Title as Spoiler Alert: A Review of John Dies at the End.

By Adam Ruhl

John Dies at the End is one of the most offbeat and entertaining movies I've seen in a long time. Part Repo Man (not Repo Men, careful distinction), part Phantasm, and part David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch; it is rich with crazed imagery and clever dialogue. The humor feels very much in the style of the Hitchhikers Guide, from an opening with the Theseus' paradox applied to ax murder, to an alien speculating whether or not Bees know their job is to make honey for people. Based on the novel by David Wong (Senior Editor at Cracked.com and pseudonym for Jason Pargin), John Dies at the End is a hectic, carnival ride of a film that blends the comedy/horror/sci-fi genres beautifully.

The plot concerns two friends, David Wong and John (the soon to be deceased) and opens with David meeting with a reporter to relay his story. After a party two years prior, Dave and John stumbled upon a new drug known as ‘Soy Sauce’. The many side effects of this drug include hallucinations, the ability to speak to the dead, and a tendency to get unstuck in time and space, among others. The story quickly spirals into the absurd, but in a very deliberate way with scenes shifting rapidly, much like Don Coscarelli's Phantasm films. It’s easy to get lost, but the fun is in watching Dave and John go down the rabbit hole and attempt to deal with aliens, demons, poltergeists, police, and other trans-dimensional beings.

David is played by newcomer Chase Williamson, who really nails Dave’s wide-eyed, haunted portrayal of a man twisted on a new drug and crashing through the supernatural. During a recent Q&A, director Don Coscarelli said that this film was Chase’s first major gig out of drama school and he handles it well, even in the scenes he plays against veteran actors Paul Giamatti and Doug Jones (Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth,  he often plays heavily costumed characters). There is also an awesome cameo by Angus Scrimm (the Tall Man from Phantasm) as a priest who delivers some very dark news. Seeing Angus here made me long for another Phantasm movie (no reboots please).

If there is a weak spot to the film it’s that some of the CGI effects that look unfinished. This is especially clear when Dave is attacked by a flying mustache (that’s not a typo) and when a ‘soy sauce’ fly lands on Dave’s face. In no way do Dave and the fly appear to share the same space and when the fly lands it becomes distractingly clear that it is a computer dot, not a real living bug.

During the director's Q&A, Don also spoke about the release plan. John Dies at the End has been available on Video-on-Demand since December 27^th of last year. It is going to have a phased theatrical release starting on January 25^th, 2013. Theater listing found here. In his opinion, VOD did not have the same stigma attached to it that applied to direct-to-DVD releases. VOD allows a film with a limited theatrical release to reach a much wider audience. As the VOD costs about 10 dollars on Amazon Instant, about the same as a theater ticket, I would recommend seeing it on the big screen if you have the opportunity. This is one film that is best experienced with an audience; especially when the doorknob transforms (you’ll see what I mean).