A Day of Judgment

source: A Day of Judgment

Nor is it The Iceman Cometh. It's not quite F. Scott Fitzgerald. Or Masque of the Red Death. It's certainly not Tennessee Williams (well, maybe Milk Train). I imagine it like a rightfully unpublished short story from a teenage Flannery O'Connor that some evangelicals found and made into a community theater morality play. Then they glommed onto the slasher craze of the early 80s in an attempt to save some souls. But they filmed it through a Giallo lens with a thorough dose of Corman. It's rather heavy-handed on the drama. Light on the horror. There's a couple of twists. The second of which is a head scratcher. If the new pastor is the Grim Reaper as is implied from his sermon, wouldn't that mean that all of them returning to church is some form of purgatorial penance or infernal damnation? That's a bizarre mixed message for a film purporting to be a religious fear piece on redemption. But that gives the movie a depth and ambiguity that I don't think the filmmakers intended. I side on the movie having an overtly pious narrative that was inept in its theme and resolution. Still, tje movie had an amateur atmosphere, weird aethetic and earnest gusto to its vignettes that made it somewhat watchable.

From Earl Owensby, the North Carolina-based producer / distributor of various independent horror & exploitation pictures of the 70s & 80s, comes this interesting, well-intentioned film. It takes place in a rural town in the 30s, and the local pastor (played by the director, Charles Reynolds) is packing up and leaving because he feels that he's failed to inspire the citizens. And these citizens are a pretty rotten lot, committing some of the seven deadly sins and basically being unpleasant to be around. Then a mysterious character in black begins materializing and punishing them for their sins. 'A Day of Judgment' is more of a melodrama, that spends a lot of time detailing these characters' lives, than true horror film. Touches of supernatural horror only come along at select points, although the finale does get pretty dark. The film is light on gore, although there is one highly amusing decapitation. A good part of the appeal lies in the hope that we will see some of these despicable people get the comeuppance waiting for them: a grouchy old widow (Helene Tryon), a stereotypical, greedy banker (William T. Hicks), adulterers (Larry Sprinkle, Careyanne Sutton), a paranoid drunk (Brownlee Davis) who feels persecuted, etc. The no-name cast is generally pretty good, especially those playing the less-than-honorable individuals. The film is also well-made, and atmospheric, but goes on a little long, losing a little momentum during its final third. It may test the patience of some viewers who hope for more actual horror during the run time. But it IS worth watching, especially for those people who like discovering genre entries like this that are a little more off-the-beaten-path. It's up to the individual viewer how much they respond to the way that the story is resolved. Jerry Rushing, who plays the Sheriff, was also the coach in the slasher "Final Exam"; in real-life, he helped to inspire the main characters in the feature "Moonrunners" and the subsequent series 'The Dukes of Hazzard'. Six out of 10.

Though many had told me to stay far away from this one, I persisted and gave it a shot and I wish I had listened. If you're interested in seeing a bunch of community theater actors walking around and hamming it up with very little in terms of tension or scares, maybe this will hit the right spot for you, but this is barely a horror film. If anything, it feels like an educational film with an few moments of a horror film spliced in just so it would sell.

