MPAA Rated – R
It’s 1:39 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right
| John Dies at the End Movie Stats & Links |
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| Starring: | Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Clancy Brown, Paul Giamatti |
| MPAA Rated: | R |
| Released By: | Magnolia Home Entertainment |
| Released On: | April 2, 2013 |
| Kiddie Movie: | Oh no, put them to bed. |
| Date Movie: | If she is a fan of the b-movie genre. |
| Gratuitous Sex: | Just a lot of boobs. |
| Gratuitous Violence: | Over-the-top and gratuitous. |
| Action: | Not really. |
| Laughs: | In the over-the-top gore/goofiness kind of way. |
| Memorable Scene: | The monster made out of meat products. |
| Memorable Quote: | Nothing stood out. |
| Directed By: | Don Coscarelli |
| Cool things on the DVD: | Nothing stands out but the “Creature Corps” feature is a nice look at making creepy creatures. |
“John Dies at the End.” Now, please stop it with the “You should have said, ‘Spoiler alert,’” because that’s the title of the movie, and not my synopsis. The movie could also easily be called “John and Dave Save the World,” which I guess is also a spoiler, but before any more direct spoiling or synopsising, let’s get to the story.
Okay, this is going to be goofy. We are introduced to Dave (Chase Williamson), discussing an axe and the death, or seeming death, of a strange being. An interesting take if one version of the axe that chopped of the head of said being is the same axe after it has been rebuilt over time. Re-enter Dave, now talking with Arnie (Paul Giamatti) in a Chinese restaurant, trying to tell Arnie his story so that Arnie may tell the world, and the story of the “soy sauce.” It seems the world is being attacked by beings from an alternate universe, and somehow John and Dave take it upon themselves to save us all. In the meantime, there is this “soy sauce” that gives people strange powers and offers lots of hallucinations, and also gives a glimpse of the strangeness of the invasion. In the meantime, during Dave’s storytelling, we find his story of his buddy John, his meeting up with a monster made out of meat parts, his finding a dog that helps, well, helps them a lot, and also how there are these bugs that try to infest humans on the way to domination. We also find a hot dog that works like a cell phone, a girl with no hand who can open a “ghost” door, a magician who can help kill the invaders, and an alternate universe where girls walk around without tops so as not to scare John and Dave.
Does that sound a little confusing? Well, I will admit that “John Dies at the End” is a tad confusing, what with not really knowing if parts of the story are bits and pieces of hallucinations or actually happening in the real world, but through it all it is totally entertaining, in a B-Horror, B-Comedy, B-I would totally watch on late night cable, B-movie kind of way.
There is goofiness, there is lots of over-the-goofiness gore, there are some creative goofy monsters, and although at times confusing, it is confusing fun. The acting isn’t anything to write home about, well, except for the always-awesome Paul Giamatti, but I don’t think this is a movie made for Oscar-style performances. Instead it does exactly what you want it to do, if you are a fan of the B-movie kind of film – entertain.
All movies aren’t supposed to be spectacles, some just entertain, and “John Dies at the End” entertained me. It may not be your cup of tea, I admit, but it was mine and I give it 4 stars out of 5.
Extra-wise the Blu-ray doesn’t have that much except some nice interviews and some normal “Making of” stuff, at least on the entertaining side. I didn’t care for the deleted scenes, but so be it.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!