The Endless

I should start by saying that "The Endless" blew my mind the first time I saw it. I waited to review it until I had seen it a second time. Did it blow my mind, again? No, but that is not a qualitative statement. This time, I knew what to expect from this endlessly inventive indie sci fi flick and was able to savor it like an old wine or something.The two filmmakers, Benson and Moorhead are among the most talented working in the US today. They join a long line of personal faves, including Brit Marling, Shane Carruth and Jamin Winans. Why do I say "talented"? Because they create highly interesting, though-provoking story lines and execute them with cinematic flourish. And apparently do it for a fraction of what it costs a big Studio to make a film. This Benson and Moorhead proved in the great "Spring" and they continue to do in "The Endless", which is not only the best film they have made but one of the best to come out in years.At one level, "The Endless" concerns two brothers living near Echo Park in LA, one of whom longs to return to the "UFO Death Cult" that they both escaped from many years earlier. What a great set up for a plot - right away you know one wants to go back, and the other does not, creating a great tension to drive the rising action of the story. But most of all you really want to know about the UFO Death Cult. Really…Of course, they do return to said cult which is located somewhere in the mountains above San Diego. And that is right about where the conventional nature of the story, and the storytelling starts to unravel. From weird atmospheric disturbances to telling recollections about the cult-members wanting to commit mass-suicide it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is what it appears to be. Or, if you buy that a strange “presence” is living in a shallow lake and causing space and time to warp, and creating an infinite loop that some characters can’t escape, well, then everything is exactly as it appears to be.Here is where I need to warn those who don’t like ambiguity, or head trips in their films to stay away from “The Endless”. On the other hand, if you love to have your mind thoroughly f-ed with, then get thee to this film ASAP.The brothers return to the wonderfully named Camp Arcadia where the members of the un-named cult are living. Benson and Moorhead use the ordinariness of the location, and the relative normality of the camp’s residents to ground the small but eerie details that begin to throw everything off the rails. One guy seems to be, well, just smiling all the time. You want to know why. The leader of the group who keeps insisting it is “not a cult” (important safety tip: if the apparent leader of a group of people says it is not a cult, it probably is) and saying the words with an almost Manson-esque smoothness. There is an odd shack that has a lock on it that looks like it was stolen from a Final Fantasy game. Again, you really, really want to know what it is in the shack.What seem to be manipulative plot devices create a thirst on the part of the viewer to know “what the f is really happening here”. And when one, and then both brothers set out to try to figure that out, you get the true strangeness of the third reel. A dude who is living in a shanty, with his doppelganger hanging from a noose; a drug addict chained to the wall of his house, trying to get sober (an apparent homage to an earlier film, “Resolution”), and a character described in the credits as just a “late eighteenth century man” is running into the wall of his tent, over and over again as the old timey clock in a post keeps resetting and running for the same ten seconds.And that is not even the weird part. If you want to know more, please, please watch “The Endless”. It is available on Amazon Prime Video for a nominal rental fee – which the film-makers deserve, by the way, for squeezing so much creativity into 111 minutes.

For anyone who thinks that there's nothing new under the sun, allow me to direct your attention to "The Endless" -- one of the most genuinely original multi-genre movies in recent memory.In this mind-bender, a decade after two brothers escape a death cult, they receive a cryptic message that inspires them (one brother more inspired than the other) to return to their former "home," seeking some form of closure. What they find, however, turns out to be far more mysterious than either of them could have imagined. To say any more would be to spoil much of the film's mystique, but suffice it to say, this is a drama, a mystery, a horror movie with sci-fi elements (or a sci-fi movie with horror elements, if you like), and more.Going in, I wasn't expecting much, but even if I had been, this film would have exceeded those expectations. Wisely using the relationship between the brothers (believably played by filmmakers Aaron Moorehead and Justin Benson), the story unfolds at a sometimes slow, but never dull pace, as various pieces of the bigger puzzle are revealed to the characters, threatening their reality -- and their lives -- the deeper they search.I don't want to oversell this as taste, including taste in movies, is subjective, but this movie is truly unlike anything I've ever seen before, well directed and acted, full of ideas that help it overcome its relatively small budget, and it holds up well upon a rewatch (I've watched it three times so far and will be watching it again with friends). It's the kind of movie that presents esoteric ideas without being pretentious (like so many "big idea" movies can be), and is an excellent movie to discuss long after the credits roll.Good extras on the blu ray, as well, including an informative audio commentary from the directors, behind the scenes features, deleted scenes, VFX breakdowns (not my thing, but some people probably like those), trailers and more.If you've had your fill of Hollywood assembly-line action, cartoon, superhero, etc. movies and are in the mood for something different in the best possible way, definitely try "The Endless." Even if you're NOT tired of all those other movies, you need to watch this film, if only to be reminded that there are still creators out there who don't need the backing of a huge studio to create well-told, authentic entertainment. Highly recommended!

