What happened to Neil Marshall?

JohnFilmfreak

After showing so much talent with classics such as Dog Soldiers and The Descent, it is utterly mind-boggling to see Neil Marshall put out such amateurish drivel as The Reckoning.

Because pretty much everything is awful here: the camerawork is tedious, the lighting is ugly, the screenwriting is an offense, the acting is absolutely atrocious, and most jarringly the editing keeps making nonsensical cuts which pulls attention to themselves, destroying the immersion.

The overall quality of filmmaking is at a student level, which makes it hard to believe that this was actually made by a household name. But while the director must surely take the blame for most of this mess, there might also be a hint that some of the fault lies with the main star, co-writer and executive producer, Charlotte Kirk, who also happens to be the director's real life fiance.
As she plays a woman who is falsely accused of witchcraft and subsequently put through grueling torture, one cannot overlook that she never seems to attain any wounds or even get her dress dirty. Instead she is always presented with perfect make-up and hair at all times, making it very hard to believe that she is supposedly kept prisoner for days in a muddy cell. Even when the henchmen starts cutting up her feet, the wounds have mysteriously disappeared in the next scene and she doesn't even have a limp. It all amounts to an obvious vanity project made just to promote Charlotte Kirk's face. But I suspect it will backfire badly, as I cannot for the life of me imagine anyone being impressed with her performance in this film.

Neil Marshall has been quite vocal about the fact that his previous feature, Hellboy, was a terrible mess that was ruined by big studio interference, resulting in a film he's very ashamed of. And he's also been rather bombastic in promising that The Reckoning is "The first REAL Neil Marshall film in years." As such, it's flabbergasting to see him put out something this bad. Because even though Hellboy certainly did have its flaws, they are nothing compared to the complete cIusterfvck that is The Reckoning.

score 2/10

JohnFilmfreak 30 August 2020

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw6045347/