I appreciate the approach The Endless takes toward cosmic horror. The elements of mystery and "something's not quite right" resonate well especially in the middle. Dang this thing drags though, and only gets to be more of a head scratcher as the narrative unravels.
You could probably write off most of the plot holes as part of the mysterious horror, but the really bad (drunk DnD table improv level) dialogue suggests that maybe the writers didn't have grand intentions behind the confusing plot points.
By the makers of Spring, The Endless has a very intriguing premise - two brothers who once escaped from a UFO death cult (if it is that) return to see old friends off after receiving a message from them about the upcoming ascension. If it sounds like a bad idea, well, the younger brother hasn't actually found a way to fit in with the real world, and he's curious about what he's missing out on. The characters are universally interesting, and the commune itself and its rituals may relate to an actual supernatural or science fiction premise. Lovecraft is rightly quoted at the top of the film. When the characters get lost in the temporal anomalies peppered across the area, however, I think the film gets a little lost too. In fact, The Endless intersects another Moorehead/Benson film from five years prior - Resolution - as a means of partial explanation (it really isn't). As part of the larger universe, I'm not sure what to make of it. No matter which film you see first, it will spoil the other's mysteries. Revisiting Resolution might be fun for those who see them in chronological order, but it still stops the film in its tracks. Are we to think the other "pockets" of activity introduced here will get their own features down the road? By itself, I do like how each encounter, a diversion though it may be, has something to say about isolation, the reasons why any given person would feel isolated or choose isolation, through the metaphor of the time bubble. But its meandering second half does seem to squander that great opening premise.
Don't fall for the weird high rating, this movie was complete nonsense, even for a movie about time loops. And the acting was really below par too. Still have to see the first good Benson & Moorhead but the critics seem to love them for some reason.
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Eve-Lang-El-Coup
Don't read Siskoids' comment if you haven't seen the film.lawbat
I enjoyed it. Very original.moldypoldy
shot with an instagram filter.mcmakattack
Hooptober XDirectors: Moorhead & Benson
I appreciate the approach The Endless takes toward cosmic horror. The elements of mystery and "something's not quite right" resonate well especially in the middle. Dang this thing drags though, and only gets to be more of a head scratcher as the narrative unravels.
You could probably write off most of the plot holes as part of the mysterious horror, but the really bad (drunk DnD table improv level) dialogue suggests that maybe the writers didn't have grand intentions behind the confusing plot points.
Siskoid
By the makers of Spring, The Endless has a very intriguing premise - two brothers who once escaped from a UFO death cult (if it is that) return to see old friends off after receiving a message from them about the upcoming ascension. If it sounds like a bad idea, well, the younger brother hasn't actually found a way to fit in with the real world, and he's curious about what he's missing out on. The characters are universally interesting, and the commune itself and its rituals may relate to an actual supernatural or science fiction premise. Lovecraft is rightly quoted at the top of the film. When the characters get lost in the temporal anomalies peppered across the area, however, I think the film gets a little lost too. In fact, The Endless intersects another Moorehead/Benson film from five years prior - Resolution - as a means of partial explanation (it really isn't). As part of the larger universe, I'm not sure what to make of it. No matter which film you see first, it will spoil the other's mysteries. Revisiting Resolution might be fun for those who see them in chronological order, but it still stops the film in its tracks. Are we to think the other "pockets" of activity introduced here will get their own features down the road? By itself, I do like how each encounter, a diversion though it may be, has something to say about isolation, the reasons why any given person would feel isolated or choose isolation, through the metaphor of the time bubble. But its meandering second half does seem to squander that great opening premise.kurisu1974
Don't fall for the weird high rating, this movie was complete nonsense, even for a movie about time loops. And the acting was really below par too. Still have to see the first good Benson & Moorhead but the critics seem to love them for some reason.