To preface this review, watching this film was not my choice. My family was scrolling through Netflix and saw the two-star-user-rated The Endless and thought it would be a good idea to watch it. This film has a lot of blatant problems that I could tell were not given much effort to fix. Even though there are a few redeeming qualities, lack of creativity and an abundance of vanilla characters make this movie an absolute dud.
If you are just getting into screenwriting and have daydreamed of writing your very first screenplay, chances are it will still be better than the script for this film. There is so much mediocrity within this film that could have easily been fixed by having a wider crew behind the camera. The Endless was written by, directed by, and starring Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead as two brothers who return to a cult years after their fateful escape only to discover that the cult is preparing for a spectacular event known as the ascension. To make this story even lazier, the characters that Justin and Aaron play are named *surprise* Justin and Aaron. Unless you're performing a one-man show, I never feel like it is a good idea to write, direct, and star in a movie. Benson and Moorhead have a decent skill for directing, but I feel that their energy should have been put into one thing and not the entire trifecta. This is quite apparent from the story, as it is so painfully recycled at this point. Besides the fact that not many writers embrace the idea of a UFO-suicide cult, this film is just like a hundred other, better movies out there. There are countless independent sci-fi thrillers on Netflix that can be good for wasting time but do not watch this film if you are expecting any effort in filmmaking.
Many of this film's character and plot choices made no sense. This movie begins with the two brothers discussing the cult that they had escaped and how harmful it was for their lives. So why, why, why would either of them think that going back, even for a day, would be a good idea? Once they returned to Camp Arcadia and revisited old friends and girlfriends, stranger characters and occurrences begin to surface; none of which carried any sensical value. The strange man in the shack who kept hanging himself, the two gun-tweaking friends in the house, and practically every other element of this movie had no bearing on what the two main characters decided. None of the subplots were ever finished, the dialogue was severely empty, and I was dragged through this movie feeling like it was ENDLESS (damn I am so funny). This was an obvious attempt at making something game-changing that, well, followed the rules of the game. The philosophical and extraterrestrial aspects of the writing were well thought-out but not coherently executed.
The cinematography and acting in this movie was very standard. It says a lot about a DP when his title in the credits reads "camera operator." This comes off to me as a cameraman who is only there to do his job and nothing more, having no effort for originality. The acting in this film was also very generic and did not wow me in any way. However, the worst part of this entire movie that was apparent to me right from the opening shot was the lack of focus on lighting and color grading. This movie was uncomfortably over-exposed as I had to squint for many of the scenes. I try not to carry such harsh criticism when it comes to independent films, but it's hard not to when they are so dull. Benson and Moorhead had the chance to create an amazing indie sci-fi movie with great themes, but that just did not happen. Although I did appreciate the potential that was built and I can definitely see these two getting into some better projects in the future. I also respect how they were able to produce this film with an independent budget and I was impressed by their accomplishments in editing and special effects. While it is not studio-level CGI, it did not look bad.
One might think that with a poster like the one above, The Endless would be a beautifully made, introspective, and intergalactic adventure shared between two brothers. It's not. The overall quality of this film is horrible and made me feel more numb than my arm which had fallen asleep while I was on the couch.
My Rating: ★★
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