THE ENDLESS
Like other notable ‘low-budget, big concept’ filmmakers such as Shane Carruth (Primer) and Darren Aronofsky (with his maiden feature Pi), Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s latest feature fleshes out the concepts behind their previous short film Resolution as a jumping off point for this latest feature.
It’s no mean feat to tackle science fiction elements as well as Lovecraftian cosmic horror and familial dramatic tension. So, wearing as many hats as possible, (Aaron Moorhead also serves as Director of Photography) the two co-directors also star as brothers, bonded by the experience of growing up in a cult.
They now make new lives for themselves out in the world yet younger sibling Justin (Justin Benson) longs for the simplicity and structure that the commune had offered, while his older brother Aaron (Aaron Moorhead) is motivated to move on with his life and put the cult behind them. Aaron constantly reminds his younger brother of the weird rituals and bizarre beliefs of what he calls the ‘UFO suicide cult’. Eventually though, after much discussion, Aaron decides to accompany his brother for a one-day visit, with the hope that it’ll provide some closure, maybe for both of them.
At first, the camp compound set in the Southern Californian hills, appears placid and easy-going. Group leader Hal (Tate Ellington) re-introduces the brothers to the group; he shows them the craft beer the group manufactures for sale to the outside world and reintroduces Justin to his teen crush, Anna (Callie Hernandez). While the complicated relationship dynamics unwind, the cryptic utterances of the group spark Aaron’s paranoia: allusions to an entity that watches them from above, that controls the environment and its image-based communication with them, in the form of photos and the references to an ultimate ‘ascension’ that awaits them all in a few days time.
The growing sense of anxiety intensifies as Aaron attempts to discover the cause of apparent ‘time loops’ and mirrored pockets of reality scattered around the region that obscure areas in the hills, areas where other people seem to be similarly trapped.
Brimming with science fiction concepts, cosmic horror and brooding dread, The Endless excels at creating something akin to a ‘blockbuster of the mind’. The budgetary restraint ensures that there’s little reliance on digital effects but what effects there are, sell this gripping tale and show that Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead could do serious damage with a decent budget.
This is the kind of film that inspires young filmmakers, showing how a smart script and a camera lens’s gaze relying more on suggestion and misdirection, can create horror and science fiction as impactful and engaging as anything out there.