THE ENDLESS: WHAT’S OUT THERE?

It’s not often that a movie can tell an original story. Most movies are derivatives of one story or another or the usual themes found in most genres. But once in a while a movie comes along that offers something different. THE ENDLESS is one of those movies.

Brothers Justin (Justin Benson) and Aaron Smith (Aaron Moorhead) are escapees from what Justin described as a death cult ten years ago. Doing their best to get by and barely making ends meet they continue to see a counselor about deprogramming. Tapes continue to make their way to the brother’s home and the latest one Aaron watches shows a girl he had a crush on, Anna (Callie Hernandez) telling them goodbye. Justin sees this as the final death toll, that the group is going to commit suicide together. Aaron just wants to go back one more time to find out what’s happening. Justin, hoping to get closure for his brother agrees.

The pair arrive and find the people they left behind happy, content and pretty much looking exactly like they did ten years prior. Aaron, too young to remember doesn’t see it but Justin does. The group doesn’t treat them like outcasts and invites them to stay overnight to see how things are going. Each person in the group has their own thing that separates them from the others. Aaron begins to wonder if this was such a bad place after all.

Around the campfire that night the group walks off to do something they call “The Struggle”. One of them walks off into the darkness holding onto the end of a thick rope. One of them picks up the nearby end and tries to pull it towards the campfire, succeeding. They offer it to Aaron who fails at first but tries a second time using a fishing knot he learned years ago. He succeeds as well. He talks Justin into trying too but Justin is yanked off his feet and his hand cut by the rope.

As the pair continue to walk around and see what’s happening they can’t find fault in much. And yet something seems off. One noticeable thing is the rising of two moons which the leader of the cult explains is like the Aurora Borealis, an illusion caused by the layers of the atmosphere. But there are little clues, blips in vision, that both brothers see that make at least Justin uneasy.

Eventually Aaron says that he wants to stay. Justin says it’s his choice but he can’t bring himself to do so. Taking a path to leave he finds a character we’ve seen walking quickly through the camp over and over again. But he also finds something else, the secret of the camp, the cult and what is actually going on. The question is does he still have time to solve the problem and return to save Aaron.

The film is a slow burn, one that offers enough clues to keep you guessing without actually revealing anything. It moves along at its own pace but once it gets going in the latter half it picks up speed and the interest of the viewer as well. When all is finally revealed it is a satisfactory ending which far too many movies like this never offer.

The actors here are none that I’ve seen before and that may help the film in the long run. A familiar or star performer in a lead role here would have detracted from the story rather than move it along. The look of the film is difficult to describe. I’d like to say low budget but it isn’t the film stock or choice of shots that make it so. It’s the coloring more than anything, that dingy looking dusty dirt road look and feel that permeates every scene with the exception of those shot at night. I think this was intentional though, providing something different and less artificial, adding a sense that this is real to the film.

The end result is a satisfying movie that fans of science fiction or the unusual will enjoy. My guess is that few will know what is coming at the end of the film, that final revelation, until it actually happens. For me that’s a plus. I’ve seen far too many movies where while I enjoyed them I could tell the ending long before it took place. That didn’t happen here. So jump on board, follow the brothers and have a good night watching something a bit different. My guess is you’ll enjoy the ride.

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