Writer: Justin Benson (Screenplay)
Starring: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Callie Hernandez, Emily Montague, Lew Temple, James Jordan, Tate Ellington
Plot: Two brothers return to the cult they fled from years ago to discover that the group’s beliefs may be more sane than they once thought.
Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Will Keep You Guessing
Story: The Endless starts when two brothers Justin (Benson) and Aaron (Moorhead) receive a video tape from the former cult the pair left years ago, Aaron interested in return to see if the group got their ascension and reluctantly Justin agrees to go along, first for a day, but soon it becomes longer as the two start experience strange events.
With the brother’s relationship being tested Justin finds himself being pushed our while Aaron wants to stay but are they really a cult or just a community living off the map, that is the big question.
Thoughts on The Endless
Characters – Justin is the older brother, he has always kept an eye over his younger brother and was the one that helped him escape the cult, he wants an honest living but reluctantly agrees to return with his brother. He doesn’t believe the peace and harmony in the cult and he is the one that watches over anything that could happen. Aaron is the younger brother who receives the tape about returning, he wants to learn more about his past in the cult, which he believes is a death cult. He is drawn back by Anna a woman that seems to not aged since they were last together. Anna is one of the cult members, the one leading the video messages, she helps draw the brothers back and clearly knows more than she is letting on. The rest of the members are different in their own ways as are the other people they meet along the way.
Performances – Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead take the leading roles as well as the work behind the camera, they have great chemistry together and you will believe their uncertainty from their characters. the rest of the cast make their characters known through the film without taking the spotlight away from the leads.
Story – Where do you start with this story without giving anything away? Well let’s try this, we follow two brothers with a stretch relationship that return to a cult which escaping from has helped define their lives, they are drawn back in where they must learn whether they were right to leave, but once they discover the truth things take a drastic turn, one that you will never seen coming. This is a fantasy horror that will keep you guessing and you will not figure this one out like many others in the genre. The only negative in the story is returning to one of their previous films that I for one hadn’t seen, so didn’t understand the references or reasoning of including it.
Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi – The fantasy elements of this film are held back for the most part, but once we see them we learn the big picture which can leave you jaw dropped. The horror in the film has moments of tension and unease as we wait to see where everything will go, which dives us into the sci-fi element which again come later into the film and are used excellently.
Settings – The film is set in and around the community, we see how they live, operate and accept people, even people who left, they are away from society which keeps them secret and the surrounding area is filled with mystery too.
Special Effects – Th effects in this film show what you can achieve with small budgets, we see how well each moment in the final third of the film becomes bigger and bigger leading to the shocking ending through the use of the effects.
Scene of the Movie – The final ten minutes.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The references to Resolution, wasn’t sure if it was an extension of that story or just in the same universe.
Final Thoughts – This is one of the horror, sci-fi films of the year, it will keep you guessing, has beautiful pacing that builds to the ending that will leave you shocked, great low budget work achieved from the directing pair and one you should all be watching.
Overall: Must watch fantasy horror.
Rating