I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into with this group of films. They’ve been on my watchlist for some time and I was reliably informed they were cosmic horror gems. I will say I’m pleased I waited until I watched three of them to get my thoughts down as the context of its half-sequels is invaluable to understanding this first one. By itself, this is probably a three star film. An over ambitious but wonderfully intentional micro-budget horror that impresses more for its make-do attitude than it’s actually content.
Pulling back, with the context of the proceeding two films, it reveals itself as an interesting slice of the jigsaw puzzle. The thinly drawn mysticism and seemingly random plot elements are satisfyingly (to my mind anyway) addressed in The Endless, the setups with no pay off are indeed paid off. You can also appreciate its intent a little better. It’s thin on genuine scares and marketing it as a pure horror would be disingenuous. What it actually is is a tight, actually very funny, little thriller. Its cosmic horror undertones and explicit finale are more than enough to justify the unanswered questions and, as an introduction to this world, it’s a lot of fun.
I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into with this group of films. They’ve been on my watchlist for some time and I was reliably informed they were cosmic horror gems. I will say I’m pleased I waited until I watched three of them to get my thoughts down as the context of its half-sequels is invaluable to understanding this first one. By itself, this is probably a three star film. An over ambitious but wonderfully intentional micro-budget horror that impresses more for its make-do attitude than it’s actually content.
Pulling back, with the context of the proceeding two films, it reveals itself as an interesting slice of the jigsaw puzzle. The thinly drawn mysticism and seemingly random plot elements are satisfyingly (to my mind anyway) addressed in The Endless, the setups with no pay off are indeed paid off. You can also appreciate its intent a little better. It’s thin on genuine scares and marketing it as a pure horror would be disingenuous. What it actually is is a tight, actually very funny, little thriller. Its cosmic horror undertones and explicit finale are more than enough to justify the unanswered questions and, as an introduction to this world, it’s a lot of fun.