The EndlessThe past is a vortex that wants to trap you in its cold embrace of nostalgia and complacency. The Endless is a science fiction and psychological horror film about two brothers--Aaron (Aaron Moorhead) and Justin (Justin Benson)--who escaped from a "UFO death cult" ten years prior, only to end up trapped in another kind of prison in the form of poverty and social isolation. When Aaron receives a VHS tape ostensibly from Anna (Callie Hernandez), a member of Camp Arcadia (their former community), he convinces Justin to temporarily reunite with their erstwhile "family". But their warm welcome is filled with ominous portent, and the brothers soon discover a buried truth lurking beneath the camp.
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The Endless fleshes out its world largely through what is unseen or implied, be it a strange shape lurking beneath a lake, or mysterious Polaroids that seem to predict the future. It is unclear just how Aaron and Justin escaped from Camp Arcadia; the audience has little more than a couple of brief clips of what looks like news footage of the brothers--looking slightly younger--describing their previous home as a cult. They receive "deprogramming" therapy, but their lives are hardly comfortable. Deprived of the skills needed to acclimate to society, they get by cleaning houses and cooking ramen on their clients' stoves. (It is implied that they are living in their van, which is on the verge of being repossessed.) Despite Justin's protests that Aaron "doesn't remember" how scary life was at the camp, he goes along with Aaron's suggestion to return anyway. Aaron recalls only pleasant memories of being well-fed and welcomed there. He also carries a torch for Anna, so the scuffed up VHS tape he receives with her longingly wishing to see them again before their "ascension" tugs at his heart strings. The Endless opens with a pair of quotes--one by H.P. Lovecraft to set a tone of ominous cosmic horror, and another by an unknown party, which intimates that brothers often conceal their affection for one another. Justin evidently sees himself as Aaron's "protector", but Aaron sees his brother as stubborn and misguided, and these feelings of frustration bleeds over into their adventure. They disagree, quarrel, and even snipe at each other; but brothers are known to do this. Both of them were made orphans on the outskirts of the camp when their mother died in a car crash. As a loquacious and kindly camp member named Hal (Tate Ellington) recalls, the boys were saved by the camp, making their exodus emotionally difficult for the surviving members. But when the now grown brothers return, the place feels less like Jonestown than a Northwest hipster commune. Members of the group like Tim (Lew Temple) brews his own hefeweizen, Anna designs clothes, and newcomer Lizzy (Kira Powell)--formerly a patient from a mental institution--draws art for the camp. Yet despite the down-to-earth warmth and open arms, a persistent sense of unease rests on each scene.
Hal comes across as the "leader" of the group, but when confronted he counters that there actually is no leader; he just talks more than the rest. Yet everything he says has a kind of silky serenity paired with the potential for danger. After Justin witnesses a phenomenon where a double moon appears in the sky, Hal suggests that he seek his answers at the bottom of a lake--a clue that seem designed to keep him and Aaron at the camp for just "one more night". Aaron hardly needs coaxing to stay longer, and he is always the one to put it to Justin that they should stay longer than their initially agreed upon period of just one night. Aaron feels a sense of comfort and belonging that we all need here, but this attitude speaks to what people fail to realize about why people remain in toxic relationships. It's easy to look at The Endless and conclude that Aaron and Justin must be foolish to invite danger by returning to the cult. But those who identify with the sense of belonging that comes from being welcomed when you never feel welcomed anywhere else will know how seductive this draw can be. After all, what's the harm in sacrificing of one or two freedoms or creature comforts to have that? The Endless layers on moments designed to ramp up the paranoia. When Aaron and Justin arrive at the camp, the first person they see is a man in a white button-up shirt and fanny pack beaming a huge smile at them. They are later informed that this is "Smiling Dave" (David Lawson Jr), who became brain damaged after a failed attempt at self-trepanation. Tim is often seen guarding a shed--one that is also kept under lock and key via a massive padlock. Certainly the audience doesn't believe him when he tells the brothers that what's inside is "boating equipment". Anna is in a relationship with another camp member named Shane (Shane Williams), whose "talent" is that he performs magic tricks, including one involving a baseball that defies the laws of physics...which only deepens the mysteries of Camp Arcadia.
