End of Days (film)

In December 1999, New York City, former NYPD Detective Jericho Cane is a suicidal alcoholic, haunted by the murder of his wife and daughter—killed in retaliation for his testimony against corrupt police officers.

On December 28, Satan arrives on Earth and possesses an investment banker. The following day, Jericho and his close friend, Bobby Chicago, are assigned as private security for the banker. Jericho saves him from an assassination attempt by prophetic Vatican priest Thomas Aquinas, who warns of Satan's return before being subdued. Driven to understand why he targeted the banker, Jericho and Bobby investigate Aquinas's apartment, discovering a photo of a young woman, Christine York. Orphaned at a young age, Christine has been unwittingly raised by disciples of Satan, including her carer Mabel, unaware they are preparing her for their master. She experiences haunting visions of Satan having sex with her, though she believes them to be delusions.

By December 30, Satanist violence has escalated across the city. Satan visits the hospitalized Aquinas and crucifies him before Jericho arrives to interrogate him. Carvings on Aquinas's body lead Jericho to Christine. He and Bobby arrive at her home in time to save her from the Cardinal's Masonic Vatican knights, who intend to kill her before Satan can take her. Satan arrives and kills Mabel for failing to secure Christine, and immolates Bobby, seemingly killing him.

Jericho and Christine take shelter in the church of Aquinas's aquintance Father Kovak. Kovak explains that, every 1,000 years, Satan rises to Earth to attempt to impregnate a chosen woman—an event that will grant Satan dominion over Earth. Satan must conceive the child in the final hour before midnight on December 31. Jericho rejects the claims, unable to believe in a God who would allow his family to be murdered, but Christine chooses to stay with Kovak and his clergy.

Satan confronts Jericho in his apartment, offering to resurrect his family if he surrenders Christine. Jericho resists and throws Satan out of the window to the street below. Bobby then arrives, unharmed, and agrees to help protect Christine. Jericho returns to the church and prevents more Vatican knights from sacrificing her. Satan intervenes and massacres the knights, while Jericho and Christine to flee. However, Bobby betrays them, abducts Christine, and leaves Jericho to be beaten by a Satanist mob. Satan then crucifies Jericho, letting him live so he can witness his ultimate triumph.

Jericho awakens on December 31, having been rescued by Kovak and his clergy. He tracks the Satanists to a subterranean lair where they are gathered in worship as Satan prepares to impregnate Christine. Jericho intervenes and rescues her but is confronted by Bobby, who reveals that Satan spared his life in exchange for servitude. However, Bobby refuses to kill his friend, prompting Satan to immolate him once more. Before Jericho and Christine escape, he destroys Satan's physical body with a grenade. The pair barricade themselves inside a church, holding off hordes of Satanists. In front of the Christian iconography, Jericho discards his weapon and prays for God's help.

Satan breaks into the church in a monstrous winged form and possesses Jericho. With only moments before midnight, Satan attempts to rape Christine. Responding to her pleas, Jericho regains control long enough to sacrifice himself by impaling his body on a sword held by a statue of the Archangel Michael. Satan is expelled and cast back into Hell. Before he dies, Jericho sees a vision of his wife and daughter waiting for him. Christine thanks Jericho for saving her life as the world celebrates the dawn of a new millennium.

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• Arnold Schwarzenegger as Jericho Cane
• Gabriel Byrne as The Man
• Robin Tunney as Christine York
• Kevin Pollak as Bobby Chicago
• Rod Steiger as Father Kovak
• CCH Pounder as NYPD Detective Marge Francis
• Derrick O'Connor as Thomas Aquinas
• Miriam Margolyes as Mabel
• Udo Kier as Doctor Abel
• Mark Margolis as Pope
• Victor Varnado as Albino
• Marc Lawrence as Old Man
• Denice D. Lewis as Emily Cane
• Renee Olstead as Amy Cane
• Mo Gallini as Monk (as Matt Gallini)

Directors Sam Raimi and Guillermo del Toro were offered End of Days, but turned it down due to other projects. Marcus Nispel was going to direct the film, but he left because of budget and script problems and was replaced by Peter Hyams.{{cite news |date=October 20, 1998 |title=Beacon drafts Hyams to helm 'End of Days' |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/beacon-drafts-hyams-to-helm-end-of-days-1117481608/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181744/https://variety.com/1998/film/news/beacon-drafts-hyams-to-helm-end-of-days-1117481608/ |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |access-date=July 1, 2021 |work=Variety}}

