The science – fiction and thriller movie, The Endless, by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead features a brotherly love tested by differing opinions between the two real – life named characters that was previously part of their 2012 film, Resolution. Although the characters were first introduced in smaller roles in Resolution, it presented no hurdle to understand the development of the characters to those who haven’t seen the prior film. But of course, watching the movie Resolution would have given the audience a better and deeper understanding of the main characters, Justin and Aaron but sadly, I was not one of those who have watched Resolution.

The story revolves around their journey back towards Camp Arcadia, a cult they used to be a part of.  Showing no bias, at first, I did not think of their old cult as a bad group. Although it was difficult since most of the movies I have watched that involved cults, also involved weird and dark characteristics of the group and their members. But seeing Justin having mixed feeling towards returning to their old cult in Camp Arcadia, also gave me an idea of what it was going to be like for this movie. Despite watching Justin and Aaron throw inside jokes about their cult, which sort of sends a notion that they were not going in too deep as they were from before they left, it still felt like they were already in too deep and was only going deeper. What I wondered about for the most part of the film was why they would both agree to go back to Camp Arcadia given the traumatizing memories they both endured during their stay with their old cult. To me Justin and Aaron showed a strange willingness to be stuck in a time loop brought about a sense of detachment from themselves due to the mediocrity of their realities. Although the movie gave pretty strong ideas and arguments on why Justin and Aaron wanted to go back, and went back for the cult, I still found it unrelatable. But I am guessing it was only unrelatable because of all the films I have watched which showed cults were always a bad thing.

In the beginning, I found the film to be moving really slow, but I did not know if people shared my opinion since I am the type of person who cannot sit through a film unless I am in the cinema. But since I gave the film a chance, I was able to appreciate it, through its unique and well – made plot. Despite being a low budget film proves that not all movies need a big budget to be compelling. Personally, I am no fan of the horror/thriller genre of film as they tend to focus on inflicting unexpected shocks rather than having a well – placed narrative. Unlike most horror and thriller films I have watched, the combination of Benson and Moorhead’s solid and creative narrative, together with accenting suspenseful music created a film that would not only terrify all audiences but also something that would keep them guessing and ultimately, enjoy.

The Endless started off relatively slow for me, though it might be biased for me to say that because of the busy week I had back when we watched it. Despite that slow start though, the movie was able to hook me through its really good-looking cinematography and more importantly the bizarre and unique plot.

Despite the open arms welcoming Justin and Aaron in their return to their old “cult,” Justin’s ambivalence toward the camp’s positive attributes was rubbing off on me as a viewer. Though the tug of war scene with the deity was the scene that seemingly became a turning point for the movie. At this point, I was only sure that the “cult” or camp was more than it seemed though I am not sure about whether the deity we saw was one that was “good” or “bad.” Knowing that the camp was happy, at least from an external perspective, I found myself contemplating that the deity might possibly be a fair and good-natured one; though late into the film we see Justin’s encounters with the deity being horrifying and generally provoking.
While the deity became apparent and undeniable to both the characters and the audience, its mysterious characteristic kept me hooked to the movie. Though while the deity was something highly interesting for me, the time loops and time domes were definitely the most interesting for me. At the time I was watching them, it was a bit confusing. I wondered why the stranded people in the time domes were not meeting up with each other only to realize that they truly are stranded in their own domes. Some of the domes had longer time spans while others had seconds as their loops. One of the time domes that had more significance was that of Mike’s and Chris’ loop. Apparently their whole one week loop was the plot of another of Benson’s and Moorhead’s film; Resolution never mentioned a time loop but it did explore the deity from a different perspective. My interest in The Endless pushed me to look into Resolution and I found myself enjoying The Endless more; the main takeaway I had with watching Resolution though was that my appreciation for The Endless and its “cinematic universe.”
The time loops that were touched on had me reflecting a lot about my life and the movies I watch. Re-watching 8 Mile countless times, I found myself comparing Eminem’s journey in the film as a time loop and I as a deity (no blasphemy or anything intended lol). The film was made well enough that it evoked a new perspective for me when watching movies and perhaps a larger appreciation for life itself. Life itself is not a cycle and allows us freedom to both suffer and enjoy; this is something explored in the movie with the stranded characters being desperate to die. Some of them were hopeful while some were hopeless. The conflict that the camp leader had with keeping Justin and Aaron in the loop was something that attracted my sympathy due to their desire to increase the group count, a change in their boring, repeating cycle versus letting them go and free of the suffering they have been experiencing. If I were a member of the camp, I also might have had a difficult time deciding because of my desire for something new but at the same time my good intentions for others.
After viewing and reflecting on The Endless, I think it’s safe for me to say that this film is one of those films that I don’t think I can forget about anytime soon. I have always been hooked to time loops in films like Edge of Tomorrow and Source Code, but this deity-inspired take on it was something fresher for my mind.
The Endless started off relatively slow for me, though it might be biased for me to say that because of the busy week I had back when we watched it… (jk)

The Endless (2017) makes such a great impact with the minimal budget that it works with. With the filmmakers (and main actors), both being used to making low-budget sci-fi horror films like this, it was a treat to watch the product of their craft.

