The Living End

"An irresponsible movie by Gregg Araki."

1992 1h 25m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

70%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 98🍅70%Rotten Tomatoes●65Metacritic★6.6IMDB · 4,765

CrimeDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Two HIV-positive young men — a semi-employed film critic and a hot hustler — tear off on a cross-country crime spree.

“An irresponsible movie by Gregg Araki.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Mike Dytri
Luke
Craig Gilmore
Jon
Mark Finch
Doctor
Mary Woronov
Daisy
Johanna Went
Fern
Darcy Marta
Darcy
Scott Goetz
Peter
Brett Vail
Ken

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gregg Araki
Writers: Gregg Araki
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

85 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $1M — a 34.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

34 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gregg Araki, shot by Gregg Araki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Cole Coonce. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gregg Araki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mike Dytri and Craig Gilmore and Mark Finch carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gregg Araki directs. Gregg Araki behind the camera. Cole Coonce scores. Gregg Araki cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

185 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Grossed $1M — a 34.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
434 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Directed by Gregg Araki, shot by Gregg Araki. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Cole Coonce. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Gregg Araki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Mike Dytri and Craig Gilmore and Mark Finch carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "An irresponsible movie by Gregg Araki.".
10IMDB entry: tt0104745 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 98 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
12Classified under 15 themes, including "california", "robbery", "aids", "nihilism".

The technical file

Cinematography: Gregg Araki
Original score: Cole Coonce
Editing: Gregg Araki
Sound: George Lockwood
Runtime: 85 min · 1h 25m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000
Box office: $692,585
Return: 3463% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Living End (1992)
Rotten Tomatoes: 70% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 65/100
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 4,765 votes
MPAA: Unrated

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

Gregg Araki

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-11-11
★ 7/10
Anyone else remember those robotic fish that you'd prod and they wagged their tails? We had one that also sang Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife"! Here, one features occasionally, but quite amusingly, in this quite provocative drama that follows a road trip taken by "Luke" (Mike Dytri) and "Jon" (Crag Gilmore). The former guy is a gay hooker who's got by on the streets using his looks and his wits whilst contracting HIV along the way. The latter man is a journalist who has managed to arrive at the same fate - though not as a result of the same s(t)eamy existence. With nothing much left to lose, the unlikely pairing embark on a fairly hedonistic journey that pitches their two completely different personalities into a series of scenarios that ultimately, well you can guess what ends up happening. It doesn't pull it's punches this. It is gritty and sleazy and honest and illustrates well just how human beings react when faced with certainty - even if it's timeline isn't so set in stone. It's a love story, an hate story - and juggles loads of attitudinal and judgemental horrors as the two men meet homophobia and violence as they begin to rely more and more on each other (whilst simultaneously winding each other up fairly spectacularly). There's a bit of sex - nothing very graphic, and loads of ripe language - but nothing here appears gratuitous. It's a plausible road trip that Greg Araki has constructed to make us think, squirm, smile and well, endure too. It won't be for everyone, but it does remind us of how, just 20-odd years ago, AIDS was still killing people and there is a definite and engaging chemistry between the two actors charged with delivering this story of a messy and frequently anachronistic existence.

Production companies