PRESENTS

Complete with multiple tactless, excessive and pointless sex scenes, The Reckoning is ironically misogynistic considering its overarching themes of 'witches against the patriarchy' and 'final girl' power. Leading lady, Charlotte Kirk - who's over the top performance is better suited for Disney on Broadway patrons seated in the nose bleeds - is never seen without a full beauty makeup and lighting treatment, even throughout the numerous shock value torture scenes. Neil Marshall knows horror and has proven it with his previous directorial work (The Descent, 95%), but his past successes just serve to further accentuate his most recent project's short comings. The main character's make up and outfit looks cut from "The Princess Bride" and paste into "The Crucible" and that is not the end of the distracting inconsistencies. The film's design, while achieving that certain grungy period piece feel, is purely surface level and any close inspection reveals a number of frivolous, era jumbling mistakes. One look at the masterfully crafted, but incredibly boring Devil makeup, sums up this film's take-away nicely: expensive and ugly.