It Ends resonated with me in a meaningful way. This is not only because the film is highly entertaining and a brilliant think-piece but also because of what it represents. It Ends is an announcement of the arrival of inspiring young talent in the horror genre to a stage reserved usually for veteran horror auteurs. The cast and crew are so young and gifted. Alex Ullom and producers Carrie Carusone and Evan Barber recently graduated from Florida State University’s film school, and this is their first feature film. This is also the debut feature for the talented cast, and the crew are all peers, experience-wise. This is a Gen Z production from front to back.

The film punches way above its weight class, with the smooth production design, snappy editing, and punchy and often hilarious dialogue. It Ends presents a powerful emotional heft. There is a dream-like quality to the plot, and it asks the audience to be patient as the characters puzzle their way through this existential trap. It might be guilty of staying on the path a little too long, and the movie moves into melancholy in the third act, but none of this diminishes what is a stellar first outing from all involved. The extended time we spend with the protagonists bolsters the emotional weight of the story. We care about these people because we get to know them, and we feel the torment of the trial.

Remember these actors. I would not be surprised if some, if not all of them become bigger stars down the road. The producers picked the cast from a casting call of 500 actors, and they made the correct selections. There is a natural chemistry between the four of them, and it feels like we are watching old friends going through the cauldron together. It helps that each character has a distinct role to play in the car, and the group performs like a well-tuned chorus.

We join our protagonists preparing to depart for some late night revelry. They pile into a Jeep Cherokee, and immediately the familiar strains of close friendships kick in. Teasing, goading, storytelling, and tough love judgements ensue. Highlighted in the road trip conversations is a hypothetical “what if” game that Fisher introduces to his friends.

50 Hawks, 10,000 rats, a guy with a gun, and 5 gorillas. You pick two to defend you and the rest are coming to hunt you.”

Fisher proposing an outlandinsh scenario to his friends in the car.

Though, at the time, this absurd conceit feels like the nutty banter that we all have had with our friends, it foreshadows some bizarre existential questions they will be asking themselves soon. What would you do if something preposterous happened? After driving a long while into the woods of the Florida panhandle, Tyler gets concerned that they are on the wrong path. They must have missed a turn, but nobody remembers ever seeing any turn. No intersections, no traffic lights, no buildings, and no other traffic. The remote road is a meandering line. Making things more confusing, none of them can recall their destination.

Tyler turns the Jeep around, backtracking to find a location they recognize. Eventually, the road comes to a dead end. Nobody saw any turns or intersections in their retreat, and while Tyler wanders past the “Road Ends” sign into the woods, a horde of panicky people surges out from the wood and lay siege to the vehicle, desperately trying to get control of the Jeep.

Our protagonists manage to escape from the mob, but not without injury. After driving a few miles, they stop to gather their wits. Once again, crazed people pour from the woods, and they flee once again, back up the road, not caring where it goes so long as they can get out of the woods. The road continues. There are no hills, there are no gaps in the forest, and they cannot find a horizon. They have timed the oncoming hordes to 1 minute 30 seconds at each encounter, so they don’t have enough time to scout any stop fully.

Unfortunately, the road keeps going without a break. Tens of miles become hundreds, and nobody in the car is tired or hungry. The car seems to be running without consuming fuel, and the road to nowhere continues. Soon, the group starts to question the reality of their situation. Are they dead? Is this hell or purgatory? Are they dreaming? Is this an alternate reality? Do any of them have dark secrets that would curse them to an eternity on this road? What did any of them do to deserve this?

Eventually, monotony and frustration take over, testing their will. How much more can they endure? Will any of them give up? Miles turn into hundreds of miles, which turn into thousands of miles. It’s a devastating toll, but occasional variations in the pattern offer glimmers of hope but no answers. Is there an end to the road, and if there is, who will make it to the end?

Alex Ullom knows what the road represents, but he’s not telling, which is for the best. There are so many allegories at play. I personally think this is a paved River Styx, without Charon, the dread bargeman. But like the unfortunate travellers, I find this to be an unsolvable mystery, and this is just a theory. The power of the movie is listening to the conversations about solving this road riddle. Even when the tedium saps the traveler’s will, the conversations remain pointed and natural.

Thematically, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to two other movies I saw at the festival: Hallow Road, which deals with truth and consequences using the front seat of an SUV as the dramatic stage, and Redux Redux, a multiverse-looping revenge thriller. Hallow Road focuses on traveling a dark and lonely road while receiving awful information, forcing grim and fateful decisions. Redux Redux puts its characters through a repetitive grinding paradox loop that challenges them to persevere or give up the mission. It Ends combines those two concepts, and though all three movies are intellectually challenging, It Ends provides the most philosophical depth.

There is risk in a Fate Twist movie. The pattern needs to repeat enough times to be identifiable but still interesting. You also need to know where to put the off-ramp. The characters are supposed to get frustrated, but the audience shouldn’t. This movie is careful enough to avoid that trap, but perhaps only just in time. Traveling down an endless road pushes your ability to focus on the road ahead, and you can feel it along with the characters. To counter this tendency, It Ends cleverly uses character titles in the third act, which announces “This is new!” and re-calibrates the audience’s expectations at each title drop.

Some people might not like the story’s ambiguity, but I appreciate the care with which the philosophy unspools. The movie hits with an early crescendo, featuring perhaps the best jump scares of the whole festival, but then it settles into a more introspective pace. I have overheard some people describe the tone of this film as depressing, but I felt a surge of hope at the movie’s end. Perseverance pays off.

Ullom is poised to be a generational voice for Gen Z horror films. His knack for dialogue is fluid, with adroit comic and poetic timing. I hope he gets the opportunity to grow into that role. (No pressure!) For concepts this big and well thought through to come from a mind that is that young (He was 23 when he conceived this movie), it is staggering to think what he might accomplish. Most directors with his level of experience would be tinkering with short films or getting apprenticeships on bigger productions. This movie feels like it was produced by a veteran crew with a confidence of purpose.

At the Overlook Film Festival, the festival’s director described this project as hitting a home run in their first major league at bat. The cast and crew should take a slow trot around the bases and enjoy the moment. It’s not perfect, but the film has been executed very well. Touch ’em all!

It Ends will be on the festival circuit for a while longer as it looks to land a major distributor. It Ends premiered at SXSW and was followed up at the Overlook Film Festival. The next stop will be the Florida Film Festival on April 13. The movie is currently not rated, but I suspect it would receive a PG-13 rating, and it would be a great movie for younger audiences. These are young characters who are starting to figure their lives out and could intellectually challenge a teenage audience.