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John Dies at the End
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Magnolia Pictures Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (16th July 2013). |
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The Film
 While Don Coscarelli might not enjoy the same widespread name recognition as his other horror brethren, he does have the distinction of never seeing his stock falter much. Since blowing away horror fans with his nightmarish, unconventional genre debut, “Phantasm” (1979), he’s made around a half dozen pictures that have all – to varying degrees – been seen as minor cult classics. Fans can debate endlessly about which of his films is best (that would be “Phantasm”), but most would agree that he hasn’t produced a stone-dead turkey like many other horror luminaries who have inserted a turd or two into their filmography. Perhaps it’s because the man seems to be picky. You aren’t going to find many directors, especially those that have been active since the early 70's, with less than a dozen features under their belt. Many fans would no doubt like to see more from the man (still waiting on a fifth Phantasm over here), but sometimes it’s better to have a dearth of titles in your roster as long as they’re all quality versus a wealth of titles with only a handful that are truly worthwhile. Although much of his earlier work was tonally serious, as the years have gone by many of his projects have been injected with a dark sense of humor… and this project may have just hit the apex in that regard. This brings us to “John Dies At The End” (2012), which might be the only film that was admittedly produced thanks to an Amazon robot. The novel, written by David Wong (a pseudonym for Jason Pargin), showed up on an “Amazon recommends” list that had been sent to Coscarelli after he finished reading some zombie novels. He was interested right away, eventually leading to him optioning the rights and emerging from his directorial hibernation to deliver something new to his rabid fan base. And, even better, he did a pretty damn good job with it to boot. David Wong (Chase Williamson), an average slacker with little ambition, meets with reporter Arnie Blondestone (Paul Giamatti) to recount his story of a drug called “soy sauce”, which gives him the ability to perceive time and space differently than a normal person. Arnie doesn’t believe him at first, but a quick demonstration of his abilities swiftly changes Arnie’s mind. David got the drug from his friend John (Rob Mayes), who said that he got it from a Jamaican guy at a party. David has a hard time believing the drug can grant such otherworldly powers, until he receives a call from John at the same time John is sitting right in front of him. The two of them soon find themselves in the middle of an inter-dimensional war being started by Korrok, a sentient, organic computer with intentions of conquering our dimension by absorbing knowledge from David and John. As bizarre as the plot reads above, the film itself delves into such odd territory that it took me two viewings to really get the gist of it all. Things get very weird – women turning into snakes, a monster made out of frozen meats, dog saviors, Dan Roebuck in a baby-faced mask, ghost doors, a girl with one hand – so unless you’re a fan of the novel (which, from what I’ve read, isn’t followed like scripture in the film) chances are a lot of the quirks and perception gags might just float right over your head like a cloud of Shitload (the name for a collective which possesses people). How does Don hold it all together? By employing a really solid cast that is able to imbue each character with a defining personality, that’s how. The vets here are expected to add the necessary gravitas in their supporting roles – Paul Giamatti and Clancy Brown both handle that with ease – so it’s up to our relatively fresh-faced duo of Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes to carry the majority of the film. Having never seen either of them before, they appear to be set for a bright future based on their roles here. Mayes, as John, is the wild man, leaving Williamson to be our entry point into this world of soy sauce as the film’s straight man. The actors slip into their roles so well it makes you wonder if the book had been written with them in mind to play in the eventual adaptation. One can only hope the positive reception for this film leads to the sequel, “This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously Dude, Don’t Touch It”, to be optioned as well.
Video
Shot digitally, using the Red One camera, the film’s 1.78:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image is quite pleasing. Being that this film is such a cosmic trip, there are colors abound to fill the screen with eye-catching hues. The palette seemed to veer slightly into yellow-ish territory at times, which might just be intentional since nothing here is really what it seems. Black levels hold up very well, with no weak spots to create a hazy appearance. Closeups reveal a good amount of detail, especially in faces and hairlines. Only a few shots looked a bit soft, but I’d chalk that up to focus rather than an issue with the image itself. All in all, it’s a solid visual offering that really pops on Blu-ray.
