In the
first five minutes, our hero, David Wong, tells us that he once saw a man's
kidney grow ten nipples, tear itself out of a ragged hole on his back and go
slapping across the kitchen floor. But
that's another story. The fact that such
things can be omitted from this imaginatively trippy voyage is testament to how
phantasmagoric the following hour-and-a-half is going to be. When we join him, David seems to have already
grown accustomed to the other-worldly events occurring around him. He has a story to tell and the full attention
of reporter Arnie Blondestone, played by Paul Giamatti. David presents a cynical front as he
restrains his reactions to the mind-blowing developments at the start of his
account. His best friend is John, and
this could essentially be described as a buddy-movie, aside from the
realization that defining it is as so would not do it justice.
David comes
to John's aid one night when he is suffering from the hallucinogenic effects of
a drug called Soy Sauce. The title of
the movie proves not to be far from a spoiler when David starts to receive
phone-calls from John's beyond-the-grave
future-self, whilst in John's presence.
Suffice to say, if you're looking for a linear story, forget about it. What we are given is lingering yet snappy
dialogue with jittery editing to accompany the frenetic situation that David
falls into. Soy Sauce, the drug,
heightens David and John's abilities to the extent that they can anticipate the
future, read minds, and even travel to alternate universes.
Much of this movie is an experience requiring
you to just strap in and go with the ride.
It is frequently unclear what is real and what is David's
hallucination. Glynn Turman, who you may
remember among other things as Mayor Royce in The Wire, sums up it up as stuff being real and not-real
at the same time. He believes Hell is
the grease-trap of the Universe and we are not capable of perceiving what could
be down there. This movie tries to give
us an idea.
Cue telepathic
dogs driving cars before it is left to David to save the world from impending
doom. Users of Soy Sauce are being sent
through time and other dimensions to return as something alien. This all plays out straight-faced with a
commitment to its surreally comic narrative, confident and self-assured
to become a cult favorite. A handful of
reliable veterans support emerging young talent
By now, you
should have decided whether John Dies At
The End is going to be to your taste or not. If you enjoyed the director Don Coscarelli's
previous offerings, such as Bubba Ho-Tep
or the Phantasm series, you should
certainly give this a shot. If you can
already sense it's not for you, I'm glad that I've saved you the aggravation.
Tonally,
its humor is comparable to Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness and features creatures
the likes of which you would expect to find in a Cronenberg film. But, to give it its due, this is an original
genre-bending comedy that you should not expect to make sense. Enjoy it for what it is and soak in the
insanity as a handful of reliable veterans support the emerging young talent
leading the way. It boasts a fresh vibe
that you would associate with an up-and-coming young filmmaker, not someone
who's been making movies for over thirty years.
