Fire City: End of Days

On the one hand, Tom Woodruff, Jr.'s name carries no small weight in the film-making industry, with a long list of acclaimed credits in special effects; that this is accordingly only the second feature he has chosen to direct surely says something (good). On the other hand, that Uncork'd Entertainment is attached in any way (as distributor in this case) is a bad warning sign, as they have been involved in too much dreck below the level of The Asylum. I'm not familiar with writers Michael Hayes or Brian Lubocki, but I see that 'End of days' follows from a short film sharing the 'Fire City' moniker, so I presume this picture is a bit of a passion project for them. Before the film has even properly begun these are all facets to greet our attention, and from there it could go either way. As the runtime progresses, that push and pull of conflicting vibes is kind of sustained, for this movie is an odd mixed bag. I do like it, on the balance, but I'm not sure that even it quite knew entirely what it wanted to be.

It takes most of the first thirty minutes for the picture to start to give a concrete sense of what it's about. Such plot development isn't abnormal; the extent to which the story threads are scattered and disparate, and the distinct effort to obfuscate real plot in the interval, is. Once we do get to that earnest narrative, I recognize some enticing ideas and potential. I actually very much like what Hayes and Lubocki have whipped up: demons secretly living in the human world, feeding off misery, and suddenly there comes a disruption to that parasitic relationship. What's strange is that in some measure the concept feels like one better suited for PG-13 or even PG-level dark fantasy - it could be orientated toward more mature audiences, and in this case it unquestionably is owing simply to blood, gore, violence, nudity, and the distinct intonation of bleak themes. Yet even for such inclusions, there's a cheeky, almost ham-handed levity and playfulness that would feel at home more in a feature for a younger audience than it does here. To that point, in the way that the genre elements manifest and in that incomplete balance of feelings, I'm reminded somewhat of Clive Barker's 'Nightbreed,' which bore a similar tone. Here, however, the mashup of discrete horror and dark fantasy facets with any more lighthearted notions doesn't come off quite the same way.

None of this is to say that 'Fire City' is bad; not at all! Not only do I like it, as I said, but I also think it's actually pretty good! Woodruff shows capable skill as a director, arranging shots and scenes and guiding his cast, and as one should expect of features he's involved with, the visuals are rather excellent. The special makeup and costume design for the demons' appearances are rich and flavorful (the biggest point of comparison with 'Nightbreed,' for what it's worth), and blood and gore look great. Other effects both practical and digital are just as swell, and I love the production design and art direction, the use of lighting, and Danny Grunes' mindful cinematography. Even restricted almost entirely to the setting of a single apartment building, the film is rounded out with splendid detail in others ways, including scene writing and the narrative at large. This also does a fine job of suggesting a larger lore to the universe that isn't fully explained, giving us just enough information to meaningfully propel and enrich the plot without going overboard on expository dialogue.

Still, I can very much understand how this has limited appeal broadly speaking; above all, the flavors don't quite mix in the ideal way - horror, dark fantasy, mystery, drama, thriller, all a loose and heterogeneous blend. Furthermore, in addition to the central plot, it almost seems at some points like there are scant threads that don't quite fit, or that are too much for this one feature - they could have been explored more fully, perhaps, but not without sacrificing integrity of the movie as it is. As a prime example, the overflow of plot we get in the last ten minutes or so, explaining the course of events, is so substantial as to be overbearing, and in a fraction of the runtime the title suddenly feels significantly imbalanced from out of nowhere. One unfortunate side effect of the elaborate makeup and prosthetics that actors wear is that their performances necessarily involve no small amount of chewing of scenery to speak and emote through their costumes. Among those portraying demons, there's no one this doesn't impact, and it's only a question of degrees from one to the next; I admit bias since I like her anyway (and she's the only cast member here I'm familiar with at all), but I'm inclined to think Danielle C. Ryan, portraying (demon) Cornelia, achieves the best results under these circumstances - kudos to her!

