In 2007 , Don Coscarelli optioned the film rights to the comedic horror novel '' John Dies at the End '' . The novel , written by David Wong , was first published online as a webserial beginning in 2001 , then as an edited manuscript in 2004 , and then as a paperback edition in 2007 . Coscarelli stated , " I was greatly impressed by David Wong 's crazed originality and impressive imagination . He 's like a mash-up of Douglas Adams and Stephen King , both smart and goofy , scary and funny – it really spoke to me . It is as addictive as the ' Soy Sauce ' street drug that kicks the plot into gear . " Executive produced by Daniel Carey and Paul Giamatti , with producers Don Coscarelli , Brad Baruh , Andy Meyers , Roman Perez , Aaron Godfred , and Josh Lewin , M3 Alliance , M3 Creative , and Midnight Alliance " secretly " began principal photography in October 2010 . This was confirmed after hints posted by Coscarelli on his Twitter page were verified . Filming took place on locations in Southern California . On January 27 , 2011 , Coscarelli announced on his Twitter page that principal photography had been completed and that the film has entered post-production , for extensive visual FX work . The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival on January 23 , 2012 . '' Variety '' reported that the film was produced on a budget of less than seven figures
2012 Sundance Film Festival
2012 Sundance Film Festival
John Dies at the End (film)