The role of Jericho Cane was written for Tom Cruise, but he chose to work on Magnolia and Arnold Schwarzenegger was then cast in March 1998.{{cite news |date=March 18, 1998 |title=Arnold to duel devil |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/arnold-to-duel-devil-1117468917/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181922/https://variety.com/1998/film/news/arnold-to-duel-devil-1117468917/ |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |access-date=July 1, 2021 |work=Variety}} Liv Tyler was the first choice for the role of Christine York, but she declined over contractual issues. Kate Winslet was then set to play the character, but she dropped out and Robin Tunney replaced her. According to Hyams,

Jim Cameron was the kind of godfather of me doing that film, because of his relationship with Schwarzenegger. He told me I was doing it! ... End Of Days was going to be Marcus Nispel, but it wasn't working somehow, but they had Arnold and a start date, and Jim came to me and told me I had to do it. This was the first picture Arnold had made for a couple of years. I think he had a heart thing. So this was Arnold coming back. And he wanted to try to make something good, and to take some chances. I applauded that. And we had very, very good actors around him, like Gabriel Byrne and Kevin Pollak and Rod Steiger. It was a very enjoyable experience. Half way through shooting I told Arnold I thought he should die in this movie. Of course Universal blanched at the idea, so I shot the ending both ways, and everybody agreed that the dying ending was the better one.{{Cite news |title=Directors Special: Peter Hyams Goes Film-By-Film |url=http://www.empireonline.com/features/peter-hyams-film-by-film/p8 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809220024/http://www.empireonline.com/features/peter-hyams-film-by-film/p8 |archive-date=August 9, 2014 |access-date=30 July 2014 |work=Empire Magazine}}

Over 60 visual effects shots were created by Rhythm & Hues.{{cite news |date=March 4, 1999 |title=VIFX will do effects for 'End of Days' |url=https://variety.com/1999/digital/news/vifx-will-do-effects-for-end-of-days-1117491950/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182617/https://variety.com/1999/digital/news/vifx-will-do-effects-for-end-of-days-1117491950/ |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |access-date=July 1, 2021 |work=Variety}}

In 2016, actress Miriam Margolyes complained about Arnold Schwarzenegger's behavior on set.{{cite web |last1=Heritage |first1=Stuart |title=Something about Miriam Margolyes v Arnold Schwarzenegger smells funny |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/20/miriam-margolyess-arnold-schwarzenegger-fart-feud |website=The Guardian |date=20 July 2022 |access-date=20 July 2022 |archive-date=20 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720120148/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/20/miriam-margolyess-arnold-schwarzenegger-fart-feud |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Hemelryk |first1=Simon |date=1 January 2015 |title=Miriam Margolyes: "I Remember..." |url=https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/celebrities/miriam-margolyes-i-remember |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720185752/https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/culture/celebrities/miriam-margolyes-i-remember |archive-date=20 July 2022 |access-date=20 July 2022 |website=Reader's Digest}} In 2022, Margolyes' reported that he farted in her face while on set.{{cite web |last1=Bucklow |first1=Andrew |title=One-on-one with Miriam Margolyes |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/one-on-one-with-miriam-margolyes/id1593788055?i=1000570194295 |website=I've Got News For You |publisher=news.com.au |access-date=20 July 2022 |archive-date=20 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720185750/https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/one-on-one-with-miriam-margolyes/id1593788055?i=1000570194295 |url-status=live }} Schwarzenegger did not respond to the allegations.{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zack |date=2022-07-19 |title='Harry Potter' Actor Says 'Rude' Arnold Schwarzenegger Farted in Her Face on Set: 'He Did It Deliberately |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/arnold-schwarzenegger-farted-miriam-margolyes-1235319845/ |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720003858/https://variety.com/2022/film/news/arnold-schwarzenegger-farted-miriam-margolyes-1235319845/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=July 18, 2022 |first=Glenn |last=Garner |title=Miriam Margolyes Says Arnold Schwarzenegger 'Farted in My Face' While Filming End of Days |url=https://people.com/movies/miriam-margolyes-says-arnold-schwarzenegger-farted-my-face-while-filming-end-of-days/ |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=PEOPLE.com |language=en |archive-date=2022-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719230942/https://people.com/movies/miriam-margolyes-says-arnold-schwarzenegger-farted-my-face-while-filming-end-of-days/ |url-status=live }}

The film was heavily promoted by the WWE, then WWF, with Schwarzenegger appearing live on the 11th November 1999 episode of SmackDown! where he was presented with an honorary championship belt, and the main cast took part in several taped interviews that aired on all WWF programming in the lead up to the film's release. The WWF were also given exclusive access on the red carpet of the film's premiere, interviews from which were also shown on their programming.

