2019’s The End of Days: Global Catastrophe (a.k.a. The Crossroads of Hunter Wilde) opens with a voice-over from Hunter Wilde (played by Chuck’s son, Mike Norris). Hunter explains that the world is in pretty bad shape and it’s for all the usual reasons. Hunter explains that Hollywood destroyed America’s moral fabric. The fake news media promoted a liberal agenda and set Americans against each other. Eventually, disease, war, and pestilence spread across the world.
Hunter and his daughter, Jo (Kat Rowland) are now living in a Christian survivalist compound. Hunter is one of the leaders of the compound but he suffers from frequent wanderlust. Whenever he starts to suffer from doubts or life in the compound starts to become too stressful, Hunter jumps in his jeep and drives off for a few days. Sometimes, he returns with supplies and refugees. As Jo points out, Hunter puts his life in danger every time that he leaves. The world outside the compound is full of terrorists and infected, zombie-like scavengers. Fortunately, Hunter is a good shot with a gun and he also knows some fairly effective karate moves. I mean, would you expect anything less from Chuck Norris’s son?
What Hunter does not fully understand is that there is currently a war raging inside of him. His doubts and his frustrations have left him vulnerable to a demon named Dagon (Jordan DragonKing). Dagon lives in another dimension, one that exists alongside our world but which is still separate. When Dagon drags Hunter into his world, it leads to an otherworldly battle.
Actually, calling it an otherworldly battle is perhaps overselling it. Actually, Hunter and Dagon exchange a few kicks in front of a white fence and eventually, Dagon comes at Hunter with a sword. As far as fight scenes go, it’s not bad but it’s not spectacular either. Mike Norris is a trained martial artist who has starred in various straight-to-video action films. He looks convincing with when he throws a punch or kicks someone in the face. At the same time, Mike Norris was also in his late 50s when this film was made and, as such, it can be forgiven that he doesn’t move quite as quickly as he probably did in the past.
Though the film opens with verses from the Bible and it features a battle between Mike Norris and a literal demon, the film itself feels more like a prepper film than a typical faith-based apocalypse film. Yes, the film seems to be saying, the world is ending and our heroes failed to be raptured so they’re now going to have to deal with the tribulation but thank God they stocked up on canned vegetables and hoarded weapons beforehand. Otherwise, they would really be in trouble! The opening montage feels like it could have been lifted from one of those, “Invest in Gold” infomercials. When the film discusses the end of the world, less emphasis is put on the Book of Revelation and more is instead devoted to the type of news stories that one would expect to see on Breitbart. As such, the film offers a chance to view the world through the eyes of someone who is convinced that society is about to collapse, with the main subtext being, “I was smart enough to prepare but the rest of you all are screwed.”
As you may have guessed, The End of Days has the potential to be an enjoyably bonkers film but, unfortunately, there’s a bit too many slow spots for the film to really hold one’s interest. There’s also a few subplots that don’t really lead anywhere, which occasionally makes the film feel like it’s an episode in a Walking Dead-style television series as opposed to a stand-alone story. That said, Mike Norris may not be as intimidating as his father but he still has a definite screen presence and Jordan DragonKing is enjoyably over-the-top in his performance as Dagon. If the world’s going to end, it might as well go out with jump kicks and swordplay.
Through the Shattered Lens 