End of Days (1999): The Black Sheep

This episode of The Black Sheep was Written, Narrated, and Edited by Lance Vlcek, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

I’ll always have a soft spot for the horror of the late ’90s. It wasn’t the best of the decade, but it does contain that silly and ambitious mix of dark edginess and psychological tension. Coming somewhat from the boom of the ’90s type of thriller, the religious horror resurgence came out of changing tastes. And though it didn’t all work out, there was a style and tone that I’ll always love. So what happens when an action superstar tries to grow while the genre around him changes into a different beast? You get the ridiculous but damn fun End of Days (watch it HERE) on this episode of The Black Sheep.

Context of the time is crucial for understanding how something as bizarre as End of Days could exist and be led by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The early ’90s was a second wave for the actor, and he arguably had his biggest hit with T2, and a big success with True Lies, but let’s get this out of the way right now, Last Action Hero is a brilliant meta-action thriller that should have been the Scream for the Action genre. It was ahead of its time and won’t tolerate any dissent. But times were changing, and the type of action hero born out of Schwarzenegger was on the way out. Think about it; The Matrix came out earlier in the same year. End of Days was f*cked to begin with. Pardon my french.

But getting director Peter Hyams who knew his ’90s action, was a smart man to get to lead the picture. He had proven himself with some JCVD bangers, including the fun and underrated Sudden Death and, of course, Time Cop, which is like Looper starring Bruce Willis, but, like, a million times better. We also had a boom in the religious horror department with the then-underrated The Exorcist III, the cult hit The Prophecy (let’s not forget this had some great schlock), and a prestigious outing with The Devil’s Advocate. Mix this with the fears of Y2K, an aging type of action, and ’90s Schwarzenegger, and you get a flick that swings for the fences. One that misses more than it lands but reminds you of the sort of wild mixes we got from a time long past.

For a 100 million dollar budgeted movie, I like that this baby is filled with solid character actors. Robin Tunney as Christine was my entire childhood, Kevin Pollak once again owns the sassy and annoyed character as Bobby Chicago, while CCH Pounder and Udo Kier do what they do best. Each person here gives a good and worthwhile performance, with Pollak, of course, stealing the show. There’s always something deeply understandable about a character who is just done with the day; only the day lasts their entire lifetime. I get this and will always love it portrayed by a class act like Kevin Pollak.

But End of Days works (and doesn’t) because of its two leads. It’s here that we find such an interesting tonal change. End of Days stands out because this tries to be two different and opposing movies. Schwarzenegger goes deep here, aiming Jericho as a man past the breaking point, a suicidal widower, drunk former cop. It’s bizarre seeing Schwarzenegger playing this role, as it didn’t fit his oversized personality then. The time for the edgy Schwarzenegger has passed. But the other side of the tale is excellent Gabriel Byrne, inhabiting the body of the Devil. Byrne takes things far more embellished and over-the-top and has a great arrival scene in a diner. It is schlock done right. Byrne gets the fun banter with the dirty dark wit. The way things play out, Byrne and Schwarzenegger are aiming for different movies.

Peter Hyams has a clear affection for Seven. Look-wise, End of Days has a grim, dark vibe and moves in a way where you’re never stuck on something for too long. Wisely paced, this jumps between big action and investigative horror tied into an end-of-the-world story. Again, it doesn’t always work. I want to drive that home, but even when it doesn’t gel as a whole, each part has its certain charm. The action scenes are at total odds with the serious Antichrist plot yet add a fun level of cheese and, on their own, are impressive, fun, and well coordinated. The religious investigation stuff may be surface-level, but the tone and cinematography absolutely fit the situation, gaudy dialogue and all.

As much as I want to pick on the action for being out of place, we get a few really fun, if not embellished, set pieces. The New York rooftop helicopter scene, stunt double, and all is the high-budget action I’ll always love. And the most dangerous part is, of course, practical. I’m unsure if this is the most optimal method for catching an assassin priest, but it looks fun. We get a stylish subway scene full of gore, gunplay, and some impressive miniatures; while the ending CGI may look dated, the cathedral destruction is pure action love.

Now the appearance of Satan was fine for the time, but as with Hollywood, they didn’t really “get” it and ended up replacing Stan Winston’s great design with something far more generic, something that would replace most monsters in the upcoming years, a digital creature. It’s fine here, but the original is better. It’s simple as that. But I will give some credit to Schwarzenegger for letting himself get killed. With the egos nowadays, I think someone of his stature getting killed was the right move story-wise and a class act on a personal level.

End of Days may be messy, but there is no denying the type of love that this ambitious yet surface-level genre mix shows. As I’ve said, it doesn’t always work, and mixing big action with a spiritual thriller is such a wild swing, but I still have a great time with this, schlock and all. If you haven’t given this a rewatch in a long while, maybe it’s time to revisit the panic of Y2K, an end-of-the-world prophecy, and, ofcourse, Schwarzenegger grunting and blowing sh*t up.

A couple of the previous episodes of The Black Sheep can be seen below. To see more, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!