The Endless is the most philosophical film that we’ve watched in class to date and a large part of this is due to the underlying themes and concepts it constantly bombards the viewer through the course of its runtime. It’s a type of film that demands patience from the viewer themselves and will ultimately be rewarded by the time the credits roll in or at least a semblance of it. It’s not exactly a fun watch nor an enjoyable experience but there’s no denying that it definitely is an interesting one. The film utilises a lot of symbolisms and concepts that mirror what we have in the real life which definitely helps in keeping the narrative down to earth despite having a handful of fictional elements to it.
The first and most obvious parallel to real life is the concept of religion. The characters of the story all associate themselves and their situation to a certain deity or a celestial being that apparently controls the way they live and function at least all within the confines of the time loop. There are two sides to this, there are the people who completely subject themselves to be under this so-called deity while there are some who choose to resent it over time due to them not being able to accept the fact that they have been in the place for so long. At the start, we see the people thriving and enjoying the “benefits” of the place up until we see the story progresses and suddenly we are shown people who don’t get as lucky in terms of the time loop effects. It helps that the two main characters, Justin and Aaron, played by the directors themselves, are both confused or generally longing for answers throughout the entire course of the runtime making us the audience easily cling onto them and their situation.
The two brothers both contradict each other in a way that is somewhat of a nice dynamic between the two. Their interplay with each other is that one is increasingly open to the idea of staying in the place as he see the countless benefits of having a life full of second chances while the other, who seems more aware of the things happening around them, argues that the only thing they should worry about is finding a way out. This is a clever way to integrate whatever it is that the ensemble is making them believe and it would be easy to take them down a linear path but to have them diverge according to both ends of the argument creates a nice conflict on top of the already horrible situation they find themselves in.
A sense of dread and fear is felt throughout the entire runtime. It doesn’t feel safe for the characters and it doesn’t feel safe in general. There’s always something that might show up that can cause trouble and I’m all for it. This unpredictability is largely due to the amazing cinematography and sound design. Camera work and overall look of every shot feels claustrophobic and eerie in a sense. The aesthetic of the shots look muted and sometimes seem like there is vaseline smeared all over the camera lens which gives a ominous tone to whatever it is we’re seeing. Sprinkle in good sound design and a uncomfortable constant presence of ambience with the forest setting.
Although it achieves so much in terms of its technicality, fundamentally, the film stutters a little bit. I found The Endless to have a few pacing issues especially in the first few parts right down to the second act. It’s a slow burn to say the least and if you aren’t really into films that do take their time to get the point across then this would probably be a difficult sitting the first time around. Thankfully, it picks up the pace in the other half of the second act up until the third but again, to get there, you’re gonna have to be patient. Ill admit that I found myself struggling to keep my eyes open during the first viewing since it has a serene tone to it almost. Again, this has cinematography to blame. Some performances as well don’t exactly hit the right mark. The two directors would sometimes faulted in trying to deliver certain dramatic moments or make an already awkward scene even mores. A lot of dead air is present here and I don’t know it was a directorial choice or an editing mistake but whatever it was, it didn’t work all the time for me.
The last part of the film was quite disappointing. For a runtime dedicated to confusing both the characters and the audience together, I expected some questions to at least be answered but what happened is just a series of “okay here you go” without the sense that it was properly achieved. Even the two brothers themselves look at each other after escaping as if what just happened came out of nowhere and did it really happen? What did we do to get this anyways? It didn’t feel like it had a proper ending to say the least. Maybe it’s because I didn’t watch an earlier film called Resolution (2012) from the same filmmakers but I’d like to think that small connections like that shouldn’t be required to a full understanding of a film that presents itself to stand alone.
A great ensemble cast and a wacky set of personalities saves this film from becoming an artsy bore-fest and in the end, it’s also the technical aspects of it all that show how much of an effort the directorial duo had in terms of constructing the narrative. A few pacing issues aside, The Endless is something that should at least be given a shot once if someone is looking for something new. Multiple viewings are definitely recommended to experience the full effect of it all and overall it was a fascinating journey to go on. All you need to do is accept the fact that the ending is not all that fulfilling. Maybe that’s why it’s called The Endless, it doesn’t really end all that well so it just tells the audience it doesn’t have a proper one.
Elements of Screen Arts (2019) 