"John Dies" has great receipe, mixing horror, comedy, cult and quirky

Here's a recipe for you. Take two cups of "Night of the Living Dead" (okay to substitute "Shaun of the Dead"). Add a cup of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure." Bake for 99 minutes. Take out of oven. Frost in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and sprinkle on "The Lost Boys" and you have a fun baked night at the movies.

"John Dies at the End" is exactly what independent, progressive filmmaking is all about. It's odd, funny, quirky infectious and contagious - but don't worry there is a treatment. It's also makes a hilarious and obvious statement on the effects of drug use.

Director/co-writer Don Coscarelli, of "Phantasm" fame, has drawn a lot of attention to this film thanks to big name producer and co-star Oscar nominated Paul Giamatti. But let's forget Giamatti right now.

"John" is a hunky sexy dufus played by Rob Mayes who turns to his equally sexy friend Dave (Chance Williamson) to get him out of a jam - actually really to avenge his death, even though in a world of parallel universal experiences and film quirkiness, John is still alive while being dead.

Faithful to the David Wong (Jason Pargines) novel, the film is odd but fun. It has that strange edge that has tried to take over mainstream movies such as "Moonrise Kingdom" but seem more at home, and successful, in a film over flowing with perverse oddities that it's almost believable because it's unbelievable.

Besides, I became a fan when the frozen meats came out of the freezer and meshed together to make one great memorable villain.

"John" opens today in San Francisco and Berkeley - get tickets/info at www.landmarktheatres.com. Or, it's also on iTunes and On Demand.