The Endless - Movie Review

What do you get when you take the best writer/director teams in the Sci-fi/Horror genre and throw them into a Lovecraftian UFO Deathcult?

One of the best films I’ve ever seen.

Woooooah, Zach. You’re overreacting…

Am I really?

Let’s discuss.

The Endless is a Sci-Fi / Horror / Coming of Age film brought to us by the visionary team of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. If those names don’t look familiar to you, you on the wrong webpage. These are the two of the best filmmakers working today. They made Spring, maybe the greatest horror / love story mash-up of all time. They also made the incredible science fiction film Resolution which will actually come into play here shortly. These guys are a Swiss army knife of filmmaking. Benson is a writer/director/actor virtuoso while Moorhead lends his hands to lovingly crafting mind-blowing cinematography, as well as providing powerful acting performances. As an artist in multiple mediums, I find it refreshing to see two guys who approach each project with such love and care. Even though they deal with metaphysical and/or quantum conundrums, they never lose sight of the humanity in horror.

Gush, Gush, Gush… hold on… A little Ducktape…

Okay, plugged the leak.

Moving on.

The film centers on two brothers (played by Benson and Moorhead) who escaped a UFO worshipping cult. Justin (Benson) rescued his brother Aaron (Moorhead) from the cult when they were young. So young that Aaron doesn’t remember much of the cult itself. While Justin remembers forced castrations and lans of mass suicide, Aaron only recalls good times, good food, and good people. Living outside the cult, all they’ve known is hunger and depression. Having grown up in the cult, they don’t have high school diplomas or any experience to do anything other than the work no one else wants to do. They scrub toilets and clean scummy apartments for wages that can barely pay for their ramen. Then an archaic mini-VHS tape arrives from the cult. A message from their past bid them back to the camp for one last goodbye. Yet, when they arrive, no one knows about the tape. They still welcome the brothers back into the fold with open arms. Everything seems normal. Everything seems happy. That is until an invisible force makes itself known. Smoke and mirrors swirl around the brothers as they try to figure out what IT is and what IT wants from them. Will they figure it out before the third moon is full? Find out in THE ENDLESS.

BEWARE…

…HERE THERE BE SPOILERS!

Let me just throw this out there—every actor in this film performs out of their mind. Every single performance is nuance made flesh. The non-verbal storytelling is beyond any film being made by major studios today. When you look at the performance of Callie Hernandez and Tate Ellington in particular—every single moment, expression, and breath is a hint at what’s really going on. Lew Temple has less than a dozen lines in the film and yet by the end of the film, you understand his character entirely.

Equally impressive is the writing. Cosmic Horror is most often the wordiest of the horror genres. Lovecraft is often quoted concerning the horror of the unknown, which I find laughable, because no other author offers exposition en masse. In this film, Benson’s script condenses cosmic horror down to its most human elements. While Aaron longs to forgo his independence and rejoin the group, Justin fights the urge with everything he has. He forces himself to see the frayed edges of every situation in order to protect his little brother. The way the dialogue is written is odd at first. You may notice how young the brothers sound in their word usage and delivery. Aaron almost seems intellectually challenged, but as the film progresses you understand that he’s just innocent—lacking life experience. The de facto voice of the cult, Hal (Tate Ellington), is a Father Knows Best type of figure. He’s loving and encouraging of the boys, despite the implied dark history they have within the group. He seems to always speak in metaphor, which is a masterful stroke. Just as many of Christ’s parables and metaphor sorcery became blatant symbolism, thus is Hal. What the boys mistake for metaphor is actually brutal honest. While Hal is restricted from speaking against the force controlling their world, he can reach the boys through creative speech to try and help them. Even if they don’t understand at first. It’s incredible slight of hand on the part of the script as in the final moments everything Hal said makes complete sense.

Justin Benson, you’re a rockstar.

Equally impressive is the camera work by Moorhead. The deft use of differently shaped lenses and creative angles makes the film look much more expensive than it is. The film has a Soderbergh feel, if Soderbergh was still making good films. It’s gritty, but high-def. The color and shape of our vision is warped by which side of the refraction you’re standing. At the beginning of the film, the refraction is subtle to the extreme but slowly increases as the runtime goes forward. It makes you, the viewer, feel like you’re being sucked into the loop.

I know I’ve basically described a science fiction version of the Wonder Years, but be warned. This film does have quite a few effective scares. The musical score by Jimmy LaValle is masterful. It lures you in with calming melodies and then crushes your hopes and dreams with sonic cacophony.

You never get to see the gore that the characters witness or the terrible things revealed to them. You only get a view of the consequences of these things. You see the expressions of abject terror and confusion. You see screaming and running, but never the cause only the recovery. Teamed with the music, it actually provides intense anxiety and fright.

Now, I would recommend watching Benson and Moorhead’s previous film Resolution as it is both a prequel and a sequel to The Endless. Characters cross over and questions are answered on both sides if you watch the prior film first. You won’t miss it if you don’t see the first film, but it’s an incredible double feature.

I know, the spoilers are quite light on this go. I’m trying to avoid going into further detail due to how good this film is. Maybe it was the horse dose of Grape Ape in my lungs, maybe its the fact this film is that amazing, but I view the film as an experience. I was uplifted as much as I was terrified. There were moments that had me unbearably uncomfortable, but the organic power of the performances kept my eyes locked on the screen.

Watch this movie if you want to see greatness on screen.

The Endless is currently streaming on Shudder.