Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Reckoning’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘The Reckoning’.
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There are a fair number of people in the United States, that believe that mankind is in a wonderfully harmonious place in 2021… and it is understandable as to why they think that. After all, the compendium of human knowledge is in our pockets and accessible day or night, allowing for information to flow on a moment’s notice to the point where there should be no concerns about misinformation, since the facts should be at the top of any search results. Plus, BIPOC and women are seen as equals and are in positions of power around the country, making it seem as though we’ve made incredible strides in race relations. But let’s be honest, if the past couple of years have taught us anything, it would have to be that such a particularly rosy world view is woefully incorrect.
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For race relations are still a mess in our world and despite being able to google the proper information in this day and age, self-proclaimed ‘experts’ just make things up on the fly and spread their lies into the void. The kind that people easily believe and really, that lack of progress begs an important question. In that, what exactly is it going to take to for us to move beyond such foolish and outdated roadblocks on the path to genuine progress, and one wonderful way to explore that question, is through fiction… specifically historical fiction. Since it can show us the root cause of some of these issues, in a dynamic and frank manner, the kind that might finally allow for us to start to work on moving past them and believe it or not, this is something that the horror genre is starting to dabble in, as evidenced by the brand-new feature on Shudder, The Reckoning.

Now in this particular film we are transported back to 1655, wherein we are introduced to a woman named Grace Haverstock and she is facing some incredible life challenges when we catch up with her here. For her darling husband has opted to end his life, rather than suffer through the horrible symptoms of the great plague, leaving Grace and her newborn daughter to fend for themselves. An act that Grace believes she will manage just fine, until a fateful encounter with the town Squire changes the course of her life. For her push to keep his disgusting sexual advances at bay, motivates the Squire to brand her a witch and bring in the big guns from the Vatican to confirm her ‘true identity’ as an agent of Satan. Which means that Grace must now figure out how to survive the horrible trials that await her, in order to be seen as a normal person… so she can resume raising her daughter in peace. 

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Which is a plot that at first glance, really doesn’t seem to be all that related to modern times. Since one would assume that there is little, we can relate to in regard to the plight of people from the 1600s. But the fact that a plague is ravaging this land, combined with the fact that religion and lies rule the day… it quickly becomes obvious that this movie has a great many parallels to modern America. Since the church and its ability to control others is a wonderful allegory for the current political/conservative movement happening within the Republican party and the fact that the people in this town are eager to fall in line with lies and misinformation makes this movie feel a little too real at times, since there are plenty of talking heads spouting nonsensical lies on television and social media, and while that is some quality commentary in regard to some of our modern problems… the movie still had more parallels to offer up.
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For how women were treated in 1665, doesn’t feel all that much different than how they are treated now. Because no one bothers to question why Grace kicks the ever-living crap out of the Squire for his disgusting attempts to force himself upon her. It’s just easier for them to see her as a witch and a problem than as a victim of sexual assault. And her desire to speak to the madness of the trials, only emboldens the town and the church to view her as nothing more than sassy/nasty monster that is influenced by evil to challenge the status quo and perhaps the worst part of Grace’s journey in this tale, is that her body is seen as nothing more as vessel for pleasure for evil. Which gives the church license to treat her body as they see fit, whether she likes it or not and well, all of these parallels to modern day really do stun the viewer since it does hammer home the fact that we really haven’t progressed all that far.

But while those plot threads offer a great deal of poignant commentary on our modern world, it is the ending of this film that brings forth a potential solution for these societal ailments. In that, in order to put an end to wanton misogyny and racism… we have to respect humanity at all levels, and not put up with toxic excuses or behavior and shut that down so it is viewed as negative and not normal, and in order to combat fear… we simply must do a better job of making facts the norm and educating people at a fundamental level to ensure that conspiracy theories and other nonsense are viewed as just that and well… all of these elements make this a surprisingly relevant and powerful film. One that truly puts the worst parts of humanity on display in an effort to ask more of us, and you can never go wrong with a horror film that challenges its audience to be more, by speaking utter truth. 

‘The Reckoning’ is available to stream right now, exclusively on Shudder.

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