John Dies at the End (2012)

"Just so you know... they're sorry for anything that's about to happen."

RATED- R 

RUN TIME- 99 MINS

WRITER(S)- DON COSCARELLI AND DAVID WONG

STARRING- CHASE WILLIAMSON, ROB MAYES AND PAUL GIAMATTI

DIRECTOR- DON COSCARELLI

Synopsis taken from IMDb

A new street drug that sends its users across time and dimensions has one drawback: some people return as no longer human. Can two college dropouts save humankind from this silent, otherworldly invasion?



STORY: This is one film that I've been looking forward to for a while now, especially after hearing all the positive feedback it's been getting. People have even been getting tattoos! Don Coscarelli's name being on it was enough to make me give it a shot. For those of you who don't know who he is, he's the guy who brought us Phantasm and Bubba Ho-Tep. This tale starts with Dave (Chase Williamson) beheading a skinhead with an axe. Then poses the question of if an axe that's had it's head and handle replaced is still the same axe.

Dave talks with a reporter, Arnie (Paul Giamatti), about weird and bizarre events. Dave tells Arnie that he and John (Rob Mayes) received a call from Shelly Morris asking for their help, she said she was being harassed by her ex and after coming to her aid, Dave and John came to realize that they're seeing two different visions of her. Then we go back to when all the bizarre stuff started to happen two years ago when John's band was playing and Dave ran into a Jamaican guy who not only could do some fancy tricks, but can tell Dave about his past and future. That night John calls David for help and once Dave arrives he finds John to be having a bad trip off of this black liquid known simply as "Soy Sauce". John starts telling Dave that he's losing touch with reality and has been calling Dave all night. But to his disbelief, while John is with Dave, Dave receives a call from John.

Some time after, Dave accidentally takes the drug. After doing so, he sees that the drug itself is a living thing, moving on it's own. That's when he realizes the severity of this situation and is pulled into the craziness that John talked about. Only now he knows that John isn't crazy, and neither is he. Due to taking the drug, Dave can do some extraordinary things like read minds and know things he shouldn't.

Dave and John come face to face with a lot of ground beef...

ACTING/PERFORMANCES: The acting in this movie was awesome, nothing award worthy, but very well done. There's a hint of sarcasm and smart-ass about the whole movie and I loved it. Very entertaining performances. Paul Giamatti said he was in this movie because it was a chance for him to be in the type of movie he'd watch.



SPECIAL FX/CREATURES: The special effects are cheesy but forgivable, when you see the type of movie it is the FX really fit the feel of the film. They help keep that humorous tone and definitely make you laugh. There's a part where Dave is being attacked by a cop's mustache, absolutely ridiculous but hilarious as well.



OVERALL: This film is a blast and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a very entertaining movie and is one you'll remember for a long time. Don Coscarelli nailed it again, while not as good as Bubba Ho-Tep, John Dies at the End hits a home run.

THIS FILM GETS 3 1/2 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5