What makes it so effective as a horror is the gradual buildup of tension as the film progresses. Perhaps, the character which would drive this forward would be Justin, who is the one who learns more and more about what is really going on within this setting. As he interacts with numerous characters within the vicinity, more and more information is revealed about the camp, which only escalates things.

The fact as well that the monster is never shown in person also helps in that buildup. Besides that brief glimpse of it in the water, we never really see a face or a clear figure of the thing which surrounds the camp. This has been used a lot of times in modern horror and thriller films, perhaps the most popular being the recent American retelling of Godzilla in 2014. We could see the same buildup in this film, as short glimpses or a part of the main monster is seen, leading up to a full reveal within the last act. This gradual addition of tension proves to be effective in Godzilla, and proves to be effective as well in this 2017 horror.

That doesn’t mean though that its presence isn’t felt, because it sure does. The pivotal scene of The Struggle makes sure to tell the audience that there really is something out there. As we see it act upon the characters by pulling Justin down, we see how threatening it could be. This makes its ominousness even more intense as well, as we, as the audience, are unaware of when it could strike again or make its presence known. The usage of tapes and hard drives would also prove to be effective, as the mere loading up of these objects itself would build up that suspense.

Aside from the features of the monster, we also see tension build up between the two main characters: Justin and Aaron. Justin, we see, seems to be the more grounded one, as he is focused on giving his brother his closure and nothing else. This would contrast his brother, Aaron, greatly, as we see him as the one who is easily swayed by the camp and he would ultimately be pulled in different directions. As an audience, we root for Justin, as his actions seem to make more sense. We want the brothers to leave the eerie camp and we want them to survive from what is in the periphery. However, Aaron and his naivety would deny us of that want. Therefore, tension is again built as these two brothers clash in their beliefs.

All these elements are only some of the many things which I loved about the film and how it was handled. I really am looking forward to how the filmmakers can continue to push the genre in this way, perhaps even with a bigger budget to get their message across to more people.

I personally did not see the appeal in The Endless. I think most people walked out of class that day very intrigued by the film, but I honestly found it quite dragging, and I felt that a lot of the elements were just thrown together for the sake of being “mysterious and edgy.” Here’s why I felt that way:

I think it was easy for me to get lost (in a bad way) in the film because the way it was presented was so dry and dull. It was hard for me to keep up because the color grading of the entire film was just different shades of brown, green, and gray, so it was easy for my eyes to just gloss over each of the scenes, and it was easy for me to space out entirely. Almost all of the characters were Caucasian, too, with the exceptions of Lizzy and Anna. I get that the lack of diversity is supposed to add to the whole cultish nature of the film and to make it more eerie, but I guess that, when coupled with the grim color scheme of the film, it’s hard to find a character that stands out.

It’s already difficult to find a character that stands out, let alone a character you might actually like, because I didn’t find any of the characters’ personalities especially pleasing. Everyone just seemed really dumb at one point of the movie, but maybe that’s just because I generally don’t like horror films. Most characters in most horror films seem to have thrown logic out the window entirely, and you’re left with a bunch of people who got themselves stuck in a sticky situation they wouldn’t have to deal with in the first place if any of them had a smidgen of common sense. If Justin was reluctant about visiting the camp but Aaron recalls it wasn’t as bad as Justin thought it was, then wouldn’t it have been best to modify Pascal’s wager a little bit, and to play it safe and assume the camp was a death cult? Even when they did get to the camp, there were so many signs that the camp was bad news—that impossible equation Hal was working on, that odd game of tug-of-war, the monster at the bottom of the lake, the increasing number of moons, the fact that no one in the camp remembers sending the tape, the crazy time loops. And yet, despite all of that, Aaron still tried to persuade Justin to stay in the camp. It’s almost like having to persuade your friend to stop going back to their toxic serial cheater of an ex-boyfriend—literally what merits are you seeing in this camp? I think the reason why I felt the whole thing was just “mysterious and edgy” was because I felt that a lot of the things they did weren’t really grounded in any stable, sensible, and believable motivations.

I won’t discredit the fact that the more technical aspects of the film were pretty impressive, even if I didn’t particularly enjoy the film’s story. The editing used in the film was relatively realistic (what constitutes as a “realistic” special effect for a supernatural film, anyway), and I almost felt as if I were stuck in all the time loops myself. The cinematography was also very smooth, especially in the scenes where they would pan over the entire camp in overhead shots. While I feel that they could have done a better job in crafting the story behind the film, they did a pretty good job on piecing the technical parts together.

I don’t think I’d recommend The Endless to a friend, or give it another watch. I think it has the potential to serve as a good gateway film to the broad roster of horror in cinema, but maybe it just isn’t for me.