End of the World

Owen Stokes (Greg Grunberg) owns a video store. Suddenly, the world is bombarded by balls of electromagnetic energy. The boys are prepared for every movie apocalypse contingent. Owen's girlfriend Selena arrives with douche Max. Owen and his employee Steve Palmer go to get Steve's mother. The group tries to find Dr. Walter Brown (Brad Dourif) who is locked up in a mental institution. He just might be the only one who can save the world.

It starts with a functional idea. The special effects are mostly low budget sci-fi TV level. Most of the humor don't work. The jokes are mostly half-hearted movie references. It's Armageddon with no budget and not as funny. It's functional for the first half but it wears out its welcome. It would work better if the movie kept it small but it insists on going full Armageddon.

End of the World (2013)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

SyFy film has a couple video store clerks (and one of their wives) having to put their knowledge of disaster movies to the ultimate test when the end of the world approaches. When some sort of mysterious explosions start dropping from the skies, the three head off to find an expert (Brad Dourif) who is locked up in a mental hospital. I'll give END OF THE WORLD credit for at least trying to do something different but unfortunately it really doesn't add up to much. The biggest problem with this movie is the low-budget, which just doesn't really allow it to be taken that serious. I think with a higher budget and a re-write of the screenplay then we might have had something much better. As is, the film has some interesting moments and a couple good performances but that's it. One good thing is the constant references to other science fiction movies, which was somewhat fun for film buffs. I also enjoyed the performances for the most part. Caroline Cave is good in the role of the wife and we also get nice work from Greg Grunberg and Neil Grayston. I also enjoyed seeing Dourif who goes wildly over-the-top but in a fun way. The special effects are pretty much what you'd expect from a low-budget film like this but they were still much better than what you typical see on SyFy. Back to the problems, the screenplay just isn't strong enough to make us believe the situation these characters are in. Not once did I buy into the "end of the world" and there's really not any drama or suspense anywhere. I know this is mostly a comedy about these two video store clerks but we needed something else.

Accidentally watched this instead of worlds end, took a while to realize but carried on cos it was kinda fun. It's a bit generic and predictable, but that didn't stop it being entertaining.

END OF THE WORLD is your usual bog-standard SyFy Channel disaster movie that perhaps feels even more generic than all the others put together. It's directed by the prolific Steven R. Monroe and written by Jason Bourque, who also directed his fair share of other numerous similar low-budget disaster movies.

The one thing END OF THE WORLD does differently is to self-reference other movies in the genre, sometimes from the same studio and sometimes better-known efforts. Brad Dourif plays the crazy old-timer who might just have the knowledge to tackle what's going on, and there's a rather ingenious clip from ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST utilised at one point, which was rather neatly done.

Otherwise it's business as usual, with a bunch of stock characters, failing actors, and unfunny humour. The CGI effects of the solar flare attacks are as non-impressive as ever, and the various disaster scenes lack the kind of oomph you'd expect. It turns out that the END OF THE WORLD finishes with a fizzle rather than a bang.

Another 'end of the world as we know it' movie with a very predictable outcome. Sure enough, but still these movies are so campy and cheesy that they are actually fun to watch, and thumbs up to SyFy Channel for keep spewing them out.

The story in "End of the World" is about, well, the end of the world. A strange outer space phenomena takes place and showers the Earth with blasts of forces of energy that are lethal to both electrical devices and living beings alike. A group of young people who have devoted their lives to the disaster movie genre, who works, owns and hangs around a local video store devoted to these types of movies, figure out a solution to save the Earth and race against time to save our beloved planet.

And that is the storyline for you right there. Doesn't get more simple than that. In fact, it doesn't get any more generic and stereotypical for these SyFy Channel disaster movies either. Have you seen one of their movies, then you have essentially seen all. But still, we come back for more because they are so campy and cheesy.

"End of the World" wasn't particularly enjoyable or extraordinary in any way, because there was nothing new to the genre at all here. This was essentially just a re-molding of previously made movies about the very same topic. The only worth mentionable thing was the references to other SyFy movies, Sci-Fi movies and disaster movies in general that was thrown carelessly about all throughout the movie.

Were there plot holes? Indeed there were. And they are so obvious and painstakingly just grabbing the movie by the ankles and weighing it down. But hey, aren't these plot holes an expected thing from this particular type of movies from SyFy Channel?

As for the acting in the movie. Well, people were doing fair enough jobs, but truth be told, then they hadn't much of a script to work with, so it wasn't particularly impressive. Nor was it overly convincing, as you never for one second bought into that the entire world was in any overwhelming danger from outer space.

So, is "End of the World" worth watching? Well, if you are a hardcore fan of SyFy Channel productions and the disaster movie genre in general, then yes. Otherwise, no, hardly so.