{{Main|End of Days (soundtrack)}}

The film's soundtrack primarily contains tracks by industrial rock and alternative metal bands. It features "Oh My God", the first song released by the "new line-up" of Guns N' Roses. During the editing of End of Days, soundtrack songs were overlaid in scenes that are usually silent in thriller films. In several scenes, a sample from Spectrasonics' "Symphony of Voices" is heard. The score for the film is composed by John Debney and conducted by Pete Anthony.

End of Days opened on November 24, 1999 and was released on DVD and VHS on April 18, 2000.{{cite news |last=Hartl |first=John |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-news-april-the-cruelest-mon/112121996/ |title=April, the cruelest month: Oscar losers make home video debuts |date=April 6, 2000 |access-date=October 16, 2024 |page=77 |work=Knight-Ridder Newspapers |publisher=The Journal News |via=Newspapers.com }}

{{Anchor|Box office}}

End of Days grossed $31 million in the United States and Canada from its five-day Wednesday opening. With a gross of $20.5 million in its opening 3-day weekend, it ranked third place at the US box office behind Toy Story 2 and The World Is Not Enough.{{cite news |last=Lyman |first=Rick |title=Those Toys Are Leaders In Box-Office Stampede |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/29/movies/those-toys-are-leaders-in-box-office-stampede.html |access-date=March 25, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=November 29, 1999 |archive-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319232310/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/29/movies/those-toys-are-leaders-in-box-office-stampede.html |url-status=live }} The film went on to gross $66,889,043 in the United States and Canada and $145.1 million elsewhere, for a worldwide total of $212 million, against a budget estimated at $100 million. Although it was profitable because of strong international revenue and DVD sales, its final numbers fell short of Universal Studios' expectations. Schwarzenegger received a salary of $25 million for his role in the film.{{cite news |title=Arnold Schwarzenegger |url=https://the-numbers.com/people/ASCHW.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210021545/http://www.the-numbers.com/people/ASCHW.php |archive-date=February 10, 2009 |access-date=February 19, 2009 |work=The Numbers}}

{{Anchor|Critical response}}

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an 11% 'Rotten' score, based on 103 critic reviews with an average rating of 3.8/10. The site's consensus states: "An overblown thriller with formulaic action scenes and poor acting."{{cite web |title=End of Days |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/end_of_days |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=4 June 2024 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |language=en}} Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 34/100 based on 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.{{cite web |title=End of Days |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/end-of-days |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=4 June 2024 |website=Metacritic}} Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.{{cite web |url=https://www.cinemascore.com/ |title=CinemaScore |work=cinemascore.com |access-date=2017-10-17 |archive-date=2022-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413083139/https://www.cinemascore.com/ |url-status=live }}

Newsweek wrote that "Peter Hyams's lurid, FX-happy thriller slams pieces of a dozen other movies into a noxious new compound. It has to be seen to be believed, but who'd want to?"{{cite web |last=Ansen |first=David |date=5 December 1999 |title=Hasta La Vista, Arnold? |url=https://www.newsweek.com/hasta-la-vista-arnold-163170 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228082319/https://www.newsweek.com/hasta-la-vista-arnold-163170 |archive-date=28 December 2021 |access-date=28 December 2021 |website=Newsweek}} while Mark Kermode called it "idiotic beyond the point of redemption, this sinfully stupid farrago manages to insult audiences and critics, Christians and Satanists alike, reducing 2000 years of fertile mythology to the level of an incoherent pop video.".{{cite web |last=Kermode |first=Mark |date=February 2000 |title=End of Days |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/351 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051129084116/http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/351 |archive-date=2005-11-29 |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=Sight & Sound}} USA Today called Schwarzenegger's performance "among his worst" noting that he "seems to have trouble with his lines and doesn't get to make his trademark wisecracks".{{Cite news |last=Seiler |first=Andy |date=January 1, 2000 |title=End of Days |work=USA Today}} The Los Angeles Times{{'s}} critic Eric Harrison called it "bloodless as a cyborg, and it feels as if it has been assembled according to diagrams supplied by someone who studied every successful sci-fi action thriller and then multiplied the findings by 10".{{Cite news |last=Harrison |first=Eric |date=November 24, 1999 |title=Review: End of Days |url=http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Movies-X!ArticleDetail-3384,00.html?search_area=Movies&channel=Movies |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010507195415/http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Movies-X!ArticleDetail-3384,00.html?search_area=Movies&channel=Movies |archive-date=May 7, 2001 |access-date=June 19, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times}} The New York Times wrote that End of Days is "as incoherent about its mysticism as it is about anything else".{{Cite web |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=November 24, 1999 |title='End of Days': Satan Is Planning Millennial Mischief |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/112499days-film-review.html |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=The New York Times}}