I kind of like this movie. Even though it's low budget the acting is not that bad. Not too exciting, but the bits of humor, the character building and mystery has gotten me to watch it a few times. This movie raises more questions than answers, which is what it was designed to do. After all, it's concept is the unknown, not the known.

Interesting Movie, not the same ole same oleKeeps ya watchinWorth a watch

Great

This film begins with a relatively slow moving initial 5 -10 minutes but this is only to establish the characters, 2 brothers, and their intentions behind their return to an obscure UFO cult. Once this introduction has been completed the plot begins to expand quite quickly but at no point does it move too quickly to follow the plot. I will not spoil the plot for you as I believe that you will reach a point where you begin to understand what is happening. However, this realisation is so well plotted by the directors that you will probably not get beyond the plot nor the tension and outcome. This is a film that I am happy to recommend in the knowledge that after a suitable time I will enjoy watching it again and then again. I hope and expect that you too will be pleased to have purchased such a good reason for sitting in front of your TV.

Un des meilleurs films de genre,du moment.Je l'avais vu,une premiere fois,sur le net.L'image du telechargement n'était pas terrible,mais le film excellent.Alors j'en ai profité,lors d'un avoir,sur amazon,pour commander le blu-ray.JJe doit avouer que j'ai bien mieux compris le film,la deuxième fois.J'ai un peu de mal à comprendre,tous ces mauvaises évaluations.l'on ne s'ennui à aucun moment des 1h54 du film.Il s'agit d'un mélange de fantastique et de science-fiction.Si l'on aiment les films bizarre..on en a pour son argent.Et ce n'est que le second long métrage des deux réalisateurs.Perso.J'aimerai voir des films,tel que celui-ci,plus souvent.

Der Film ist wirklich gut, wenn man diese Art von Film mag. Die vielen schlechten Bewertungen kommen wohl von Menschen, die nicht auf diese Art Film gefasst waren. Ein Problem ist wohl der Trailer, der einen actionreichen Horrorfilm verspricht. Das ist "The Endless" nicht.Normalerweise mache ich mir nicht die Mühe, eine Bewertung zu verfassen, denn ganz ehrlich: Wenn interessiert schon deine Meinung? Aber hier ist ein wirklich guter Film und der hat zu Unrecht viele negative Kritiken bekommen. Ich schätze mal, weil es die falschen Zuschauer waren. Also für wen ist nun der "The Endless" gedacht?Um besser einschätzen zu können, ob man "The Endless" schauen möchte, hier eine Spoiler-freie Charakterisierung.- ruhig erzählt, die Spannung baut sich langsam durch die Geschichte auf- der Film beginnt mit vielen Fragezeichen, die sich erst nach und nach im Verlauf klären- eine schöne Bildsprache, aber man darf kein großes Effektgewitter erwarten- Ich würde den Film dem Cosmic Horror zu schreiben. Es wird keine Horror oder Jumpscare gezeigt. Stattdessen entsteht das Grauen im Kopf des Zuschauers. Vor allem durch die präsentierte Situation und das Unbekannte/Unbegreifliche. (Das Genre des Cosmic Horrors wird im übrigen H.P. Lovecraft zugeschrieben. Dieser wird nicht nur am Anfang zitiert sondern im Film selber auch genannt. Die Macher wollten also augenscheinlich tatsächlich einen Film in diesem Sinne produzieren.)Ich persönlich habe den Film sehr gespannt bis zum Ende geschaut und habe danach über diese Situation noch nachdenken müssen. Etwas, das ein 08/15 Monster-Killer-Jumpscare-Splatter-Effektgewitter-Horrorfilm nicht schafft.Und das sollte man vielleicht bedenken, damit man nicht enttäuscht wird.

Co-directors, also co-stars Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead deliver a winner which is a budget production but has a great premise to keep interest levels high. They play two brothers who left a supposed cult 10 years previously but come back to try to come to terms with their experiences and get some closure. The film runs for 111 minutes which could have been too long if not placed in such capable hands. It won't satisfy everyone but it is the type of production which is a bit different to other science fiction films on offer.