The protagonist is Dave (Chase Williamson), and he is a friend of John's with a wild story to tell. In a small-town Chinese restaurant Dave meets with a journalist (Paul Giamatti) who is eager to hear Dave's revelations about a vast, possibly interplanetary time- and space-defying conspiracy involving a highly addictive drug known as soy sauce, predatory insects, prosthetic hands (as well as other body parts) and some fairly grisly homicides. The agents of this scheme are hard to distinguish from its victims, and despite Dave's earnest efforts his experience defies summary.

Which is, of course, the point. "John Dies at the End" revels in its anarchic lack of structure, happily swerving from stoner comedy to gutbucket horror to "Donnie Darko"-esque sci-fi allegory without pausing or slowing down. The more explanation there is, the more confusing the whole thing becomes, until it lets go of all sense in a way that is at once exhilarating and weirdly moving.

But amid the unruliness there is a certain discipline at work. Watching characters come and go, switch identities and do things that make no sense at all, you might be tempted to conclude that the cast and the filmmakers just made the movie up as they went along. It has the loose, goofy feel of a project that a bunch of college students (or dropouts, in Dave's case) might dream up during a long weekend of beer and bong hits. And yet at the same time it looks like a real movie — artfully shot, cleanly edited and very much in control of the laughs and scares that arise from its insanely convoluted set of premises.

In other words, neither Dave nor David Wong, his namesake and creator, may be entirely in control of the situation, but Mr. Coscarelli, a veteran cult auteur, knows what he's doing. His résumé includes the "Phantasm" horror franchise and the incomparable "Bubba Ho-Tep," which may convince even die-hard skeptics that Elvis is alive. Not really — not any more than "John Dies at the End" will raise alarms about a diabolical intergalactic soy-sauce-based plot to destroy humanity. These movies are, in every sense, unbelievable. Which means they just might restore your faith in absurdity.

"John Dies at the End" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Blood, profanity, drug use.

John Dies at the End

Opens on Friday in Manhattan.

Written and directed by Don Coscarelli, based on a story by David Wong; director of photography, Michael Gioulakis; edited by Donald Milne and Mr. Coscarelli; music by Brian Tyler; production design by Todd Jeffery; costumes by Shelley Kay; produced by Brad Baruh, Mr. Coscarelli, Andy Meyers and Roman Perez; released by Magnet Releasing. At the Landmark's Sunshine Cinema, 139-143 East Houston Street, East Village. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes.

WITH: Chase Williamson (Dave), Rob Mayes (John), Clancy Brown (Dr. Albert Marconi), Glynn Turman (Detective), Doug Jones (Roger North), Daniel Roebuck (Largeman), Fabianne Therese (Amy), Jonny Weston (Justin White), Allison Weissman (Shelly) and Paul Giamatti (Arnie Blondestone).