End of Days (1999)

At the end of the century, Satan visits New York in search of a bride. It's up to an ex-cop who now runs an elite security outfit to stop him.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writer:

Andrew W. Marlowe

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne, Robin Tunney

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Jericho Cane
Gabriel Byrne	...	The Man / Satan
Robin Tunney	...	Christine York
Kevin Pollak	...	Bobby Chicago
CCH Pounder	...	Detective Margie Francis
Derrick O'Connor	...	Thomas Aquinas
David Weisenberg	...	OB-GYN
Rainer Judd	...	Christine's Mother
Miriam Margolyes	...	Mabel
Udo Kier	...	Head Priest
Victor Varnado	...	Albino
Michael O'Hagan	...	Cardinal
Mark Margolis	...	Pope
Jack Shearer	...	Kellogg
Rod Steiger	...	Father Kovak

Storyline

On December 28th, 1999, the citizens of New York City are getting ready for the turn of the millennium. However, the Devil decides to crash the party by coming to the city, inhabiting a man's body, and searching for his chosen bride, a 20-year-old woman named Christine York. [If he bears her child between 11:00 PM and midnight on New Year's Eve], the world will end, and the only hope lies within an atheist ex-cop named Jericho Cane, who no longer believes in God because of the murder of his wife and daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

atheist | ex cop | millennium | priest | new york city | 

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Taglines:

The end is near

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

18A

Details

Official Sites:

Universal [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

24 November 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

La fin des temps

Filming Locations:

Altadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$83,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,370,017 (UK) (10 December 1999)

Gross:

$66,862,068 (USA) (3 March 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beacon Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Years later, Miriam Margolyes revealed on a talk show she did not enjoy her first and only working experience with Arnold, citing the odd reason that in their scene together "He farted in my face!" (as she so eloquently put it).

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Goofs

Jericho raves at Satan that he is not as evil as Jericho is. Jericho says "You think you 'know bad', eh? Well, you're a fucking choir boy compared to me! A Choir Boy!" instead of the scripted line "You're Choir Boy!"

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Quotes

The Man: [speaking to Christine] You think I came here to hurt you? I didn't come here to hurt you. I came here to love you. Give yourself to me.

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Connections

References Stigmata (1999)

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Soundtracks

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Traditional
Performed by Bing Crosby

User Reviews

Darker than your average action film

Hyped to the heavens when it first came out as Schwarzenegger's comeback movie, this 1999 film steers the Governor away from his attempts at comedy and collaborations with Danny Devito and back into the sort of action packed carnage that made his name in the first place. However, where the likes of Commando had him portraying invincible supermen with a neat array of guns and one liners to hand, End of Days is considerably darker.

Set in New York on the eve of Millennium, the film shows a version of the Austrian Oak previously never witnessed. He plays Jericho Cane, an alcoholic ex-Cop in charge of a security squad who finds himself embroiled in a battle to save a young girl (Robin Tunney) from being raped by the devil (a sadly, rather ineffective Gabriel Byrne) and bringing about Armageddon. As you do.

Cane himself is not the best sort of man for saving all creation either. He is mired in deep depression, has abandoned any faith in God he may have once had and when we first see him, is contemplating suicide. However, saving the girl gives him a drive and determination even when faced with some conflicting views from the Catholic Church about how best to go about this. All of this takes place in a very grim and gritty vision of New York where the rain never stops falling, urban decay is rife and pillars of steam rise from manhole covers. It is a fitting location for the end of all creation to begin and cast a dark veil over the flick.

Of course, that isn't to say the film is all doom and gloom as there are a few glimpses of just how seriously the makers weren't taking their project (the argument between Arnold and Kevin Pollack in the former's apartment is hilarious). Plus, while the story and characters are all developed to match the atmosphere of impending dread during the first hour and a half, the last twenty minutes are made up of the kind of explosive action that strangely doesn't jar against the grimmer nature of the rest of the film, though the CGI devil at the climax is pushing it a little.

All in all, an enjoyable romp for fans of the Governator before his attention was diverted by a political career. It compares well to his classic eighties work by trying to do something different and while it may not gel properly in places, for a good 80% of the running time it does a very entertaining job.