A tongue-in-cheek flick with monsters, demons and alternate dimensions, John Dies at the End, based on the cult novel by David Wong and directed by Don Coscarelli, tells the story of how Dave (Chase Williamson) found his friend John (Rob Mayes) freaked out on drugs and how after accidentally taking some of the same narcotic substance, known as ‘soy sauce’, he became involved in strange events and able to see the future.
For the first twenty minutes or so, John Dies At The End’s skewed view of reality, its snarky sense of humour and creative design is well imagined. The problem is that the film feels rather like a low-budget apocalyptic sitcom and quickly runs out of steam – with its unchanging tone and the way that the snarky humour undermined the stakes of both the horror side of the film and the relationship between David and John. It’s tough to really engage in their friendship, when the dialogue consists almost entirely of duelling sarcasm.
On the plus side, and despite that low-budget, there is a sense of fun (the monster in the freezer at the beginning of the film, especially) and the performances are solid. Williamson and Mayes can certainly land a joke and Paul Giamatti makes something of a late scene in which it becomes clear that he’s not all he appears to be. Unfortunately, the budget does bite in the end, with rickety effects work and an unwieldy info-dump to deal with before getting in to the final set-piece.
Extras
The Blu-ray transfer is excellent in both the picture and sound quality. There is a wide selection of extras: from a lively commentary to audition tapes, ten minutes of deleted scenes and more. It’s a fine package for fans of the film.
Sam has awarded John Dies At The End three Torches of Truth
