Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat.Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Darn time loops.Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Someone get me outta here. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Endlessly talky yet endlessly inventive, this is one sci-fi movie that is worth having on repeat. Ad infinitum.
I could've sworn I reviewed this movie yesterday.
At first I wasn't paying full attention and I expected something really boring. Suddenly the mysterious situation and atmosphere got me gripped. The director and actors did great. Sc-fi elements become more prominent and the movie improves even more on every level. Even the effects and camerwork become more atmospheric over time and add even more to the build up. There are so many styles of story going on near the end on that it's impressive. I wish I had payed attention sooner and it's the type of movie that definetely needs a second viewing.
The characters in this movie are dysfunctional weirdos. And being quirky and odd doesn't make them interesting or appealing. This movie looks awful and the effects are underwhelming (money or no).
There was one moment that raised this movie's rating a notch for me. "Aaron" stumbles upon an old tent that looks like it's been in the woods since the 1800's. There's a man inside the tent that is stuck in a very tight time loop. He stands up from a stool on one side of the tent, runs to the other side and disappears, only to reappear in a few seconds back on the stool. He screams at the main character to "RUN!" It's a creepy moment! I wish the rest of the movie had been as entertaining. I was hoping this would be comparable to the Directors' other movie "Spring". Nope.
Starts out seeming really low-budget, but draws you in pretty quick. Intriguing, but the payoff was a little typical. The brothers were good together.
Awesome loop brain movie which i can't really explain but however it made sense.
After receiving a mysterious package containing a video cassette tape, brothers Justin (Benson) and Aaron (Moorhead) decide to take a trip to a cult-like commune, which they escaped from a decade earlier. Aaron is looking for something he feels he's been missing in the 'real world,' while Justin agrees to go back just to get his brother out of his latest slump. What they end up finding, however, is that they made the right decision, leaving the cult all of those years ago.
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson truly are jacks of all trade. These guys write, direct, produce, are in charge of cinematography, and star in The Endless. While they had cameo appearances of some kind in their previous features, this one is different in that they are both the leading roles, creating the lost-in-life characters of Justin and Aaron (not autobiographical, by the way). Not only do they put themselves in all of these positions, but they do all of them extremely well, ensuring that their projects come out exactly as they have meticulously planned.
The Endless is, in essence, a sci-fi fantasy film about a cult who looks up to some sort of higher power, one that no one in the cult can actually explain or describe. They know it is there and they just accept that, living their lives until the 'ascension' arrives once again. As our protagonists spend more time back at the camp they dubbed a 'UFO death cult' years earlier to the press, they start to learn of the true nature of what exactly is going on out here, away from societal norms. As this occurs, the brothers react differently to the situation.
Innocent-minded Aaron who only has fond memories of growing up around people who accepted and loved him, wants to stay with his reunited friends, while older, more level-headed Justin wants nothing more than to gather their things and leave for good. He soon realizes that is easier said than done, however. Camp Arcadia lies within a time-loop. The people at the community, as well as other individuals within the camp's vicinity, are all stuck in their own endless loop of existence, some longer than others, which can only begin again when the higher being allows it.
The Endless is not your typical horror sci-fi film. In fact, that is why I am such a big fan of Moorhead and Benson; they create films that have a large degree of creativity and originality, while not straying too far into obscurity. I absolutely loved their debut film, Resolution, and I adored their follow-up science fiction love story, Spring. If you also enjoyed either one of those films, you will have a good time with this one, as well. It features the same level of great acting, beautiful camera work, and innovative storytelling. Even better yet, this film exists in the same universe as Resolution. Fans of that film will recognize some key characters and perhaps get some answers they were left with back upon it's original release in 2013.
Finally saw this a few yrs after Resolution. Better and more polished than that debut. Enjoyed the second half more than the first. Will continue watching this pair's other projects.