Unhappy with the output of films coming out of Hollywood and determined to show he could do it better or just as well, Early Owensby built his own studio in Shelby, North Carolina in the 1970s. His studio would go on to make a number of low budget films that filled drive-ins and grindhouses across the country. Among the films that were made there was an unusual horror piece called A DAY OF JUDGEMENT, now available from Severin. The film is less horror feature and more morality tale. It takes place in a small Southern town in 1920. Reverend Cage (Charles Reynolds) is about to leave the town, his flock having diminished to just three old women. Feeling he has failed them he has called for a new leader for the church. As he leaves the town and is about to cross a covered bridge he feels a cold breeze and watches as the new church leader makes his way into town. We then get to meet the people of this small town. There is Mrs. Fitch, an elderly woman who likes to drink all too much. This is your typical old biddy who threatens the local children who come anywhere near her precious garden. This eventually leads her to poisoning the children's pet goat. She berates her servant who leaves her tired of her ways. Then there is George Clay, a young man who runs the service station his parents own. He longs to be rid of having to take care of his parents, ignoring the fact that they've built this business in the hopes of providing him a means to live when they are gone. There is Mr. Sharpe, the unscrupulous town banker. Not only did he refuse to help Rev. Cage he has also done wrong to a local farmer named Morgan. Morgan was left funds gifted to him by neighbor Jess Hill to purchase seed so he can keep his farm. But Sharpe refuses to acknowledge the loan and forecloses on Morgan. Then there is Ruby Kaylor. Ruby is married to the owner of the local clothing store, Harvey Kaylor. But she's only married Harvey for his money. On the side she's seeing his employee Kenny. They have a weekend tryst planned at her home while Harvey is away but he returns earlier than expected. Lastly there is Charlie Milford who is certain that his wife is having an affair with his superior Sid Martin. He begins to harass Martin in various ways until he finally confront him with a loaded gun. Each of these people will have to atone for their actions. That judgement will be delivered by the new Reverend, the grim reaper in disguise. And judgement will be harsh. The film moves along at a slow pace and the look of the film is honestly a bit low level. It feels like a production from a local community theater rather than a feature film. The performances are all lacking and the story, while having a nice twist at the end, feels kind of predictable. For myself it wasn't entertaining enough for me to recommend it but I am certain there are fans out there who will love this offering. Severin Films is offering the film with a newly scanned 2k print from the IP for the first time ever. Extras include "The Atheist's Sins" a commentary by author Stephen Thrower and "Tales of Judgement" and interview with filmmaker Worth Keeter and writer Thom McIntyre.

A series of vignettes relates how a group of townspeople during the 1920's have strayed from God. The Grim Reaper turns up and cuts them down to size. Slow at times and the ending is a bit preachy but I enjoyed it. I liked the scene where the banker got his comeuppance after being locked in a cold cellar. The cast is made up of regulars from the EO Corp studio.

Billed as a horror film in the midst of the slasher cycle, A Day of Judgement can't help but disappoint anyone expecting a straightforward horror flick and it's easy to understand why it's still struggling to find an audience all these years later. It's like a silly Christian scare film crossed with A Christmas Carol about a bunch of small town sinners in the 1920's being given karmic justice in the form of a grim reaper-esque black cloaked figure who gets them pulled into hell by zombie-like hands or decapitates them. Performances are spirited and it's not a badly made film in the technical sense, but not much is really going on and the most interesting subplot (there are many!) involves the younger wife of a town businessman carrying on an affair with one of her husband's employees.

Set in a rural U.S. farming community during the 1920s, this preachy low-budget regional outing involves an angel of judgment(depicted as a scythe-wielding harvest reaper) bringing forth wrath upon a group of morally and spiritually abraded individuals...a greedy banker, a curmudgeonly old lady, a spiteful drunk, and a scheming adulterous couple. Despite the leaden pace of the film, A DAY OF JUDGMENT is actually fairly well appointed for such a scrimpy project. With an unusually keen eye applied to the period-setting details(the wardrobe, sets, and cars are overall pretty true to the era), there is at least moderate success in creating an interesting atmosphere to the goings-on, and the cast(likely recruits from supper-clubs and playhouse theaters) perform sufficiently. Unfortunately, the entire project boils over with the declamatory religious hyperbole of a Jack Chick comic booklet, especially evident in the final curtain...an "inspirational" cop-out which quashes the film's horror aspect, ultimately revealing its true Christian Atonement crusade. A DAY OF JUDGMENT slyly sneaks itself into the horror genre like a sheep in wolf's clothing, but truthfully, this is a film which should be offered door-to-door by ladies in matronly dresses. 3/10

