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Day of Reckoning (2016) movie poster

Timeline

Day of Reckoning (2016) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2016 · 85 mins · English
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Directed by
Joel Novoa
Starring
Hana Hayes, Barbara Crampton, Raymond J. Barry, Nick Gomez, Jay Jay Warren, Maz Siam

Hell will rise Some years ago, the world experienced a “day of reckoning” when creatures came up from below and purged humanity of evil. Now, it is happening again.

Horror Action Cast, crew & box office
On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (15)
  3. 3 How it worked in Day of Reckoning
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle
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15 events in order · contains spoilers

Day of Reckoning Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Day of Reckoning (2016) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. The First Day of Reckoning

    Monsters erupt from the c-shaft of a mining operation and from every deep hole around the world, killing all they can find. News reports describe the creatures as subterranean and demonic, and say that the military cannot stop them. The attacks rage for 24 hours before the creatures retreat, and the catastrophe comes to be called the Day of Reckoning.

    Where
    Worldwide

  2. Containing the Gates

    World governments work on containment and set up stations at all deep-core fissures to seal and monitor the openings. The aftermath also claims the Sheppard family's marriage, as David and Laura break up. Over the next fifteen years, Homeland Security personnel such as Corporal Garret Jensen, a survivor of the first event, keep watch over the gates worldwide.

    When
    The following 15 years
    Where
    Deep-core fissures worldwide

  3. Omens Before Saturday's Eclipse

    Every subsequent attack is announced by masses of dead fish washing up on shorelines, then strange migrations of birds, and finally a lunar eclipse just before the creatures emerge. Although earlier eclipses have passed without incident, another eclipse is approaching on Saturday and tension rises. Garret, stationed at one of the monitored fissures, senses that another day of reckoning is about to begin.

    When
    Approaching Saturday
    Where
    Worldwide shorelines

  4. Uncle Ted's Midnight Warning

    At about 1 AM, David's uncle Ted calls with an urgent warning that it is happening again. He tells David they have until noon to meet him at his underground bunker in Barstow. The telltale dead fish have already begun washing ashore.

    When
    About 1 AM

  5. The First Gate Is Breached

    A dog-like demon breaks through at Garret's gate and kills a soldier outright while Garret flees. The beast runs loose as the facility's defenses fail to hold it. It is the first of many creatures to come through the sealed gates as Saturday's attack begins.

    Where
    Homeland Security fissure gate

  6. Reunited Amid the Panic

    By morning, Laura calls David hoping Tyler will join her at a shelter where her pursuer, coworker Milton, has made a reservation, but the boy has already run off to meet his girlfriend Maddie while her parents are away in Palm Springs. As birds migrate overhead, Tyler promises to stay with Maddie. Caught in traffic, David abandons his car and runs to find his son on foot, and the family is quickly picked up by Laura and Milton.

    When
    Morning

  7. Turned Away as the Eclipse Begins

    At Laura's insistence the group heads for the Topanga shelter, but it is too full and they are turned away. Driving instead for Barstow, they find the roads blocked by abandoned cars as more creatures come through the gates and a lunar eclipse begins. As David and Milton argue over who will drive, a flying demon swoops down and carries Milton away.

    When
    During the lunar eclipse
    Where
    Topanga shelter

  8. Escape Along the Culvert

    David suggests a way down to the river and the family drives along a huge open concrete drainage culvert, debating why the attack is happening. David confirms that the demons can be killed by salt and cold. When the car runs out of gas, they find other cars that tried the same route and a survivor who attacks a bull-like demon with salt to buy the family time, a rescue that costs the man his life.

    Where
    Open concrete drainage culvert

  9. Hostages in Ted's Bunker

    The family reaches Ted's bunker in Barstow, but Ted refuses to open the door because Garret is holding a gun to his back. With the creatures swarming toward them, he relents at the last moment, lets everyone inside and introduces Garret, claiming he knew the corporal's father. Over stew made by Ted's wife Stella, with a radio in the background broadcasting screams until David shuts it off, Garret recounts surviving the first Day of Reckoning and theorizes that the demons hunt and feast on human souls. Ted silently signals to David that Garret is holding them all hostage.

