Trailer Review: John Dies at the End

Don Coscarelli has made some entertaining horror movies over the years. Phantasm was a great, low budget fright flick with some good ideas and a memorable villain. Bubba Ho-Tep was a quirky horror comedy with a unique story. Now the director returns as a writer/director to the comedy horror genre with John Dies at the End.

Dave and John (played by Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes) are slackers who team up to fight alien monsters from another dimension. There is a strange new drug on the streets called Soy Sauce that kids are taking. Some kids die after using it while others have visions and are able to see things no one else can see. John and Dave start using Soy Sauce and are able to spot the aliens attempting to invade earth. They team up with a girl called Amy (played by Fabianne Therese)  and a dog called Bark-Lee to save our planet from the extraterrestrial threat. They are also aided by a man who knows how to deal with supernatural phenomena called Doctor Albert Marconi. Marconi is played by Clancy Brown from Highlander and the actor seems to be having fun with the role. Paul Giamatti also appears as a journalist interviewing Dave about his exploits. Glynn Turman plays the police Detective trying to solve the case and find out who is supplying the drug to people. There are also a few nice cameos from genre veterans like Doug Jones and Angus Scrimm. Scrimm is best known as the malevolent Tall Man from Phantasm.

The story was originally released as a comic horror novel written by Jason Pargin and published under the pseudonym of David Wong. It was published online first as a web serial in 2001 and then later as a printed paperback in 2007. The film appears to have the same off-beat style as the novel and the humour looks quite surreal. Some of the creature designs are quite unique too and Robert Kurtzman is the special effects supervisor. Kurtzman has been working in the industry for years and he has produced some great effects for some of the most iconic horror movies.

Cinema audiences can also probably expect a few plot twists to keep them on their toes. Coscarelli is a good director and his movies are always full of interesting ideas and unusual events. Hopefully this film adaptation will capture the essence of the book and add some new elements too.

Fans of strange cult movies may enjoy John Dies at the End when it is released on March 22nd.

Have a look a the trailer and share your thoughts.