End of Days (1999)

By the time 1999 rolled around, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in an interesting position. The run that had taken him from Predator through to Terminator 2: Judgment Day had established him as the defining action star of the era, but the years since had been choppier. A string of films that ranged from the decent to the disappointing had left critics and audiences wondering whether the Schwarzenegger formula still had legs. End of Days, produced by Beacon Communications and released just in time for the millennial anxiety that was gripping popular culture, was positioned as a darker, more serious pivot. The premise had obvious commercial appeal: the Prince of Darkness descends on New York City with a very specific mission, and one battered ex-cop stands between him and the end of the world. The film arrived at a moment when apocalyptic storytelling was everywhere, feeding off genuine fin de siècle unease about what the year 2000 might bring. Whether it made good use of that cultural mood is another matter entirely.

The film was directed by Peter Hyams, a workmanlike Hollywood professional with a long track record of genre pictures. Fans of his output will know his 1994 science-fiction thriller Timecop, which gave a reasonable sense of what he could do with a daft but energetic concept. Hyams also served as his own cinematographer on End of Days, as he frequently does, and the film has a polished but unremarkable visual quality: dark, rain-slicked streets and gothic church interiors that signal "serious horror" without quite delivering the atmosphere the premise might have warranted. The screenplay came from Andrew W. Marlowe, whose credits included Air Force One, and the production leaned into its religious subject matter with an earnestness that some found admirable and others found baffling. At 122 minutes, it is a film that is not short of ambition, even if the ambition occasionally outruns the execution.

The cast is led by Schwarzenegger as Jericho Cane, a burnt-out, grief-stricken bodyguard whose cynicism about faith is tested rather heavily when his new client turns out to be the literal Devil. Gabriel Byrne plays Satan with a certain louche menace, bringing a European theatrical quality to a role that could easily have tipped into pantomime. Robin Tunney plays Christine York, the woman at the centre of the supernatural conspiracy, and she does solid work in a part that is largely defined by what other characters want from her rather than what she wants for herself. Kevin Pollak provides some lighter relief as Jericho's partner, and CCH Pounder appears in a supporting role. It is, on paper, a more interesting ensemble than the film's reputation might suggest, with performers who each bring genuine craft to material that does not always reward them for it.

End of Days (1999) is the kind of film that thrives on pure 90s excess. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a grizzled ex-cop turned alcoholic bodyguard who gets caught in a satanic apocalypse, Gabriel Byrne oozing evil as the Devil himself, and enough explosions, church-set brawls, and “Hasta la vista, baby” energy to power a small city. I remember watching it on VHS with friends back in the day and thinking, Yeah, this is kinda cool. It had that post-Terminator gravitas, gothic horror vibes, and Arnie at his most deadpan badass. But revisiting it as an adult... Oh boy. It’s absolutely awful. Laughably over-the-top, tonally ridiculous, and drenched in religious cheese that tries way too hard to be profound. The plot: Satan comes to New York to impregnate a woman at midnight on New Year’s Eve so he can birth the Antichrist. Arnold, armed with holy water, a shotgun, and sheer Austrian willpower, must stop him. It’s not just silly, it’s earnestly silly, like everyone involved forgot they weren’t making The Omen. The dialogue is cringe-worthy, the action is loud but uninspired, and the spiritual themes are about as subtle as a sledgehammer wrapped in a crucifix. Even the score is more melodramatic opera than effective tension-building. Not good by any measure, but occasionally funny in how seriously it takes its own ridiculousness. A guilty pleasure for Arnie fans.

Going back to something like this with fresh eyes is always a strange experience. The nostalgia sits in one corner of your brain while the critical faculties are busy in the other, and they do not always reach the same conclusion. For me, the interesting thing is that End of Days fails in ways that are almost more revealing than its occasional successes. There is a film somewhere in this premise that might have worked, one that took the millennial dread seriously and used the action scaffolding to hold up something genuinely unsettling. What we got instead is a different animal altogether. Still, if you are looking for a film to watch with a group of friends and a few cold ones, there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours. Sometimes that is recommendation enough.

Rating: ★½  | Year: 1999  | Watched: 2025-10-28

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Trailer

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Where to watch

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from Peter Hyams: Timecop (1994)
More with Arnold Schwarzenegger: Batman & Robin (1997) · Last Action Hero (1993) · Predator (1987) · Terminator Genisys (2015)
More from the 1990s: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · Blue (1993) · Cemetery Man (1994)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More horror: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Viy (1967) · Nightmare City (1980) · Angst (1983)