Weekend at the End of the World 

(dir. Gille Klabin)

By: Adam Freed

Nothing tests the steadfastness of a friendship like staring down a multidimensional portal that promises the unceremonious end of the world.  While this sounds like a lot to handle, it is merely the tip of the iceberg for best friends Miles and Karl in Gille Klabin’s psychedelic comedy, horror, science-fiction genre mashup Weekend at the End of the World.  Karl has a tendency to fall in love quickly, and immediately following a very public relationship setback, agrees to assist his longtime friend Miles as he prepares the cabin of his recently deceased grandmother for the housing market.  The humorously moronic duo mark the undeniable lifeblood of Weekend at the End of the World, a comedic chemistry without which the Gille Klabin (The Wave, Pini) written and directed film would’ve been lost in the wilderness.  Miles, a mildly ambitious simpleton is captured with a deft comedic edge by Cameron Fife (Not Quite College, Definition Please).  Fife’s performance is alluring but when alchemized with that of Clay Elliot (Go For Broke), the dimwitted duo carry the torch for a film that traverses a narrow path with disaster on one side and daring comedy gold on the other.

While Weekend at the End of the World outwardly offers the complexities of a multidimensional hell portal, its delivery is thankfully rather quite simple.  Framed prominently as a comedic two hander for the first half of the film, there is a great deal of entertainment value in witnessing Fife and Elliot battle for the linguistic high ground as the duo volley conversational idiocy one with the other.  The genre-bending film reaches a friction point at the introduction of its first portal, a tonal shift that will likely induce just as many audience members to lean in as it may alienate.  For those willing to set logic and tonal vacillation aside, Weekend at the End of the World is very likely to hit similar to Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), another genre-melding comedy that has earned a place in viewing rotation perpetuity within frat houses and THC-induced buddy hangouts worldwide.   

There is a lot to be said for a film that has a unique vision and pursues it unapologetically the way that Gille Klabin’s daring story does.  In a world of rinse and repeat film concepts, Weekend at the End of the World chooses to carve its own path.  Whether or not broad audiences are going to choose to walk that path is yet to be determined, as a great deal of the narrative framework supporting Weekend at the End of the World tends to get a little creaky the longer the film progresses.  At a runtime of just 80 minutes, one is best to subscribe to the mantra “Here for a good time, not a long time,” and enjoy the psychedelic comedy / horror kaleidoscope that Gille Klabin has set forth into the world.

Target Score 6/10 - Weekend at the End of the World works best as a free wheeling buddy comedy between two lovable idiots who find themselves as the last hope to save humanity.  Featuring no shortage of digital effects work and narrative leaps, mileage is likely to vary on Gille Klabin’s humorous genre mashup.