Infamously shot when he was just fifteen years old, Tim Ritter’s Day of the Reaper is not a masterpiece and is probably the furthest away from that word that one can get, but it has promise. It is not often that one hears about filmmakers releasing their first movie at that age, and yet, Ritter did so, even if it was not of the highest calibre.

In brief, the film revolves around an unstoppable killer. He kills again and again, and no matter what happens to him, whether shot or killed, he always comes back to kill some more. Jennifer is one of the only victims to have survived his rampages, and he continues to seek her out to finish what he started. By the end of the entire affair, he is battling his opposite number in a fight to the finish, and when it ends, it does so with no explanations as to what happened or why it all happened.

Made for only a thousand dollars, one can say that this might be the cheapest movie ever made, and it shows in every frame. A lot of the picture suffers from poor lighting, tracking lines and sound so abysmal that one can hardly make it out, even though it was all dubbed afterwards. The acting is inadequate, as Ritter employed friends and other locals, none of whom are professionals. It is probably best that he dubbed it all, even though it mattered little in the end. There are numerous negatives to be found in this piece of celluloid, but there are also many positives.

The masked killer who perpetrates all these crimes is actually quite impressive, modelled after Jason/Michael Myers. He never rests and continues on no matter what anyone throws at him. A nameless, faceless killer is the best kind of villain, as he represents the unknown, something that nobody can understand and that in itself is frightening. Factor in the synth-heavy score, and there are times when the movie goes quite challenging. Given the subpar dialogue, it would have been better if Ritter had relied solely on visuals, much like a silent movie. The synth and the killer doing his thing made for a good match, and the story might have been improved had Ritter just concentrated on the bones of the plot rather than trying to think up something for Jennifer and company to do, other than get killed, that is.

Some will call Day of the Reaper unwatchable, and for some, that is true. For the true horror connoisseur, there is a fair amount to love, and one can see that this film is laying the groundwork for what could possibly be a bright future for a young director. That being said, Ritter would never deliver a movie that would win a prestigious award, but he would have a long career, which is more than most.

2 out of 5