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John Dies at the End (2012) - Don Coscarelli


This is a fun, original, and adventurous film and book. Don Coscarelli is a veteran horror movie director that is known for creating the Phantasm series. It's apparent that he is a fan of the base material, as he does his best to include as much as possible without getting it too full. It is definitely a future cult horror movie but one to be enjoyed by as many as possible. 

Best buddies John and David are modern day Hardy Boys with some next-dimensional shit going on. They both experiment with a strange drug that some Jamaican guy gives them at a party. It allows for these realistic hallucinations that allow them to drift through dimensions. Next thing you know crazy flying worms and exploding faces are everywhere. It's nuts. Reality is flipped upside down and it's looking like these two are going to have to save the world. 

I was really impressed with this movie. I had read the book a few months prior to the film's release and couldn't put it down. Since the movie's release I had viewed it several times. I am a fan of it. If you are a horror movie fan then you will love it. Coscarelli's elements are all there and they mix so well with the source. 

If you liked Phantasm then you will be pleased to know that Angus Scrimm makes an appearance. The cast is all fantastic. Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes do a great job as the leads. Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman, and even Doug Jones round out the cast admirably. It is really well done for having a small budget. 

Director: Don Coscarelli
Country: USA
Did ya know: John's full name, John Cheese, is a reference to Cracked.com comedy writer John Cheese (real name Mack Leighty) who co-wrote "John Dies at the End" and the sequel "This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It" with David Wong (real name Jason Pargin). In the end of "This Book is Full of Spiders," David Wong claims that John demands "at least one scene per book in which he 'ramps something,' along with a flat payment for each time I [Wong] use the name in print." The onscreen title for this movie at the beginning was CGI "ink". The rest of the shot was actual inkblots filmed in a fish tank.

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