Endless Love

When Netflix recommended The Endless (2018), I was intrigued and concerned. It looked like one of those metaphysical horror movies, like maybe a darker John Dies at the End. But how dark, I wondered?

The movie stars (and was written, produced, and directed by) Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. They play brothers who make a tenuous living cleaning houses. One day, Aaron gets a package containing an old video tape. It’s a tape of a young woman (Callie Hernandez) saying, if you came to the camp and there’s nobody there, it’s the Ascension, and they’ll be back soon.

It turns out that Justin and Aaron were members of a cult, the one who sent the tape. Older brother Justin thought it was a suicide cult and pulled his brother out and ran away. Since then, they’ve been living dull, meaningless, friendless, lives with little money for more than ramen and a car with a dodgy battery. Aaron remembers the cult as a nice place, with friendly people and good food. And the tape proves that they haven’t suicided yet. So he convinces Justin to go visit them, just for old times sake.

The place does seem pretty wholesome. The people are warm, a little weird but harmless. They take in damaged people and treat them well. Like Kira Powell, who had been living with a tweeker gun nut. They brew beer for cash, and make a good living. They play cult games like tug of war with the sky (a guy in the dark shadows on a ladder is on the other end). So Aaron is feeling pretty good about sticking around, and Justin agrees.

But strange little things start happening. They see two moons in the sky -  one of the cultists says it’s just an optical illusion, but the legend says when there are three moons, the Ascension will begin. But the main minor miracle is the appearance of impossible photos or videos. In one scene, Justin dives to  the bottom of a lake and pulls up a locked box. When they open the box, there’s a Polaroid of Justin and Aaron in the boat - taken only seconds ago. Also, there’s a monster in the lake.

So, Justin isn’t having a great time. He’s freaked and wants to leave. Aaron is settling in, enjoying the good food and companionship. When Justin can’t get the car started, he tries to walk out, and there he encounters some of the neighbors. Including the tweeker gun nut and his buddy, who are the main characters in a previous film of Benson and Moorhead, Resolution (I should have watched this one first, but it looks a little grim. Maybe). And he finds out the horrible secret behind the cult.

Which I won’t reveal. I’m not sure it’s actually that great. The first part is best - the tension between Justin’s fear of a suicide cult and Aaron’s acceptance of and into an alternative community. But of course, there has to be something going on. Just because it isn’t the coolest thing ever doesn’t mean we didn’t like this.

Two more things. One: This is almost a comedy - at least it has a lot of comedy in it, especially the the tweeker gun nut part. Two: It was made very cheaply (which is why the producer/directors play the leads). The special effects are simple (and all practical?), which makes them almost scarier than something bigger might be. The crane shots are actually drone shots, and so on. Good for these guys. I look forward to Resolution and many more.