6.6
What if you left a cult, became disenfranchised by non-cult life, so you went back...and things got really weird? I don't want to give away much, but this was a very engaging, mind-bendy trip that will push some sci-fi conceptual buttons in just the right ways. Definitely give this a watch if you're craving some thinking with your sci-fi.
This movie was such a nice surprise. Contains great ideas and the movie is pure and to the point, none of the typical garbage included. It's a simple movie in execution, no flashy stuff going on, but I can only recommend. Good stuff.
Slow moving with an interesting premise. It kept me wondering. However, the brothers know that they must be gone by a certain time but they sit down and talk and if they walked any slower, they would be moving backwards.
It's an impressive mind-bender with gorgeous cinematography and impressive performances from the director duo in the lead roles. The story is high concept, and a little out there, but it's an interesting one, with its slight Lovecraft influence. I loved how they tied Resolution into the narrative. I was kind of hoping they'd figure out a way to squeeze Spring in there somehow.
An ambitious modern fairytale deeply grounded in reality, The Endless is a fascinating movie about, in the end, brotherhood, trust, responsibility and progress in life.
While their previous directorial effort, Spring, resonated more with me, this movie cements Benson and Moorhead as interesting and thoughtful filmmakers with big ideas.
Aaron is such a goddamn asshole though
I don't really like how it never got explained how exactly the size and length of a loop got decided.
That said, it kept my attention all the way through.
Ps: Watch "The resolution" first...it's not required, but it will add flavor.
I enjoyed this one a little more than the previous entry Resolution. Some interesting concepts and keeps the film interesting as it plays out.
This was great! A fresh sci-fi horror with an interesting concept. I‘m the kind of person who loves movies about time wraps where people have to experience the same thing over and over again and at last trying to break out of these crazy and mindfucking loops. But this film is using mystery science fiction elements and some kind of folklore with another way of beeing traped in some of these time loops. Really enthralling and captivating.
Shit tonne of nonsense, so pretentious idiots can say “it’s so good, and it makes you think”.
I like the Directors as directors just fine; I actually came to watch this movie because I've seen The Spring first, it was my first experience seeing their movies and I loved it. But I really couldn't enjoy myself watching them on-screen to be fair, maybe this movie would've hit different with me.
like Phunkie said, just a straight forward, decent storyline without all the toxic "woke" bs thrown in, which is extremely refreshing to see these days. pleasantly surprised.
The characters in this movie are dysfunctional weirdos. And being quirky and odd doesn't make them interesting or appealing. This movie looks awful and the effects are underwhelming (money or no).
There was one moment that raised this movie's rating a notch for me. "Aaron" stumbles upon an old tent that looks like in the woods since the 1800's. There's a man inside the tent that is stuck in a very tight time loop. He stands up from a stool on one side of the tent, runs to the other side and disappears, only to reappear in a few seconds back on the stool. He screams at the main character to "RUN!" It's a creepy moment! I wish the rest of the movie had been as entertaining. I was hoping this would be comparable to the Directors' other movie "Spring". Nope.
So this movie just does not make sense at all without watching another movie from the same guys (Resolution) ? And this is never explained?
And no, i will not watch it. Wow, what a waste of time.
Entertaining, enigmatic, original and paranoid film.
The Endless begins with a quote from H.P. Lovecraft and if you take the quote from the big-chinned purveyor of weirdness and old-world gods as a link to the coming story you will get some idea of what is coming before the story starts.
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson cast themselves as the brothers and whether they underplayed their roles or deliberately gave the brothers a flat feel is up for debate but as they are both cult survivors with a listless life it works.
The story definitely builds up a head of steam and for some this will be frustrating, in all honesty I watched the film in three batches, so any potential dragging was no doubt diluted by the long breaks between the watching. I can imagine viewers looking for visceral death or monsters would feel very let down as we are introduced to seemingly normal cultist – except for the permanently smiling Dave and stomping about Carl and few others who stare melodramatically but as the story moves on it is clear all is not as it seems. I’ll say not more as this would undoubtedly spoil the events in the story.
