THE STORY – A group of recent grads head out on a late night drive for grub, hoping to enjoy one final hangout before their paths diverge. Instead, they accidentally turn onto a never-ending, two-lane hellscape surrounded by untold horrors and cosmic forces beyond their understanding. Cramped together inside a Jeep Cherokee and with the miles stretching infinitely ahead, they face a choice: embrace their new existence or fight to escape it.
THE CAST – Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth & Mitchell Cole
THE TEAM – Alexander Ullom (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 87 Minutes
It feels like the era of “Gen Z horror/thrillers” is starting to take shape. “Talk to Me,” “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair,” and even the “Scream” franchise have found ways to reinvent themselves for the modern era of moviegoing audiences. Still, as a member of this generation, I don’t feel we’ve had a film of this genre by Gen Z and for Gen Z. That feeling has somewhat subsided with Alexander Ullom’s directorial debut, “It Ends,” which is not only great but is, so far, one of the best films that has premiered this year.
“It Ends” follows a group of friends and recent college graduates: James (Phinehas Yoon), Day (Akira Jackson), and Fisher (Noah Toth), who are reunited with their military friend Tyler (Mitchell Cole). As the four of them ride in Tyler’s Jeep Cherokee toward an unknown destination, they talk about their potential plans for post-college, relationships, and ofcourse, as friends do, engage in meaningless (and playfully antagonistic) debates. Suddenly, the quartet’s suspicion rises as a simple turn puts them on an endless back road leading to nowhere. Their fears grow when these suspicions are not just in their heads, as what appears to be an empty back road soon becomes swarmed with individuals, forcing them to remain driving with no end in sight. As they continue to drive, they look at the choices they’ve made and the people they hope to become to find a way back home.
On the surface, the film’s premise is simple, yet it’s ultimately elevated by Ullom’s inspired screenplay. “It Ends” investigates how this current generation is plagued by an overbearing sense of existential despair and how they cope with explicitly traumatic moments. These characters, even at their most guarded and worn down, still find the emotional ability to express their rising concerns about what they’re experiencing. It’s a far cry from the youth of past generations. They take moments to express frustrations with one another and to release pent-up anger from being cooped up for such a long duration of time. Another aspect that makes Ullom’s screenplay stand out is the dialogue, which can range from being hilarious at one moment to devastating the next. His ability to capture the accuracy of the most arbitrary conversations that friends partake in instills an overall authenticity to the film, down to the point in which audiences can feel that moment where no one else has anything left to say in the conversation – a feeling relatable to everyone. Many other first-time filmmakers would have been distracted by diving into the semantics of the supernatural-esque situation these characters find themselves trapped in or bogging down audiences with layers of the characters’ backstories. Ullman instinctively trusts his audience, letting the performances speak for themselves, choosing instead to focus on how the horrors of this unfortunate event gradually take a toll on them, mile by mile.
While it has a strong script, “It Ends” doesn’t fully come to life without a quartet of excellent performances from this young group of actors. What they achieve here is nothing short of phenomenal. Everyone has a moment to shine, as they don’t overtake each other. It’s a true ensemble piece, as they all work together harmoniously, especially in the first act, which is like a one-location stage production. They are relatively unknown actors now, but the work displayed here is a perfect display of the potential they all have as performers.
Although Ullom’s direction does not have the most obvious display of directional flourishes, there’s still plenty here to appreciate with his ground-and-pound indie sensibilities. He shows a mastery of tone, as “It Ends” starts out eliciting the feelings of a casual hang-out film but quickly morphs into something thrilling and able to maintain a steady momentum. The film’s pacing, which is only 87 minutes long, is another of Ullom’s strengths here, as he also served as the film’s editor. He’s clearly aware that, had the film been dragged out, this would have reduced the effectiveness he’d been trying to achieve. It’s lean filmmaking, something that plenty of filmmakers may never be aware of at this stage in their careers, indulging in their worst sensibilities, which would bog down something that could be special. Matthew Robert Cooper’s ambiently haunting score also helps set the dreadful atmosphere that gradually builds as the film progresses.
By the time “It Ends” finishes, you’re left feeling more than satisfied, despite being left with many questions. Ullom’s intention to viewers with a sense of curiosity ties into the aimlessness that not only these characters experience in the film, but also people of his age experience in real life. It’s haunting in more than one way and is, without a doubt, entertaining from beginning to end.
