing anything if you didn't see it.  The movie is depressing, and not in a good way (if depressing can be good in any way).  I wouldn't watch it again, and I don't think you should, either.  But hey, Syfy will probably show it again (and again, and again), if you want to see it at some point.

In other news, there is no other news.  Have a nice weekend, see you tomorrow for another review!