The budget was clearly limited but Benson and Moorhead like so many filmmakers before them, and no doubt after them, had to use their imagination to paper over the limits and they have succeeded for the majority of the film. A lot of the film is set at night amongst scrubbing hillside and in a camp so effect limitations can be hidden, the effects are not over-reaching and work well with the story, leaving enough for the imagination of the viewer is always a good move and then leaving you in no doubt near the end works well for The Endless.
The acting throughout is never dramatic and demonstrative and though I cannot say hand on heart it felt entirely natural it felt the correct style for the storyline and setting. I do not know what you would call it though – ‘pod-people good’. The chemistry between the ‘brothers’ is believable and Tate Ellington puts in a good show as the leader of the ‘cult’ whilst the main cultists are presented well.
‘Shitty’ Carl played by James Jordan jars out from the main cast but there is proper motivation for this as revealed so it makes sense within the frame of the story.
Apparently, Mike and Vinnie are cross-overs from the director’s previous movie Resolution but I have not seen this and to me they were interesting peripheral characters that did not really move the story on.
I’m glad I watched The Endless and I would like to see Resolution to see how it connects.
The film is not perfect but is clearly made to a budget and although some ideas and themes are not fully explored they are big, interesting and ask the viewer some questions if they want to be asked those questions of course.
Initially the film could be said to be dull, and somewhat murkier on the screen, with some plot-holes and story dead-ends and at times perhaps questionable acting for me something about the character Aaron during the film did not quite click but maybe that was deliberate. I would recommend giving The Endless a chance and see what it says to you and what you think, I am willing to say that this will be different from what I have thought and said, which in the case of a film like The Endless is a very good thin
This is how I imagine if there was real proofed supernatural elements regarding a cult.
Entertaining film, and very suspenseful, you find yourself immersed in the story, waiting for what can happen next.
Although that was my experience, I can see some people easily getting lost and confused about what is happening at some scenes of the film, as it gets a little bit too much to process, but the thing is, the supernatural doesn't always has to make sense.
Definitely a bit more on the psychological horror side than on the supernatural one, the film counts with decent acting from its cast.
Its not a film for everyone, but it is a well made film which is very likely to please the horror, suspense and sci-fi fans.
Two brothers receive a weird video message from the "UFO death cult" they escaped from as children: the brothers decide to pay the cult's camp a visit. Sounds like a great idea, right?
Interesting. There's a lot of really great tension between the characters, making you unsure of who to trust or who's a reliable narrator. I pieced together a big part of what was going on pretty quick, but then things got really weird... Making everything even more questionable. It kept me going through to the end, which wasn't at all like I was expecting. I don't think that's a spoiler, but if you want to watch this at all, don't read the following:
Maybe I'm too used to people being inherently BAD in these kinds of movies... I was expecting the campies to have evil ulterior motives. Something about the way the bearded guy said what he said about making sure you do what YOU want really made me feel sorry for them all... Shifted the narrative drastically. Then the last scene with them standing there, happy they made it out but sad to lose their company... UGH.
I was expecting a fight, maybe some blood, and instead got a bunch of feels. And that was kinda cool. I could see this being really good on a re-watch.
I really liked it, and want to check out more movies by this pair: the brothers in the movie also wrote, directed, and produced the movie. I see they've made a bunch together.
TL;DR An indie thriller with tones of weird horror, a story that surprised me, and some unexpectedly good graphics/shots.
1 / 2 directing & technical aspect
1 / 1 story
1 / 1 act I
1 / 1 act II
1 / 1 act III
1 / 1 acting
1 / 1 writing
0 / 1 originality
0 / 1 lasting ability to make you think
-.5 / 1 misc (predictable)
6.5 out of 10
Shout by PhilVIP EP 9BlockedParent2018-08-19T20:17:32Z
This is a great film but I must recommend you watch Resolution first! Same guys made it and the story begins there. https://trakt.tv/movies/resolution-2012