Some critics believe that “cult movies” no longer exist. After all, how do you define an underground cult following in an age when independent films are more easily accessible than ever and you can instantly discuss movies with anyone in the world? It’s now possible to stream nearly any picture at the touch of a button, so it makes sense that the days of underground screenings and traditional word-of-mouth are long behind us.
That being said, there’s an argument to be made about a modern-day equivalent to the cult classic. The fickle tides of online engagement mean that some truly great media often slips through the cracks of the distribution system, resulting in notable works of art becoming lost in online limbo because they didn’t please the all-knowing algorithm or were just released at the wrong place and the wrong time. Hell, some of these movies can even be moderately successful upon release, but they soon became relegated to the ever-expanding sea of new content that general audiences can’t be expected to keep up with.
This new kind of cult movie isn’t necessarily harder to find than a regular movie, there’s just not enough buzz to make people actively search for it (even though these films often boast enthusiastic online fanbases). While this has been happening for some time now, with Bloody Disgusting’s own Terrifier 2 managing to recently break the distribution cycle by achieving mainstream success purely through word-of-mouth, today I’d like to talk about a film that exists on the edge of both kinds of cult cinema.
Naturally, I’m referring to Don Coscarelli’s under-appreciated horror-comedy, John Dies at the End, a movie that came out during a turning point in media distribution, when Netflix was just beginning its meteoric rise to media giant and the modern age of blockbusters had been kicked off by the first Avengers movie. And with Coscarelli’s film celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, I thought that this might be a good opportunity to look back on what makes it such a unique flick and why it didn’t find the audience it deserved.
The story of John Dies at the End begins way back in 2001, when author Jason Pargin (who would later become the editor of Cracked) started a blog where he posted updates about Dave and John – a fictional pair of bumbling demon hunters that deal with eldritch horrors and potty humor in equal measure. These blog posts were written in first person, with Jason adopting the persona of David Wong to avoid being discovered by his day-job workmates. While these stories began as a hobby of sorts, the blog soon amassed a sizable (for the time) following, which led to the posts being collected, edited, and finally sold as a bona fide novel in 2006.
“I once saw a man’s kidney grow tentacles, tear itself out of a ragged hole in his back, and go slapping across my kitchen floor.”
The story’s grungy humor and genuinely compelling horror elements inevitably appealed to cult filmmaker Don Coscarelli, who you may know from Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep, and even Beastmaster. Coming into contact with the novel through an automated e-mail recommendation, the director noted that an adaptation with the same name would have “the greatest title in motion picture history” and soon purchased the book – and the rights to an adaptation.
Soon enough, Coscarelli recruited Daniel Carey and Paul Giamatti as executive producers, describing the project as a mix of Douglas Adams and Stephen King. With an independently financed production budget of less than $1 million dollars, shooting began in 2010 and ended in early 2011, leading to a limited theatrical release in 2012.
John Dies at the End didn’t exactly do gangbusters at the box office, only playing on a handful of screens, but it certainly got a reaction out of critics. Some outlets praised it as one of the most original horror flicks in years while others accused it of being excessively gross and intentionally hard to follow. Despite the divisive reactions, the movie was also responsible for propelling Jason Pargin to literary fame, with the writer releasing a sequel to JDatE around the time of the adaptation’s release and turning his hobby into a successful literary franchise.
This makes sense, as the film’s depiction of its main characters makes you wish that there were more stories about them, cinematic or otherwise. Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes’ casting as David and John is absolutely perfect (my mind automatically reads the books in Chase’s voice after watching the movie), and Giamatti brings a surprising amount of gravitas as the skeptic Arnie. Clancy Brown (also known as Mr. Krabs) is also great as the celebrity psychic Marconi, and it wouldn’t be a Coscarelli picture without an appearance by the late, great Angus Scrimm. As if that wasn’t enough, Doug Jones also has a small but memorable role as a hilariously out-of-touch interdimensional traveler.
While Coscarelli’s film isn’t a 100% faithful recreation of the novel, compounding characters and simplifying events, it still tells the same basic story about a pair of slackers who become embroiled in a paranormal conspiracy involving an interdimensional drug known as soy sauce and the end of the world. In fact, the first half of the film adapts several of the book’s sequences word-for-word, such as a curious encounter with a Jamaican mystic and that brilliant opening scene inspired by the Ship of Theseus paradox.
Unfortunately, the captivating introduction doesn’t really amount to anything, as the script ends up excising the novel’s mind-melting ending. Some serious character beats were also cut, which results in the film feeling more like a fully-fledged comedy rather than a more nuanced experience like in the book. While some elements were obviously removed due to runtime concerns, with Giamatti even lamenting how many great ideas would have to be cut due to the novel’s “embarrassment of riches”, it’s pretty obvious that the low budget was at the heart of the film’s constraints.
It’s hard to tell an apocalyptic tale about time-traveling Shadow Men and interdimensional shoot-outs in Las Vegas without breaking the bank, so some of these moments simply had to go. That being said, I’d argue that John Dies at the End remains an endearing adaptation because it succeeds in bringing the spirit of Pargin’s work to life even if it can’t quite depict all of the book’s events. The low production value also gives the film a janky DIY charm that makes it more interesting than if it were a glossy Hollywood project.
Unfortunately, while the book series went on to produce several best-sellers (the latest one, If This Book Exists, You’re in the Wrong Universe, was just published this year to widespread acclaim), Don Coscarelli’s film wasn’t so lucky. With the movie releasing at such a decisive moment in film history, most audiences never had the chance to watch John Dies at the End in theaters, and it wasn’t exactly a massive hit on VOD either. The world just wasn’t ready for this strange little film that would have wowed midnight movie audiences had it come out in the 70s or 80s alongside Coscarelli’s earlier work.
However, this story has a happy ending. JDatE slowly developed a loyal following over the years, mostly comprised of folks who stumbled onto it via streaming services and then proceeded to share their opinions through online word-of-mouth in a digital recreation of the same cult process of old. While it’s still unfortunate that the movie didn’t result in a franchise like its source material, I’m glad that it endures as a lesser-known classic that continues to fascinate and bewilder viewers just as easily today as it did 10 years ago.
With how accessible movies have become, it’s our responsibility as cinephiles to discuss the films we love so that they can eventually find their audience, even if it takes a decade or more. And the way I see it, a major motion picture based on a blog filled with supernatural dick jokes definitely deserves a cult following.
The post ‘John Dies at the End’ – Don Coscarelli’s Cult Horror-Comedy Is Still Underappreciated 10 Years Later appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.