I saw the trailer for The Endless at some
point last year and it stuck with me. It stuck with me in a pretty perfect way,
given the content of the movie. I must've seen the trailer some time in 2017,
when it was first released. Or maybe it wasn't until 2018. I think the title
changed at some point. I didn't remember the old name or know of the new name
for a while. I only knew of it as "that cult movie with the girl with the
yellow scarf". That made it hard to search for. Before it showed up on
Netflix, you could've told me that the trailer was one that I saw in 2012 and
forgot about and I would've believed you. It existed weirdly out of time.
I won't get into as much detail about this movie as
I'd like. Instead, I'd like to give a warning. When I saw this movie, I was a
couple drinks in that night and was deciding between watching this or going to
sleep. The Endless is not that kind of movie. It's more along the lines
of Primer. It's has some supernatural, pseudo-scientific elements that
need an alert mind. And even still you probably won't come away with a perfect
understanding. That's not meant to scare you away though. Just a warning about
how to best enjoy it. This is a fun little movie. The performances are tailored
to the kind of movie it is. It's more about the puzzle than jump scares. In
fact, calling it horror at all is misleading. "Mind-bending SciFi with
some menace" is more fitting.
It's by no means a
perfect movie. The budget limitations are real. The actors, including
writers/directors/stars Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson are limited in the way
indie-horror fans have come to expect*. It's a fun movie to unpack though. It's
a similar thrill to watching something like Primer, The One I Love,
or even a Charlie Kaufman movie.
*To be clear, they
are way better than actors in a cheesy slasher movie, but if you told me these
actors never worked again, I wouldn't be shocked.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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