John Dies At The End

FlashD

Being a bit of a zombie nut I was searching for the latest films for this genre, this one "John Dies At The End' premiered at the Sundance film festival in January but I haven't seen a release date anywhere.

It has some reviews, mixed on both Rotton Tomatoes & IMBd.

Thought i'd share the trailer, looks kinda cool in a weird way.

Anyone seen it or has it been even released?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my9Pr-W92SM

paddy kerins

Don't think it's out here for a few months.

If anyone here reads Cracked, the book it's based on was written by one of their writers

Skinfull

paddy kerins wrote: »

Don't think it's out here for a few months.

If anyone here reads Cracked, the book it's based on was written by one of their writers

Wasnt this a book that the writer published online for free to read or download for everyone? I read it yonks ago and really enjoyed it.

Didnt know they were making it into a movie. YAY!

ImpossibleDuck

Skinfull wrote: »

Wasnt this a book that the writer published online for free to read or download for everyone? I read it yonks ago and really enjoyed it.

Didnt know they were making it into a movie. YAY!

Just started reading it today

jim-jam

Does, as the title would suggest, John die at the end? If he does then they should really spoiler tag the title of the movie.

Fysh

I saw this yesterday as part of the Leeds International Film Festival and really enjoyed it. Now, i'm a Coscarelli fan - I have more fondness for the Phantasm films than they really deserve on pure cinematographical terms and I loved Bubba Ho-tep. So i'm not a neutral observer when I say that I think this is the best thing he's done. It's infused with some of the same elements that we've seen in the Phantasm series or in Bubba Ho-Tep, but the script is tighter and more confident, with a great opening sequence that perfectly sets the mood for the filmand a narrative approach that jumps around in time a bit without ever losing the run of itself.

This is up with Cabin In The Woods as a genuinely great horror comedy. Definitely one to see if you get a chance.

John Dies at the End is one of those films that shows just what can be down with a limited budget when given to a director with some vision. The meager budget is used to create one of the most involving and bigger worlds than pretty much any 200 million dollar blockbuster. Every cent is on screen and Coscarelli knows exactly what the viewer wants and has created one of the silliest, zaniest, down right charming films ever made.

There's an awful lot going on in John Dies at the End and to try and condense it down into a paragraph would be a disservice to the film but in order to convince you to give it a chance, I'll try my best. John Dies at the End tells the story of two, slacker twenty somethings, Dave and John who after a nights partying take a drug know as "soy sauce". From here things get weird as the sauce throws open the doors of perception and as such, the rules go out the window and were treated to a dog driving a jeep, a monster made of meat, an topless alternate world right out of Eyes Wide Shut and a dozen other inspired moments of lunacy. Words really cannot do justice to the sheer brilliance of the onscreen insanity. It's the most ridiculous film I've seen in many a year and also the most entertaining.

Adding a little prestige to proceedings are the always brilliant Paul Giamatti and Clancy Brown. They play their roles just the right amount of tongue and cheek and while our leads Williamson and Mayes are both excellent, one can't but imagine just how great a film where Giamatti and Brown's characters team up.

Back to the film. John Dies at the End is not a straight forward narrative and the film has fun jumping around the place. The episodic nature won't appeal to some and there's no doubt that it can be a jarring experience but when a film is this much fun you really couldn't care less. The first act has John and Dave as a pair of bargain basement Ghostbusters, the second act is exposition heavy and the third act introduces an alternate reality with some poor green screen but there's not a single moment that I'd lose from the 90+ minutes. It really is just the oddest, most down right brilliant thing that I have seen in many, many years though I can easily see why many will hate it. There's an oddness to the film that must be accepted in order to enjoy the film.

And those that accept the lunacy are in for a treat. As the credits roll I was left wanting more. this is the kind of project that if there was a kickstarterfor I'd happily give every cent that I could afford to. I could go on and on about just how much I loved the film but really, everyone should just take the time to watch it. And there's really no excuse now that it's been added to US Netflix

charlie_says

It's a mad and fun film. I loved it. Great fun to watch with a group of friends and a few beverages.

WoollyRedHat

Omg spoilers!

BopNiblets

Whacky film, I loved the bit with the dog driving the truck though.

BopNiblets

BopNiblets wrote: »

Whacky film, I loved the bit with the dog driving the truck though.

I was trying to figure out who was about to save the day, John or Amy and then we had that wonderful shot of the dog and I nearly fell out of my chair from laughing so hard.

briany

A great film but you have to just go into it with few preconceptions. Hear they only got to show a fraction of what's in the book so it sounds like it's well worth a read.

Playboy

I loved it. One of the better movies I have seen this year

im invisible

yeah thanks OP... any way to spoiler a thread title at all?:pac::pac:

johnny_ultimate

I said I'd give this a gander based on the positive reception here, and the fact that I do thoroughly enjoy a good ol' wacky-weird cult gem from time to time - I will never begrudge a film of confident oddness. Alas, it brings no pleasure to put down a small little film that tries to do something different, but this didn't work for me on any number of levels.

Mostly, I got the impression that it was trying desperately hard to be 'cult', to the point where it overstretched itself significantly. One or two scenes were decent enough - the 'meat monster' in the basement scene shows the film playing its best card very early - but there was a lack of enthusiasm or imagination to the wackiness. I was numbed by the film's pointless, meandering story early on - I simply did not care what was happening or why it was happening. The fact that a vast majority of the cast have the charisma of the average bucket didn't help. It's a buddy comedy with the least interesting of buddies. All that was left was a quickly exhausting but absolutely hollow main narrative that is almost dull in its unpredictability, and the whole 'framing device' with Giamatti adds excess bulk to a film that stumbles to feature length.

I wouldn't mind so much if the film had some directorial verve to it. Maybe it was just the transfer, but this film is horrific looking in HD. The poor special effects and awful greenscreen are a given for the realm the film's operating in - although it was neither bad nor good enough to enter 'so bad its good territory'. It's just pretty ****, barring the aforementioned basement encounter. Even outside the SFX the film is lacking in visual imagination; downright ugly digital cinematography at times, especially that horrible orange hue a good third or even half the film has been shot / graded to. You can say this was all a result of the low-budget - but while a quick google doesn't throw up even a guesstimate budget, I'm sure we could all name dozens if not hundreds of similar or lesser budgeted titles that utilise their finances with far more competence and imagination. The animated interlude would have been clever it a similar trick hadn't been used so many times in the past.

I feel bad being so harsh on it, TBH - I can see how it would work for some. But I'm honestly struggling to think of anything I actually liked about the film outside two or three scenes that illustrated hints of wit. The film is desperate to be loved, but it offers no good reason to respond with affection.

OctavarIan

Has anyone read both the book and seen the film? I found a lot of the humour in the book to be pretty cringe-worthy, obviously it's a matter of taste, but how does it translate to the screen?

Johnny_ultimate you mentioned it was trying too hard to be 'cult', that's how I found the book as well. It seemed overly concerned with being 'omg so random'.

It had some good ideas though and parts were genuinely funny. Is it still showing anywhere?

johnny_ultimate

OctavarIan wrote: »

It had some good ideas though and parts were genuinely funny. Is it still showing anywhere?

The release has been a bit confusing... could have sworn it got a limited UK release a while back, but I don't think it's gotten a wide release here yet? No imminent DVD / BluRay on amazon UK. I watched an American copy, but it has shown at some film festivals including JDIFF. Might show up in cinemas in a month or two!