Ep. 120: 1990s Decade in Review ➡
Episode 119: Peter Hyam’s End of Days (1999)
Rotten Tomato Score: 11%
Midnight is ticking down, Y2K is humming in the background, and a demon in a suit thinks New York owes him a date. We pour a Devil’s Margarita and dive headfirst into End of Days, the late-90s mashup of apocalyptic horror and action that pairs a haunted ex-cop with millennium panic. From the opening dread to the CGI inferno, we unpack why this movie fascinates even when it fumbles.
We start with the big swing: casting Arnold Schwarzenegger as Jericho Cain. Can a quintessential action icon sell spiritual grief without the trademark wink? We trace how the film’s tone toggles between candlelit theology and one-man-army spectacle, and why that mismatch turns tense set pieces into treadmill chases. Then we peel back the Y2K layer—those news montages, the New Year countdowns, the “world ends at midnight” rule—and ask whether the premise holds up or crumbles under logic questions like, “If he can blow up a restaurant, why can’t he just find Christine?”
The hits and misses are vivid. We spotlight practical blood that still slaps, an unnerving subway creep that lingers, and Miriam Margolyes turning a nanny into a wrecking ball. On the flip side: rubbery demon CGI, obvious stunt doubles, and a Latin translator that thinks it’s from 2026. We read out the best and worst lines, weigh the Rotten Tomatoes 11% against our own watchability scores, and stack this movie against sharper takes like Devil’s Advocate, Constantine, and The Book of Eli to see what stronger rulebooks and smarter casting can do.
Along the way, we drop tasty trivia—alternate casting rumors, the film’s box-office math, and the WWF tie-ins that wink at names like Jericho and Kane. If you remember the Y2K jitters, love 90s genre chaos, or just want to argue whether End of Days is misunderstood pulp or a glorious misfire, you’ll feel right at home here.
Sinister Sips
Devil’s Margarita
From: My Cocktail Bible (YouTube)
Recipe:
2 oz Tequila
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Agave Syrup
Red Wine
Rim a rocks glass with salt
Pour tequila, agave syrup, and lime juice into a shaker tin and shake for 10-15 seconds
Double strain into rocks glass filled with ice
Float red wine and garnish with a slice of lime
Plot Summary:
An ex-cop must prevent a woman from bearing the Antichrist. (Taken from IMDb)
Watchability Scale
Sam gave the film a 3. Mike liked it a bit more and gave it a 4. Chad liked it the least and gave it a 2. We placed the film at 3 on the Watchability Scale.
Links
Movie Trivia (TV Tropes)
Roper & Ebert Review (YouTube)
Wiki Trivia (Head Hunters Horror House)
20 Fun Facts (Halloween Year Round)