"Day of Reckoning" represents the birth of Old School Pictures, a promising company who continues to impress with each new film. The movie was made as a high school project, and shows bright glimpses of things to come. I watched in amazement at how well the company, who were all around eighteen at the time, displayed a great deal of confidence as writers, directors and actors. I’m sure they were more concerned about what they were doing than most of their classmates. I know when I was a teenager, making a movie was just a fun way to goof off.

Rick (Allen Gardner) is a recent high school graduate who is leaving town to get away from his best friend, Sean (Mark Norris), a hot head who has finally gone over the edge. We witness Sean’s temper in a flashback as he beats a black girl senseless. As Rick walks out the door, Sean threatens him not to turn his back on his friends. Two months later, Rick returns in hopes the past will be behind him. He goes to the movie theater where he used to work to get his old job back, not knowing that in just a short while, he will be facing Sean again as bullets fly.

Sean is still up to no good, beating up people and using drugs. Along with the help of his two cronies (Mark Wolfe and Adam Johnson), he plans to rob the neighborhood movie theater after their first evening set. The trio goes in, guns drawn, only to be confronted by a security guard. Bloodshed ensues, and Rick has no choice but to pick up a gun and fight back. The rest of the picture becomes a cat and mouse chase between Rick and Sean, who we eventually figure will end up confronting one another face to face.

The premise of “Day of Reckoning” was a popular one in movies at the time, and it’s a perfect vehicle for young film students to experiment with. Director Brad Ellis impresses with the camera, obviously having studied a lot of action movies before making this one. My favorite sequence in the picture is the rooftop shootout, which is shot with an amazing amount of flair and energy. Ellis wants us to feel the tension between these two guys. I also like the subtle way he films the robbery occurring; we glimpse Sean and co. through the window, giving the event a creepy voyeuristic feel.

The two lead performances are impressive given the material. Allen Gardner and Mark Norris have a kinetic chemistry here, and do a splendid job of acting as if they’re really shooting at each other; your average teenager would probably look like they were having fun with it.. Gardner works best in the low-key role, as he gives off a nice guy persona. Norris has intensity in his eyes, which makes him the perfect fit to play the troubled Sean. Both actors excel during the movie’s final sequence as they talk to each other through a concrete wall. Their conversation is convincing because the two actors make us believe the tension that exists between them. The sequence also gains strength thanks to Gardner’s script, which gives these simple characters a surprising amount of depth.

"Day of Reckoning" has a lot of flaws. There are inconsistencies, silly looking deaths, and hammy performances (Mark Wolfe is particularly hilarious). But these are not elements to complain about. This was a high school project made by a group of guys who were experimenting with film. The movie’s goofy elements mentioned above are part of its innocent charm. It would be wrong and unfair to criticize “Day of Reckoning” for being too unbelievable or fake, because it was made by guys who clearly have a love for film and are beginning to find a way to express it. The movie’s ending is a downer, and yet it made me smile. Since I have a strong feeling these guys had a blast making the movie, I kept waiting for Allen and Mark, covered in blood, to jump up and take a bow.

"Day of Reckoning" is the first Old School film to be released on DVD, and I must say that Louis Griffith, the disc’s designer, has done a wonderful job. The movie’s transfer from Hi-8mm tape to digital is surprisingly crisp and not too grainy, and the Dolby Digital 2.0 does a fine job highlighting the gunshots and the music (borrowed from “Face/Off,” “Broken Arrow,” and “John Carpenter’s Vampires”). The feature length commentary by Brad Ellis, Allen Gardner and Mark Norris is a lot of fun. The guys give some interesting insight into making the film, while also poking fun at everyone involved in the process. I liked their views on the film being made post Columbine, plus the careful way they had to handle the scene where Sean beats a black girl. The funniest moments contain jokes about Mark Wolfe, who is working overtime in the movie to show us how ultra cool he thinks he is.

There are four deleted scenes on the disc, all appropriately left out of the film. You can watch them with commentary by Ellis, and I highly recommend doing it this way. The first scene in particular impresses, because Ellis’s reasons for cutting it and his problems with the way it was shot let the audience know just how mature of a filmmaker he has become in the four years since this movie was made. The worst of these scenes is the one that explains why Rick is bandaged when he leaves the theater. An outtake reel is thankfully not all about cutting up, but shows a number of honest mistakes while shooting. The funniest moment on this feature is Mark Wolfe trying to fall after he is shot. Even better is seeing how impatient Ellis gets when it takes a while for things to get done right. The film’s trailer and the poster round out the disc. On the basis of this disc, I highly anticipate the future ones.

The Movie: B+
The Disc: A-
Overall Grade: B+