End of Days - night without morning

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Movie
German title End of Days - night without morning
Original title End of Days
Country of production United States
original language English , Latin
Publishing year 1999
length 117 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Peter Hyams
script Andrew W. Marlowe
production Armyan Bernstein ,
Bill Borden
music John Debney
camera Peter Hyams
cut Jeff Gullo ,
Steven Kemper
occupation

End of Days - night without morning is an American horror - fantasy - action movie of director Peter Hyams and was completed in 1999 turned. Arnold Schwarzenegger took on the leading role .

action

In 1979 Christine York was born in Manhattan . This is already expected as a chosen one by Satanists in the hospital, to which the attending physician belongs, and subjected to an initiation rite. She is to conceive a child from Satan in the last hour of December 31, 1999 . At the same time a priest of the Vatican discovers a certain astronomical constellation in the sky and correctly interprets this as the birth of the "chosen ones". The Pope wishes to protect this woman from Satan and sends the astrologers to New York to protect her. In contrast, a secret Masonic order led by a cardinal, the “Knights of the Holy See”, would rather play it safe and find and kill the chosen one. The Pope, however, considers the violent death of the child to be incompatible with the Christian faith.

Jericho Cane, who has suffered from depression since his wife and daughter were killed by a hit man , works as a bodyguard for a security company 20 years later . While all New York in December 1999 to be held in three days millennium prepared, he protected one of its clients before an attack : He manages the for his client, a banker, certain bullet of a sniper his using bulletproof vest intercept and Protect to face.

It turns out to be the priest Thomas Aquinas, the astrologer who then foresaw the end of the world. According to him, the devil has taken control of the man Jericho Cane is protecting. If the devil could find Christine shortly before the turn of the millennium and get her pregnant, he would be reborn in this baby. This would be the end of his captivity and he could walk unhindered across the earth again. On the other hand, if he does not manage it, he will have to wait another thousand years, explains the priest, who is admitted to a hospital. There the devil looks for him and crucifies him with surgical instruments on the ceiling of his hospital room. The priest can carve Christine's name into his upper body before he is killed by a Satanist when the police and Jericho arrive with his partner Bobby Chicago.

Christine York, now twenty, has been plagued by dreams about sex with a strange man since childhood . Her stepmother is a satanic nurse who was present when she was born. In her apartment, three men from the secret Masonic order attack Christine and want to kill her in a ceremony. Meanwhile, Jericho and Chicago have found Christine's address and can save her at the last second. The stepmother is now supposed to hand Christine over to Satan for the impregnation rite, but Jericho prevents this as well in the fight against superhuman forces.

Jericho gives Christine to the priesthood with whom Thomas Aquinas lived until half a year ago. There she is found again by the "knights" under the leadership of the cardinal, and again Jericho can only prevent her murder at the last moment. The devil who joins them kills the "knights", while Jericho can only flee briefly with Christine before they bring the Satanists into an underground hall. Jericho mingles with the devil worshipers and, heavily armed, can barely prevent the execution of the impregnation. He and Christine escape into a subway tunnel and get on a passengerless subway train. In an explosion, the human body of the devil pursuing them is destroyed. Jericho and Christine flee to a church. There the devil appears as a demon and takes possession of Jericho's body.

Jericho, possessed by the devil, lays Christine on his back, but he still finds the strength to commit suicide by throwing himself into the sword of a fallen statue and thus saving humanity at the last moment.

Awards

In 1999, End of Days won the Bogey Award, the Box Office Award from Germany .

For the Blockbuster Entertainment Award was Arnold Schwarzenegger as a favorite actor in a action or science fiction film and Kevin Pollak nominated as supporting actor.

In addition, End of Days was proposed for the Motion Picture Sound Editors' award for best sound editing.

In addition, Arnold Schwarzenegger was nominated for the Golden Raspberry as worst actor, Gabriel Byrne as worst supporting actor and Peter Hyams as worst director.

Reviews

The film received mostly negative reviews. The film review portal Rotten Tomatoes gives 11% positive reviews for the film and it has a Metascore of 33 out of 100 at Metacritic .

“The mystery wave does not seem to end at the end of the 20th century. So now Arnie can go on a devil hunt. But what in other films like Echoes , Stigmata or The Sixth Sense at least still follows its own logic, here is a mindless stringing together of stupid events. Unfortunately, nothing is right in the back and front. In addition, there are bad editing sequences (e.g. when the subway is disconnected) and silly effects (when the earthquake occurs, the camera shakes, but the candlelight does not). The only real bright spot in the well-known cast: Gabriel Byrne as nasty Satan. If it weren't for that, the bombastically inflated work could be stuffed back into the bin immediately, ”said Prisma Online .

According to the Lexicon of International Films, “End of Days” is “an action film tailored entirely to the main actor with elements of the horror film genre. The religious dimension, in which the main character is supposed to be led back to faith, seems constructed. The film is entertaining at best because of the show effects and the tension that is dominated by it. "

background

The film was shot in New York City and Los Angeles . The scene served u. a. Linda Vista Hospital in Los Angeles, California , built in 1904 and according to Urban Legends there are ghosts. Its production amounted to an estimated 83 million US dollars . The film grossed approximately $ 66.86 million in US cinemas. The worldwide box office total was around 209.3 million US dollars.

The names of individual characters in the film are very clearly chosen in relation to the subject matter. That is the name of the priest without a tongue who speaks to Jericho Cane anyway, Thomas Aquinas. This is an allusion to the medieval Christian philosopher and doctor of the church Thomas Aquinas .

The main character, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is called Jericho Cane. In the Bible there is the city of Jericho , which is located in what is now the West Bank , the city wall of which was brought down by trumpets. The character's last name, Cane, is pronounced the same as Cain, the English spelling of Cain who killed his brother Abel . In addition, the initials “J. C. “the same as those of Jesus Christ , who, according to Christian faith, also gave his life to save humanity.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ End of Days - Night without morning at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
  2. ↑ End of Days - Night without morning at Metacritic (English)
  3. ^ Criticism , Prism Online
  4. ^ Criticism in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used
  5. ↑ locations. Internet Movie Database , accessed May 22, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Exclusive pics: Fango's “DEVIL INSIDE” visit to Linda Vista Hospital . ( Memento of the original from May 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 17, 2012  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fangoria.com
  7. ↑ gross profit. Internet Movie Database , accessed May 22, 2015 .