    Where
    Ted's underground bunker, Barstow

  10. The Snake-Demon Attack

    After dinner, Garret pulls his gun and admits that Stella only let him in out of pity and that he is determined to survive. Tyler tries to attack him and is defeated, just as Maddie notices the creatures are no longer trying to get in. A snake-demon then attacks Stella, and in the chaos Garret is subdued; Ted strikes the serpent with salt and David fires, but Maddie is the one who kills it. The family tends to Stella and ties up Garret as a larger bull-demon takes over battering down the door.

    Where
    Ted's underground bunker, Barstow

  11. Escape and Stella's Sacrifice

    With eight hours left, Ted admits there is a back tunnel leading to the north canyon and a possible escape route. The family takes the hidden way as the demons break into the bunker, and after another attack they untie Garret, who does have a fully fueled car waiting in the valley. When the car refuses to start amid the swarming demons, Stella grabs the gun to end her own life, but Ted takes it from her. In a final act she walks toward the demons to her death as the car finally starts and the group escapes while Ted screams after her.

    Where
    Back tunnel and valley near Barstow

  12. Demons Loose in the Gate Facility

    After the radio announces that the Topanga shelter was decimated, the survivors drive to the secure personnel gate twelve miles away, but Garret cannot raise his base and Maddie discovers the door standing open. Armed and split up, they search the complex, with Laura and the teenagers treating Ted's wounds while David and Garret confirm that demons are inside. David gets the lights working, and Garret shows the group the precautions in place, including stores of saltwater. The whole group heads toward where the volatile chemicals are stored, forgetting that in two hours all the demons will be heading back to the fissure.

    Where
    Homeland Security gate facility

  13. Garret Quits the Fight

    Encountering one of the two-legged demons near the chemical stores, the group manages to kill it. The moment they hear additional demons coming, Garret makes a run for it. He locks himself inside a CD room, where he apologizes and gives himself an injection.

    Where
    Gate facility, chemical storage area

  14. The Saltwater Counterstrike

    David sends his family to seek shelter while he re-routes the saline supply into the fire suppression system, sneaking through the vents to set the pipe flows while demons still devour their prey nearby. He tells Tyler over the intercom to pull the fire alarm, but several demons are already approaching the boy. Ted hacks his way through the creatures until at last he pulls the alarm, raining saltwater down on them. The demons struggle and melt into embers and smoke, and Ted collapses as the ground shakes with every demon returning to the underground.

    Where
    Homeland Security gate facility

  15. Showdown at the Surface

    Racing to the surface as the 24-hour window closes, the family encounters Garret, who immediately shoots Tyler, declaring it the Devil's Day. David knocks him down before he can shoot anyone else, and Tyler is wounded but not dead. A huge centipede demon attacks and swallows Garret whole while the family escapes to a medical supply closet. There Laura directs them to make a cold salt bomb that destroys the attacking creature, and the family exits the gate, safe until the next event.

    Where
    Homeland Security gate facility

Last updated: October 28, 2026 at 07:11

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trap · contains spoilers

How It Worked in Day of Reckoning

How the trap in Day of Reckoning really worked, step by step: what each move looked like at the time, what was actually going on and how one step made the next possible.

Trap 5 steps

Turning the Facility's Fire Suppression System into a Saltwater Weapon

Inside the secure facility, David converts stored saltwater into a weapon by rerouting it into the fire suppression system, so that when Tyler triggers the alarm the saltwater rains down on the demons and kills them through their established weakness to salt.

1David reveals thedemons' fatalweakness2Saltwater storesfound in the securefacility3David reroutes salineinto the firesuppression system4Tyler triggers thealarm5Saltwater rains downand melts themonsters
Who
Read the 5 steps as text
  1. 1

    David reveals the demons' fatal weakness

    David Sheppard · Demons

    During the journey, David reveals that the demons can be killed by salt and cold.

