By Keri O’Shea
I’ve long been a fan of Cracked writer David Wong, and when I originally heard that his novel, John Dies At The End, was being made into a film, I was…optimistic, for sure, but cautiously optimistic. John Dies At The End was always going to be a challenge; film every element, and it would probably be four hours long at least. Miss lots out, and risk losing some of the best elements of the plot. Well, I needn’t have worried. Director Don Coscarelli – who has past form in translating batshit insane storylines to the big screen, it’s fair to say – did a sterling job here. This is a film which sticks close to the book in many ways, but one which wouldn’t necessarily alienate anyone who hadn’t read it either. More to the point, its blend of charm and innovation make it one of the strongest proto-cult classics we’ve seen in years.
So here’s the difficult bit, summarising the basic shape of the plot without giving too much away; if this is usually an issue when reviewing, then it’s doubly so here for a few reasons. Well, here goes nothing: David Wong (Chase Williamson) has a story to tell, something he really has to get out of his system, so he contacts a journalist by the name of Arnie (Paul Giamatti) and they arrange to meet up. Armed with a tape recorder, Arnie listens as Dave recounts the events of the past few months. These events start off improbable and move quickly into unbelievable, but one thing seems clear – at the hub of it all is a strange new drug nicknamed ‘soy sauce’. Dave’s best friend, John, was the first to try the sauce; Dave isn’t far behind, and it seems like this stuff ‘opens doors’. Doors to parallel dimensions, as well as to heightened awareness of certain visitors from these dimensions. And it seems that these visitors have plans…
None of that really does the film justice, and traipsing out a linear plot synopsis somehow misrepresents the film anyway. As a movie which deals with the possibilities of parallel worlds, however, rest assured that Wong really picks this up and runs with it, creating a hugely-entertaining yarn which translates really well to the screen, in a film that’s fast-paced and covers a great deal in an economical ninety minutes. The film does re-jig the structure of the novel to an extent, and misses a few things out (I was slightly sad that no wig monsters were present, but it’s a minor disappointment) but to Coscarelli’s credit, he has filmed a lot of things I assumed would never make it. Such as the meat creature…and, erm, the unorthodox door knob. I loved the book, and I had (and still have) very specific mental images of what certain characters and scenes look like, but Coscarelli seems to ‘get’ the book enough that his own take on things looks great.
Because this is a film which opts not to plough on for hours, it covers a tremendous amount of ground and because of this, I would say it’s a film which could be a challenge to follow for some viewers. It has to be, really; everything, from the source material to the screenplay, is ambitious. However the framing technique which is established early on – the interview with Arnie – does allow for a few moments of explication, and holds things together somewhat. The believable, charming bewilderment on behalf of our two chief protagonists makes you feel like you’re on their level too; everything here is deeply funny and well-observed, with a well-suited cast throughout. Essentially, John Dies At The End in either form is the perfect blend of a child’s imagination with an adult’s development, a ‘What if…’ matched by a ‘Well, if, then this…’ It really is something else, and it may present a lot to take in, but holy fuck we need this sort of originality and innovation in modern film.
It’s a crying shame that the release on this great movie has been held back for so long (it originally made it onto my Top 10 list in 2012) and Ben has already spoken for us all when he expressed surprise that, for all the things that happen in this film, the cover art has gone for something which doesn’t, but now that it’s becoming available, it’s a highly-recommended purchase. There are a host of extras on the Blu ray disc too, including a cast & crew commentary (I wouldn’t usually care about this feature to be perfectly honest, but here’s one which would be worth listening to!), deleted scenes, an interview with Paul Giamatti, featurettes on the making of the film and the SFX involved, casting sessions and the film’s trailer.
John Dies At The End will be coming to DVD and Blu-ray via Eureka Entertainment on 17th February 2014.