Editorials
20 Years Later: The New Year’s Eve Horror of ‘End of Days’
The holidays- New Year’s Eve, especially- are a time dedicated to excess. It’s only fitting that End of Days, an action-horror hybrid starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and set in the days leading up to New Year’s, honors the spirit of this time of year with a glut of over the top entertainment and outlandish narrative turns. Released in theaters twenty years ago on November 24, 1999, End of Days pounced on the looming fears the turn of the millennium would bring. Instead of Y2K and crashing computers, though, it was the resurgence of Satan in New York City and his quest to impregnate his chosen bride. In the sort of convoluted way that only a grand epic blockbuster-style film can, of course.
After a cold open featuring the birth of the Prince of Darkness’s bride twenty years before the millennial New Year and an explanation of her destiny, the film cuts to present day where Lucifer explodes from the depths of hell, and the sewers, to find a host body for his conquest. That host belongs to an unwitting banker (Gabriel Byrne). He doesn’t know it yet, but his most significant obstacle to finding and claiming his bride, Christine York (Robin Tunney), is former police detective Jericho Cane (Schwarzenegger).
Anyone well versed in Satanic horror will spot Cane’s character arch from a mile away; the film introduces him as a suicidal alcoholic that lost his faith after the death of his wife and daughter. The Exorcist and its many copycats taught us those reluctant heroes who’ve lost their way eventually regain their faith and save the day. While the bare bones of the plot might be predictable, screenwriter Andrew W. Marlow (Hollow Man) and director Peter Hyams (The Relic, Timecop), who also handled the cinematography, keep the journey exciting.
Mere moments after contemplating suicide with his gun, his partner Bobby Chicago (Kevin Pollack) shows up with coffee. Jericho takes the piping hot cup of coffee and blends it up with leftover beer, Pepto-Bismol, two cartons of leftover Chinese food, a thin cut of meat, and a stale piece of pizza from the kitchen floor. He drinks his revolting breakfast smoothie straight from the blender. It’s this precise brand of outlandishness that makes End of Days transcend its familiar premise.
When Jericho finally crosses paths with Christine, who’s oblivious to the Satanic prophecy and her role in it despite nightmarish visions, he becomes her protector. From there, he deals with an endless barrage of devil worshipers, evil guardians with super-strength, betrayals, hallucinogenic temptations, and a slew of Vatican knights who are on a separate mission to stop Satan’s consummation. If anyone can take a beating over and over again, it’s Schwarzenegger.
1999 marked an anxious time, when computers were expected to fail time zone by time zone, causing an apocalyptic domino effect on society in its wake. It’s fitting that End of Days should mirror that feeling with the Vatican and a slew of New Yorkers standing in the way of a biblical apocalypse set to commence when the ball drops in Times Square. There’s a bleak undercurrent, but it’s balanced by the explosive action and the zaniness of the horror elements. Jericho does kick that old nanny’s butt along with anyone else that gets in his way, and you can count on him to stop Satan, too. He’s just going to do it with over the top flair.
In its own weird and charming way, End of Days perfectly captures the New Year’s Eve holiday; that anxious period in which we try to shake off the year’s stresses and look ahead to the shiny possibilities of a new year heralded in by celebrations and libations. This film is a tonal blend of those warring emotions; the bleak and downtrodden against excess and hope. A campiness that’s matched by poignancy.
End of Days is hardly without flaws; save for a fun CGI climax, poor Satan doesn’t have a whole lot to do. But it’s always fascinating and entertaining. The perfect type of movie to pair with pizza, beverages, and friends, which sounds like an ideal way to spend New Year’s Eve to me.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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