The Endless resembles other psychological horror films where "normal" people are exposed to an isolated community that seems self-sufficient despite their eccentric principles, yet hides a dark secret. These include older classics like The Wicker Man to more modern classics like Midsommar and The Sacrament. Cults and secretive communities always present ample opportunities to depict macabre or bizarre scenes in broad daylight, shocking the audience as the protagonists are shocked. The Endless is more reserved in how it establishes Camp Arcadia as a threat, by portraying the protagonists as being overly suspicious of their hosts intentions. The denizens of Camp Arcadia give Justin and Aaron the warmest of greetings, so they would be forgiven to find that they had misjudged them all this time. But after Justin encounters a surly outlier of the community named Carl (James Jordan), the real twist in and around Camp Arcadia becomes clear. Suddenly, seemingly inconsequential details from earlier take on greater significance, emphasizing a larger theme of The Endless, where escaping the past demands taking risks and accepting the responsibility for your own failures. The closing lines of the film speak to this, and underscore how relationships between family and friends can flourish when people face the traumas of their past head on.
Recommended for: Fans of a real slow burn of a psychological thriller that gradually peppers in aspects of science fiction and horror with patience and confidence. Despite a few moments of foul language and sudden violence, The Silence is a very accessible horror movie that defies the temptation to yield to genre tropes in favor of slinking its way into your mind to ramp up your anxiety.
Hal comes across as the "leader" of the group, but when confronted he counters that there actually is no leader; he just talks more than the rest. Yet everything he says has a kind of silky serenity paired with the potential for danger. After Justin witnesses a phenomenon where a double moon appears in the sky, Hal suggests that he seek his answers at the bottom of a lake--a clue that seem designed to keep him and Aaron at the camp for just "one more night". Aaron hardly needs coaxing to stay longer, and he is always the one to put it to Justin that they should stay longer than their initially agreed upon period of just one night. Aaron feels a sense of comfort and belonging that we all need here, but this attitude speaks to what people fail to realize about why people remain in toxic relationships. It's easy to look at The Endless and conclude that Aaron and Justin must be foolish to invite danger by returning to the cult. But those who identify with the sense of belonging that comes from being welcomed when you never feel welcomed anywhere else will know how seductive this draw can be. After all, what's the harm in sacrificing of one or two freedoms or creature comforts to have that? The Endless layers on moments designed to ramp up the paranoia. When Aaron and Justin arrive at the camp, the first person they see is a man in a white button-up shirt and fanny pack beaming a huge smile at them. They are later informed that this is "Smiling Dave" (David Lawson Jr), who became brain damaged after a failed attempt at self-trepanation. Tim is often seen guarding a shed--one that is also kept under lock and key via a massive padlock. Certainly the audience doesn't believe him when he tells the brothers that what's inside is "boating equipment". Anna is in a relationship with another camp member named Shane (Shane Williams), whose "talent" is that he performs magic tricks, including one involving a baseball that defies the laws of physics...which only deepens the mysteries of Camp Arcadia.
The Endless resembles other psychological horror films where "normal" people are exposed to an isolated community that seems self-sufficient despite their eccentric principles, yet hides a dark secret. These include older classics like The Wicker Man to more modern classics like Midsommar and The Sacrament. Cults and secretive communities always present ample opportunities to depict macabre or bizarre scenes in broad daylight, shocking the audience as the protagonists are shocked. The Endless is more reserved in how it establishes Camp Arcadia as a threat, by portraying the protagonists as being overly suspicious of their hosts intentions. The denizens of Camp Arcadia give Justin and Aaron the warmest of greetings, so they would be forgiven to find that they had misjudged them all this time. But after Justin encounters a surly outlier of the community named Carl (James Jordan), the real twist in and around Camp Arcadia becomes clear. Suddenly, seemingly inconsequential details from earlier take on greater significance, emphasizing a larger theme of The Endless, where escaping the past demands taking risks and accepting the responsibility for your own failures. The closing lines of the film speak to this, and underscore how relationships between family and friends can flourish when people face the traumas of their past head on.
Recommended for: Fans of a real slow burn of a psychological thriller that gradually peppers in aspects of science fiction and horror with patience and confidence. Despite a few moments of foul language and sudden violence, The Silence is a very accessible horror movie that defies the temptation to yield to genre tropes in favor of slinking its way into your mind to ramp up your anxiety.