It Ends

by Mike McGranaghan

It Ends is an unconventional horror movie. There are no jump scares, there is no obvious antagonist, and it completely lacks blood and gore. (The R rating was achieved solely because of language.) Writer/director Alexander Ullom’s debut is a breathtaking work of existential horror, unsettling because of the questions it raises, as well as the way it forces you to put yourself in the shoes of its characters as they make their way through an inexplicable nightmare scenario.

Four friends are in a car: good-old-boy Tyler (Mitchell Cole), cynical James (Phinehas Yoon), depressed Day (Akira Jackson), and goofball Fisher (Noah Toth). They’re driving on an isolated country road, surrounded by forest on both sides. There’s supposed to be a turn that will take them back to the main roads, but it never arrives. No other turns appear, either. The gang is stuck on an endless stretch of road to who-knows-where. Whenever they get out of the car to look around, hordes of maniacal people come running out of the woods to attack them.

What does this all mean, given the drive goes on for days and the car somehow operates with no gas? James offers multiple theories, including the possibility that they all died in a crash and are now in purgatory. Smartly, the film never provides a definitive answer. It doesn’t need to. Ullom is interested in dealing with basic philosophic questions: What is the meaning of life, or is there even one at all? What awaits us at the end of our journey – a better destination or just nothingness? How do we respond when a situation becomes hopelessly futile and beyond our ability to change? Do we give up or keep plowing through, trying to hold on to a tiny shred of hope?

The actors are exceptionally well-cast, each embodying a different personality type. Their conversations (sometimes arguments) carry weight as a result. The key figure is James, who perceives everything as a puzzle designed to be solved. Unlike the others, he believes the code can be cracked, so to speak. Yoon is excellent in bringing out the guy’s stubborn side. Also appealing is how the movie shows the passengers going through different phases, from denial and fear to an incongruous sense of giddiness.

Four people in a car for ninety minutes could have been boring. It Ends finds ways to keep things fresh. Everybody can get out of the vehicle for a minute-and-a-half before the marauders show up, giving them a short span of time to investigate the woods. That adds tension. Primarily, though, the eeriness comes from the journey itself, from seeing James and crew in a confined space, wondering if they’re being forced to spend eternity driving down this desolate road.

Their anxiousness seeps into your own head as the story progresses. This is not Obsession or Evil Dead Burn where you’re on edge because of carefully designed shock moments. The vibe is more similar to the recent Exit 8 and the first two-thirds of Backrooms, in that it creates an escalating sensation of dread. An old saying warns that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That’s the ballpark Alexander Ollum is playing in here.

Doing a little bit more with the forest people would have added a touch of extra suspense to the proceedings. They never feel entirely threatening. Additionally, the director’s stylized tendency to change aspect ratios calls too much attention to itself. As a cerebral chiller, though, It Ends works very effectively. The film is a portrait of mental torture, with a finale guaranteed to occupy your mind for days afterward.