The signs on the IMDb barometer usually never lie, right? When a horror movie has a miserable 2.3 rating out of 10, barely 50 user votes and only a handful of comments that are besides all negative … well, than you better just draw your conclusions and skip it, because more than likely this will be a bad movie. And yet, in spite of all the alarming omens and the enormous difficulties to purchase a half-decent bootleg copy of this obscure movie, I was determined to see it for myself. "Stormbringer" a.k.a. "A Day of Judgment" showed so much creepy potential and even some characteristics of being a genuine early 80's horror gem that got overlooked in the huge contemporary offer; or maybe I just wanted to see those things. Could this really be that bad? Set in the 1920's (in my humble opinion an ideal era to tell a chilling horror story), in a remote little farming community and dealing with devastating themes like retaliation, betrayal of God and the arrival of the Grim Reaper himself! This is stuff that I crave to see more in horror movies. Personally, and as objectively as I can be, I think "A Day of Judgment" is an admirable and undeservedly neglected movie. The pacing is incredibly slow and the complete lack of financial means is a gigantic restraint, but the essence of the film – the most rudimentary aim – is truly original and impressive. The story opens with the reverend of a small community leaving town, mainly because he's embarrassed of his parishioners. On the edge of town he crosses his successor, and he's none less than the Angel of Death, sent by God himself and wielding a giant scythe of justice. The most fascinating aspect of the script is that our reaper meets with "traditional" sinners. We're not talking about terrorists or drug dealers, but good old-fashioned despicable yokels! Nasty old ladies that poison the pets of innocent children, fat and greedy bank managers that put humble farmers out of business, adulterous wives and treacherous employees and snobbish adolescents disrespecting their parents. Admittedly these stories aren't always too spectacular and come across as extremely outdated by now, but especially seen in their 1920's religious context, I really found them quite unsettling and scary. I'm also the first person to admit that the character of the Grim Reaper is dreadfully underused. Here they have a genuinely scary villain, complete with powerful weapon and deformed face, and yet the makers oddly decided to only show very brief flashes of him. The murder sequences are also poorly shot, or sometimes not even shown at all, and most of the cast members clearly never did any professional acting before. But, seriously, these are all minor defaults that are directly linked to the budgetary restrictions and inexperienced director. What this movie needs is some script re-writes (particularly towards the ending… The ending downright sucked and narrowly ruined the entire movie), a couple of wealthy producers and a proper horror marketing campaign. Honestly, why is Hollywood remaking perfectly good horror classics, like "Nightmare on Elm Street" or "The Omen", while there are so many obscure and long- forgotten gems that are begging for a modern makeover?

Produced by the same Earl Ownsby that made the truly oddball Tales of the Third Dimension in 3D, this Wilmington, North Carolina curiosity makes the strange step of being one part slasher, one part Christian morality play. And man, what a strange tasting cocktail that is*. Director C. D. H. Reynolds and writer Tom McIntyre put together this tale of a 1930s small town that is packed with lust, corruption and sin that has choked the God out of the last preacher, sending him running away into the night. Now, a mysterious figure wielding a scythe arrives just as he leaves and everyone that has done anything has to pay - not only with their lives, but with their souls. Everyone in town has something to be ashamed of. Mr. Sharpe, the banker, is out to take everything he can from everyone. Drunken Mrs. Fitch only cares about her flowers and will poison animals if they get too close. Ruby only married her husband to become rich, as everything about him is old, even his smell, but she doesn't care for anyone, even the shop assistant that she's been screwing behind her husband's back. And then there's George, who conspires with the banker to commit his parents and finally leave this town behind. This feels like the lost Charles B. Pierce movie we never got or the slasher they'd allow you to watch in Sunday school or a junior high production of Our Town that the drama teacher rewrote to slam book the entire town that he knew would never accept him and that he'd never escape. All filtered through with nightmarish conjurings of a foggy and blue lit reaper just walking from victim to victim and man, I love blue fog. It's a slow moving movie - and you know how those work for me - in the best of ways, a deranged message film that makes me leap with glee when the end credits start with the Ten Commandments. Bravo, people. Bravo. According to Stephen Thrower - who is on the Severin blu discussing this - Reynolds went back to teaching and was an atheist. He also worked on Carnival Magic, which makes a lot more sense. *I can only think of one other movie that attempts this, The Redeemer: Son of Satan. PS: A lot of the cast also shows up in Death Screams, which Arrow just put out.