Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Cynical bodyguard Jericho is hired by a man possessed by Satan, who is in search of his bride. When Jericho realizes what is happening, he must do everything he can to save the woman and the world.
End of Days is a fairly formulaic late-90s action-horror hybrid that leans heavily on millennial anxiety and Schwarzenegger's action star persona. The plot is derivative — a cynical ex-cop redeems himself by fighting supernatural evil — borrowing liberally from better films without adding much of its own. Schwarzenegger's performance is serviceable and Gabriel Byrne brings some charismatic menace as Satan, but the acting is uneven overall. Cinematography is competent big-budget Hollywood work, atmospheric in places but unremarkable. The film offers little that is genuinely distinctive — the millennium/Antichrist premise had been done before and is executed without a particularly fresh angle. The ending, while attempting emotional weight with Jericho's sacrifice, feels rushed and somewhat anticlimactic given the buildup.