The result is a picture that I think is much stronger than not, but which plainly struggles to stir all its varied parts together. It also altogether tries to do too much in too small a span of time; maybe if this were more than just a single feature the assemblage could have been teased out to more complete and productive ends. What I see is a strong sophomore directorial effort from Woodruff, and intelligence from Hayes and Lubocki - intelligence, and maybe ambition that needed to be tempered in this instance. I see a fine cast that is restricted by the material or perhaps literally and physically by their costumes and character designs; I see contributions from all those working behind the scenes that are terrific, though in light of those ways in which the film more or less bites off more than it can chew, such work to realize it also ends up feeling like A Bit Much. When all is said and done I do think 'Fire City: End of days' earns a soft recommendation, even as I get why it won't meet everyone's preferences. My enthusiasm would be greater had only the screenplay been tightened, shedding some of the storytelling ideas to be more tightly focused.

Ah well. A good show of it; just too overflowing with ideas and flavors for its own good.

When I grew up in Western NY, in the mid-1960's, the Catholic Church was very strong. The Church had television programs, broadcast over the three major networks. The shows were strange and eclectic. One show, called Lamp Unto My Feet, was an exposition of scripture, as interpreted through modern dance. And who could forget Bishop Sheen, and his weekly homilies? This movie, Fire City, reminded me of yet another show produced by the Church, in which demons come up with plans to please Satan. Turns out Satan thinks procrastination works best.

Short version: this movie is a very enjoyable film noir, with an interesting mystery story, using demons as plot attributes. It's not a demon horror action movie.

Long version: First off, this movie is weird. Not just in the sense that it's about "weird" stuff like demons, but in that it's a movie trying to mix film noir, mystery, horror, and drama. As I started watching it, I was expecting it to be some crappy demon-horror B-movie, but I've not often been so surprised (and wrong in my initial judgment). I believe the reason for most bad reviews of this movie, is that people were expecting a radically different movie. The best I can describe it is as a film-noir mystery detective demon drama. If that sounds ridiculous to you (and I can't blame you), then you're probably better off watching something different. If instead you're intrigued by this seemingly random combination of genres, you might want to give it a try.

I found the script to be surprisingly intelligent, with pretty few plot holes, and after the first "what the f*ck is this?" moment passed, I really got into the story (which I will not spoil). Most of the movie is very bleak (although it has a somewhat happy ending), including domestic abuse, alcoholism, child rape (although that was thankfully only implied, but never shown), etc., so it's probably not suited for the faint hearted. I found the acting to be much better than I expected: not Oscar nomination material obviously, but it was adequate enough. Also the special effects, being mostly the demons' body prosthetics, were quite nice. At times it was clear they were just rubber masks and floppy prosthetics, but I found the designs very elegant and was impressed with the film's visual style. Overall I would say it's very entertaining to watch and very different from what you would expect from something called "Fire city: end of days". I also found it to be thematically intriguing, and most of all a very original combination of different genres. I would give it a solid 7/10, but it gets an extra +1 because it's really much better than the 5/10 it has now on IMDb.

If you're going to watch the movie, just keep in mind you'll actually have to pay attention to the story - otherwise it's just going to seem like a strange, confusing, meandering movie. But believe me, it actually does make sense in the end. Just think of it as a film noir that happens to feature demons, rather than a demon movie, and you'll know better what to expect.

The story had some issues and at times reminded me of a late night HBO flick. There were certain aspects I really wish they had cut out and perhaps elaborated a bit more on others. Even though we spend most of our time with the demons, I never really felt close to any of them with the exception of the main character. I'd have liked to have seen more WHY.

What really made the film were the costumes. Nightbreed kept popping into my head as I watched. That's something I give a lot of weight to in a film and for the most part, they were done well. Especially when it came to Vine.

Another pro of the film for me was the acting. I just kept hoping for a better, more cohesive story.

Right from the start Fire City: End of Days got a big A+ rating in my book simply for the extensive and impressive use of practical effects. For a fantasy thriller and a low budget indie feature this film is remarkably deep and equally dark. For those of you familiar with Angel, the Buffy spin off, Fire City treads kindred ground steeped in the shadows and dust of an urban underworld. For all that this film bears in promise, it ultimately falls short somehow with its bewildering climax that feels both rushed and drawn out somehow. We are set up to expect more installments in the series that continue the story of Atum Vine (installments I await with more anticipation than I had for Desolation of Smaug (!).

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of Fire City is not a part of the story, but rather that the film strains its scant budget to the max, popping seams along the way.