I really wanted “John Dies At the End” to be a better movie
than it is. There is so much potential, not only in the source material—the
novel of the same name by David Wong—but also in the story itself.
Unfortunately, the film never capitalizes on the enormous upside. Not a
terrible movie—it’s fun enough for a while, and director Don Coscarelli
(“Phantasm”) delivers the material with the dry, matter of fact tone that
complements the absurdity of the premise, much like he did in “Bubba Ho-Tep”—“JDATE”
never becomes anything more than a mildly amusing picture. This could,
and maybe should, have been something we’d rave about and
line up to see at midnight screenings for years to come.