However, there were a few mixed reviews. The San Francisco Chronicle stated that "there are moments in End of Days when Schwarzenegger seems to be gunning for an Oscar", but "those moments play like comic relief".{{Cite news |last=LaSalle |first=Mick |date=November 24, 1999 |title=An Explosive 'End' / Schwarzenegger takes on the devil in intense but silly thriller |url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/An-Explosive-End-Schwarzenegger-takes-on-the-2893880.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228082321/https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/An-Explosive-End-Schwarzenegger-takes-on-the-2893880.php |archive-date=28 December 2021 |access-date=28 December 2021 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}} James Berardinelli called it "a deliciously bad motion picture"{{Cite web |last=Berardinelli |first=James |date=1999 |title=End of Days |url=https://www.reelviews.net/movies/e/end_days.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020031049/https://www.reelviews.net/movies/e/end_days.html |archive-date=October 20, 2007 |access-date=June 19, 2024 |website=ReelViews.net}} while Roger Ebert stated that "End of Days involves a head-on collision between the ludicrous and the absurd" giving it two stars out of four.{{cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=November 24, 1999 |title=End of Days |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/end-of-days-1999 |website=RogerEbert.com}} In a retrospective editorial twenty years since the film's release, Bloody Disgusting highlighted how the film "is always fascinating and entertaining".{{cite web |last=Navarro |first=Meagan |date=30 December 2019 |title=20 Years Later: The New Year's Eve Horror of 'End of Days' |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3598950/20-years-later-new-years-eve-horror-end-days/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228082324/https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3598950/20-years-later-new-years-eve-horror-end-days/ |archive-date=28 December 2021 |access-date=28 December 2021 |website=Bloody Disgusting}}

Schwarzenegger later said he thought Hyams was "the wrong director" for the film. "He did not have the potential... I think visually and intellectually to really do something with that movie, but he was recommended by James Cameron, so we thought 'Well he must know.'"{{cite web |last=Knowles |first=Harry |date=November 10, 2012 |title=Harry interviews Arnold Schwarzenegger on the set of The Last Stand. We cover a lot of ground! |url=http://www.aintitcool.com/node/59565 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019055509/http://www.aintitcool.com/node/59565 |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |access-date=October 18, 2017 |website=Ain't It Cool News}}

{{Anchor|Awards|Accolades}}

End of Days was nominated for three Razzie Awards—Worst Actor (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Worst Supporting Actor (Gabriel Byrne) and Worst Director (Peter Hyams)—and was pre-nominated for Worst Picture, but it was withdrawn shortly before the awards ceremony.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

It also received a nomination from the Motion Picture Sound Editors for Best Sound Editing - Effects & Foley as well as two nominations in the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards for Favorite Actor - Action/Science Fiction and for Favorite Supporting Actor - Action/Science-Fiction for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kevin Pollak respectively.

• List of American films of 1999
• Arnold Schwarzenegger filmography

{{reflist}}

{{wikiquote}}

• {{IMDb title|id=0146675}}
• {{ISFDB title|id=680965|title=End of Days}}
• {{rotten-tomatoes|end_of_days|End of Days}}

{{Peter Hyams}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1999 films

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Category:American action thriller films

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Category:1990s English-language films

Category:Films about widowhood in the United States

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Category:Films produced by Armyan Bernstein

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Category:1999 action films

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Category:Fiction featuring the turn of the third millennium

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