Audio
The lossless English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track mixed at 48kHz/24-bit delivers an encompassing experience with good, balanced levels alongside an atypical score from composer Brian Tyler that gives the film a unique tone. Much of the soundtrack is relegated to the front speakers, but rears do provide some nice ambient touches when required. The LFE track gets a nice workout thanks to a few well-placed thunderous explosions that are positively booming. The gun shots also have a real impact to them, something films only seem to get right about half the time. Dialogue is well-balanced in the mix, never getting lost during the pursuit of Dave & John’s otherworldly tasks. Subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired and Spanish.
Extras
You’ll have to watch the film to know whether or not John truly does die at the end, but a quick glance at this Blu-ray’s back cover will show that he certainly kills it in the bonus feature department. This disc is stacked, with an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, interviews, theatrical trailers, and more. The audio commentary features director Don Coscarelli alongside producer Brad Baruh, and actors Chase Williamson & Rob Mayes. This is an engaging, active track with each participant recounting their respective role in making the film, with Coscarelli acting as a moderator of sorts. A handful of deleted scenes (1080p) have been included: - “Driving to Meat the Monster” runs for 1 minute and 35 seconds, Dave and John converse in the car. - “Avenge My Death” runs for 1 minute and 44 seconds, John outlines a plan and Dave has a request. - “Shadows in the Basement” runs for 55 seconds, more conversation with Arnie and Dave. - “Monologue in the Mall of the Dead” runs for 2 minutes and 42 seconds, a bit more of an explanation to what’s happening. - “Broadcasting Largeman” runs for 31 seconds, Dave receives a transmission on his TV. - “Two Garments” runs for 30 seconds, Dave heard an analogy from another spirit. - “Clancy Brown & Prandhi Varshney – Mumbai TV Interview” runs for 1 minute and 46 seconds, Brown gives an interview in character. “Getting Sauced: The Making of John Dies at the End” is a featurette (1080/60p) that runs for 6 minutes and 46 seconds. This is a basic EPK that covers some ground regarding how the film came to be, Coscarelli’s shooting style, along with an overview of the film and its plot. Short, but informative. “Creature Corps: The Effects of Soy Sauce” is a featurette (1080/60p) that runs for 8 minutes and 35 seconds. Enjoy a visit to the FX studio where all of the film’s practical work was created. Fans of old-school, non-CGI effects work should find this one to be worth your time. “Casting Sessions” (1080p) featurette runs for 7 minutes and 14 seconds, featuring audition footage of the then-potential cast reading for the film. “Fangoria Interview with Paul Giamatti” (1080/60p) is an interview that runs for 9 minutes and 51 seconds. The actor sits down with former Fango editor-in-chief Tony Timpone to discuss his role in the film and what drew him to the script. It’s a fun, lively chat. A couple of theatrical trailers (1080p) are included: - “Red band” runs for 2 minutes and 26 seconds. - “Green band” runs for 2 minutes and 23 seconds. A book trailer (1080/60p, how often do you see those?) for David Wong’s other material runs for 1 minute and 12 seconds. The disc also includes bonus trailers (1080p) for the following Magnet releases: - “The Sorcerer & The White Snake” runs for 1 minute and 48 seconds. - “Sushi Girl” runs for 1 minute and 55 seconds. - “Storage 24” runs for 1 minute and 53 seconds. - “The ABCs of Death” runs for 1 minute and 9 seconds. - “AXS promo” runs for 34 seconds. There is also a bookmarks feature to mark your favorite scenes, as well as a BD-Live link.
Packaging
The single disc comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keep case with cover art that is nowhere near as awesome as the poster. But it works.
Overall
Highly recommended if you enjoy having your brain scrambled intensely.
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