  2. 2

    Saltwater stores found in the secure facility

    David Sheppard

    Once inside the secure facility, David discovers stores of saltwater on the premises.

  3. 3

    David reroutes saline into the fire suppression system

    David Sheppard

    David reroutes the saline into the facility's fire suppression system, arming it to spray saltwater when activated.

  4. 4

    Tyler triggers the alarm

    Tyler

    Tyler triggers the facility's alarm, activating the fire suppression system.

  5. 5

    Saltwater rains down and melts the monsters

    Demons

    The activated system rains saltwater down on the monsters, melting them into embers.

Movie threads

More Movies Like Day of Reckoning, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Day of Reckoning tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Apocalyptic supernatural survival movies like Day of Reckoning

Relentless attacks and shrinking safe zones turn family survival into desperate catastrophe. If you liked Day of Reckoning, explore high-intensity sci-fi horror and apocalyptic thrillers where supernatural disaster turns survival into a frantic fight. These movies like Day of Reckoning feature demonic or otherworldly outbreaks, perilous journeys, repeated attacks, and bunker sieges. Expect grim survival stakes, relentless suspense, graphic horror, and hard-won victories that offer only bittersweet relief.

  • apocalyptic
  • supernatural dread
  • relentless pursuit
  • claustrophobic siege
  • desperate survival
  • graphic horror
  • Tone: tense, grim, apocalyptic
  • Pacing: variable, escalating
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Stories in this thread begin with catastrophe already reshaping everyday life, then steadily strip away security and escape routes. Characters move through dangerous territory toward temporary shelter, only to face escalating attacks and a concentrated siege. Victory may destroy the immediate threat, but destruction, death, or the threat of recurrence prevents the outcome from feeling fully triumphant.

Why they belong together: These movies share an apocalyptic world under supernatural assault, relentless escalation, and a balance of graphic creature horror with practical survival action. Their pacing shifts from ominous setup to frantic escapes and concentrated confrontations, while the survival of the characters carries a heavy emotional cost.

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Uncontained

2025
Day of Reckoning movie poster

Day of Reckoning

2016
Hidden movie poster

Hidden

2015
Hidden movie poster

Hidden

2015
Alive movie poster

Alive

2020
The Happening movie poster

The Happening

2008
Zombie movie poster

Zombie

1980
Hidden movie poster

Hidden

2014

Family sacrifice and survival movies like Day of Reckoning

Unity under catastrophe brings hard-won safety at devastating personal cost. Movies like Day of Reckoning pair intense family survival with emotionally heavy choices. Characters face separation, rely on one another, and are tested by self-sacrifice and loss, ending with hard-won safety that feels painful rather than fully triumphant amid continuing danger.

  • family bonds
  • self-sacrifice
  • desperate survival
  • separation
  • grim determination
  • bittersweet relief
  • Tone: tense, bittersweet, grief-stricken
  • Pacing: variable, emotionally escalating
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The emotional engine of these stories is the bond between people trying to remain together under impossible pressure. Separation forces them to prove their loyalty, survival decisions expose conflicting needs, and personal sacrifice becomes a defining act of protection. The survivors may reach safety, but death and irreversible loss leave their unity marked by grief.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped around relationships rather than simply their monsters. The catastrophe tests loyalty, reunion, and mutual dependence, while sacrifice and death reshape the surviving family dynamic. Their tense survival action is paired with heavy emotional consequences and relief that remains unmistakably bittersweet.

Home Sweet Home: Rebirth movie poster

Home Sweet Home: Rebirth

2025
Silent Zone movie poster

Silent Zone

2025
Survive the Night movie poster

Survive the Night

2020
The Survivalist movie poster

The Survivalist

2021
Day of Reckoning movie poster

Day of Reckoning

2016
Hidden movie poster

Hidden

2015
Sole Survivor movie poster

Sole Survivor

2000
Sukob movie poster

Sukob

2006

Every angle

Day of Reckoning (2016) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Day of Reckoning in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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