Writer/director Alexander Ullom’s “It Ends” begins with a carload of four people on a road trip to a gathering in the woods.
Along the way, conversations and ideas are exchanged, but the driver realizes that the specifics of the journey aren’t making any sense: parts of the road are blocked, and other routes lead them back to where they started.
Parking the vehicle and trying to figure things out only makes things so much worse.
The dilemma presented is – do they just keep driving, searching for a solution to this bizarre scenario, or do they go until all hope is gone and finally just leave the vehicle and wander off into the woods?
Ullom’s existential thriller is slight but fascinating. The first act is dialogue-heavy but engaging enough to build rooting interest before the whole thing becomes unceasingly nightmarish. This plays like an extended episode of “The Twilight Zone” and explores its wild concept with far more depth than the just-out and pointless “The End of Oak Street.”
The timing is perfect, as Ullom’s film makes this a trilogy with the recent “Backrooms” and “Exit 8,” in that it’s about exploring/escaping an environment that’s familiar but endless.
Well-acted by the four leads (Mitchell Cole, Noah Toth, Akira Jackson and Phinehas Yoon), the set up works and so does the way the threat is handled. Literal pit stops that allow the characters and the audience a momentary break are a welcome touch and feel like real human moments and not a contrivance.
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The intriguing aspect of Ullom’s screenplay is how far it takes the story, allowing for plausible, loaded character beats that take as much importance and focus as the escalation of the surreal concept. Simply put, we care about the characters and not just the exotic scenario they’re struggling to grasp.
“It Ends” is not quite as haunting as the similarly small but chilling “Coherence” (2013) but both films succeed at taking a low-key approach to high-concept sci-fi.
Ullom’s film is a worthwhile, if obvious, update of Sartre’s 1944 play “No Exit” and especially impressive in the way it never feels stagey or claustrophobic, despite most of it taking place inside a car’s exterior. Ullom avoids having the film come across as pretentious by having the journey defined by personal self-discovery and not a build up to a Shyamalan-esque twist and overarching moral.
“It Ends” is worth seeing in the theater, preferably with a chatty group of friends to discuss it with afterwards. The post-screening reaction in my theater was pretty strong with both negative and positive reactions.
Online reaction seems to fluctuate between “It Ends is Brilliant!” or simply “It Sucks!”
As Neon unleashes It Ends in US theaters, writer-director Alexander Ullom reflects with Isaac Feldberg on his buzzy thriller’s scenic route to release and optimism in the face of nihilism. https://t.co/IN7oK8Jf56 pic.twitter.com/90tYLOshnX
— Letterboxd (@letterboxd) August 20, 2026
When any film creates a reaction that strong, I’m immediately curious and on board to give it a try. “It Ends” left me thinking about the thought-provoking concepts of what a life well spent means, as well as how monstrously frustrating it is to get lost and feel like the right direction is nowhere to be found.
If you, dear reader, are willing to let this film dazzle and baffle you in equal measure, than by all means, take the ride.
Three Stars (out of four)
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