Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are an indie-cinema dream-team, and with The Endless have created a movie taking on the big studio efforts created on much bigger budgets.
Between them the duo have played a part in almost every aspect of putting together The Endless, starring as the leads, directing, writing, editing and producing, proving that they are a cinematic team who should be top of the Hollywood hiring list.
Initially, the plot seems relatively straightforward. Two brothers decide to return to the UFO death cult they escaped a decade earlier after receiving a mysterious video message. Hoping to gain closure on that part of their life they discover sinister preparations for an unnamed event.
While the story does lead to the inevitable battle for the brothers to escape alive, the way it unfolds is anything but predictable. Supernatural elements are soon introduced as The Endless journey’s through multiple genres sci-fi, psychological thriller and sinister horror never settling on either but also never losing site of the key narrative thread.
A thought-provoking existential question regarding the nature of life also adds serious depth to a concept that could have offered very little than simple thrills.
To explain too many aspects of the plot would be to give away too much and ruin the myriad surprises that unfold throughout. The Endless is one of the freshest takes on the sci-fi genre in recent years.
Lush cinematography and well-paced editing allows the excellent script to unfold and the characters narratives to breath. Solid performances across the board, especially from the lead duo, who create a touching and very real sibling relationship on screen, set this apart from many smaller efforts in this genre.
The Endless is a career-boosting movie for Benson and Moorhead that should set them en route to becoming household names. Watch it.
The Endless was screened as part of Derby Film Festival.
