“The road goes on forever” is maybe less of a party than it seems.
One of the joys of festival hopping is discovering new talent, innovative voices that capture your attention. It is equally exciting to get to spread the word about them. Thus the fact my first film of this year’s SXSW was It Ends, the debut film from writer-director Alexander Ullom, was delightful. Because it not only features the eye of a promising auteur, but also a young cast brimming with talent.
Four college friends decide to go one last trip before their lives splinter off. But as they attempt to get away to their lives as reluctant adults, they find themselves on a secluded road that seems to have no end. When they attempt to U-turn their way back the way they came, they find themselves trapped at a dead end. And when they try to leave their car? Crazed people emerge from the woods that surround them, desperately attempting to get in their car.
Thus we join them on the road, a seemingly unending journey. Eventually they also realize other strange circumstances. They never grow hungry. Their car can’t run out of gas. They don’t need to sleep. Are they dead? Are they being punished? Why would God allow this? Is there a God? These are all the questions that the passengers ask themselves. But also, who would win: a man with a gun, or 50 hawks? You know, the important questions of life.
The contrast of these tones, a nightmarish trap that is the backdrop for a road trip hang movie, makes for a contrast that immediately feels fresh. Imagine if 90s Linklater made a post-apocalyptic zombie movie and you are approaching the vibe. This is a road trip movie, but the destination is unknown and unreachable.
Perhaps the greatest tool Ullom has at his disposal is the great cast he has assembled for himself. While this is not any of their first film, Mitchell Cole, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, and Phineas Yoon exhibit such naturalistic chemistry you fully buy their longstanding friendship. And with only four actors to lean on, the pressure is put on each of their shoulders. But the cast, lifted by a breezy and confident script, create a naturalistic space to explore the supernatural. Each actor takes moments for being the lead, others to play support, but with both the confines and structure, their assemblage is the central concern.
Which is where the central metaphor for It Ends lies. The journey before us is unknowable, unseeable. But the passengers we carry along side us define the journey. Viewers who are seeking concrete answers may leave the film disappointed, but the central purpose for this journey is to recognize how important what, and who, you bring along with you truly is.
Genre-rise, It Ends is tricky to pin down. It is nominally a horrific scenario to consider, but the heart of the film isn’t in the tension. Rather, it is in the connection, the human experience. The end result is a piece that feels singular and somewhat outside easy classification. While it lacks some degree of flash, partially due to being put together on a shoestring budget, it uses its setting of seemingly endless tree-lined streets to good effect. It is a deeply thoughtful, spiritual film about the odd circumstances of life, eternity and whatever might come after.
