It Ends
**Seen at the 2025 Atlanta Film Festival
It apparently took the makers of “It Ends” six years to complete their film. As someone who attempted multi-year shoots on a project, I respect their commitment to the story they told. I did not stay for the Q&A that might have shed light on the process, and honestly, I’m glad I made the choice. Alexander Ullom’s film is best as an experiential piece of filmmaking, not one where the secrets are known.
Four friends are going for a drive after they’ve finished college. It seems as though they were going camping, but ultimately they are driving, busting each other’s balls (figuratively speaking), and enjoying each other’s company. After the driver (Noah Toth) has to make a sudden stop, the four get back on the road, only for the road to not appear to end. Maybe it’s just longer than they expected, but what if it’s something else? One thing’s for sure- they don’t seem to be running low on gas anytime soon.
Ullom has set up his film as a thriller, but there’s not much in the way of antagonists in this film. Yes, the quartet (played by Toth, Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson and Mitchell Cole) do have to run away from threats in the forest on either side of them, but once they are back in the care and driving, they are safe. Safety, however, is relative in “It Ends,” as- the longer they drive- the bleaker their situation feels. The way Ullom has shot the film the tension that escalates both between the characters, and in the situation, is palpable. There’s nothing stylistically compelling about the filmmaking here; it feels all too…normal. That’s part of what makes “It Ends” so unsettling- there’s almost nothing that is out of the ordinary here. It just seems like a normal location.
A film I found myself thinking about with this was “Blair Witch.” Not the original, but Adam Wingard’s 2016 legacy sequel. It operated in a similar fashion, where modern technology was not really useful, and each moment where they’re lost turns the knife a bit further. That one definitely played more into the supernatural than “It Ends” does, but the uselessness of modern technology against nature, no matter how unnatural it operates, is where the film really challenges its characters. Each one reaches a breaking point, and it’s interesting to see what does it for all of them. When the final point does come, it’s almost a cosmic joke, and the character can think of only one thing left to do. I’ll leave the film to show you what that
