Well, one of my favourites. I doubt anything I read could oust Red Dragon and it’s sequel The Silence of The Lambs. Nevertheless, John Dies At The End ranks highly in my world.
I want to start this review with a story. A couple of years a go I decide to go to Chicago, a place that I had always wanted to visit ever since I was a 17 year old girl, fangirling over Fall Out Boy. That’s beside the point, I made a status asking for books to read on the love plane journey and whilst I am there, travelling alone you see. A friend had kindly suggested this one and to my astonishment, went ahead and brought it for me. Taking it with me, I don’t know what I expected from it. Instead, I found a book that delighted, thrilled and scared me so much so that when I had finished, I flipped it over and began it again. That is something I have never done with a book before. Not even the infamous Hannibal Lecter series I spoke of before. My mind was and will always be utterly blown by this film (and then subsequent movie.)
This book is above all things a riotous read. Hysterical narration from David Wong means that it is filled with the most hilarious anecdotes, stories and jokes. Although they may teeter sometimes into the juvenile (it is not without its dick jokes,) Wong creates interesting humour too that is smart, intellectual and observant. Alongside the almost moronic John, the interaction and the spiralling into insanity events keep you smiling and buzzing with each sentence. David Wong is undeniably an everyman character. Despite his antics, the reliability and thoughts that go through his head warm you too him. Especially when the steady ground beneath him starts to not only quake but wobble in an array of different colours.
But Wong writes enough horror to balance out the comedy to leave you with an uneasy feeling even after reading. Allowing you to misjudge your own eyesight, Wong her similarly delights with fear as he does with comedy. The story is itself a dark complex view on humanity and fantasy. Flitting between states of psyche, demons and monsters that come crawling out of the woodwork; after soy sauce kicks in, your life will never be the same. Wong plays with each level of fright, from the unexplainable terrors that keep you up at night to the downright disgusting. You’re never quite so sure of yourself as he delightfully takes you down this insane road.
It is an impossible to put down read. John Dies At The End is a devilish pursuit of the alternative fiction that will happily please everyone who likes a bit of toilet humour with their hell. Funny, bleak and terrifying, this movie is a treat of imagination that borders very close to insanity.