Alex Ullom’s feature debut It Ends opens by exploring what happens to people when they’re stuck on a road that never seems to end. Do they lose their minds? Give in to despair? Accounting for the logistical concern of things like gas refills and food stops, its characters soldier forth into the unknown during this thought experiment, seeing how they rally together or come apart at the seams. It’s a strong, terror-inducing premise, but after a while, both the characters and the audience are left with a more pressing question: Are we there yet?
It Ends follows a car full of longtime friends—Day (Akira Jackson), Fisher (Noah Toth), and James (Phinehas Yoon)—reuniting with their former classmate, Tyler (Mitchell Cole). As they pass the time catching up and asking each other hypotheticals, Tyler thinks they may have missed a turn. They go back, only to find that the road they were on has changed. As he gets out to inspect the impossible scenario, swarms of people rush towards the car, even hurting Fisher in the process. The four friends are fortunate enough to get away, but the road continues to go on and on, and their old turn is nowhere to be seen. They’ve fallen into a liminal space with no real escape. Now they have to decide how to spend their time in this new reality where the car runs forever, they don’t need food, and they can’t stop for long or the hordes will attack.
Writer and director Ullom, along with directors of photography Jazleana Jones and Evan Draper, make the most of the story’s limitations. The film is confined mostly to a Jeep Cherokee; the dark, foreboding trees outside pass the car windows like blurry walls, keeping the group on the road except for short breaks. In daylight, the natural scenery looks inviting, yet as the kids discover, it’s dangerous to venture too far away from the car or turn it off, lest it not turn on again.
Inside, the car becomes more and more like the Lost Boys’ camp in Peter Pan, with jokes written on the seats and their things strewn about as they settle in for the neverending haul. By removing the practical variables that would have derailed this trip before it began, Ullom explores how these different characters might respond to the news, or how they would react to changes in their environment. After some time on the road, Day and Fisher build a schedule that includes built-in time to scream and talk through issues that arise. Whenever some detail changes—like a rainstorm after days and weeks of nothing but clear skies—James reacts in a big way. Each sign could mean they’re getting closer to escape.
It Ends is like a bloated episode of The Twilight Zone. Its premise is shocking at first, but it’s an excuse to explore the group’s dynamics and how they handle grief. Tyler chose a different path from his college-bound classmates and harbors some resentment around how his life has played out, Day struggled with suicidal ideation, and James cannot accept that the once-promising life he led is potentially over. While the mystery of the unnamed hordes is never quite answered, the group reasons that the strangers are their unlucky fellow travelers who’ve also lost their way. When Tyler ties one to a tree for questioning, his temporary hostage can’t answer any questions, only beg for help.
The group figures out it takes 90 seconds for the swarms to come out of the forests, so in short bursts, they try exploring the endless woods for answers. They debate whether this is some kind of purgatory or curse; maybe they’re dead now, and that’s why they’re never hungry and no longer need sleep. They are in an existential trap with no exit, channeling the same fear and frustration of inescapable places seen in this year’s Exit 8 and Backrooms. The monotony wears on its characters (as it wears on the audience’s patience), and after the movie drops its horror-movie aspirations after the first act, the suspense of how these characters will—or won’t—survive only momentarily sustains the rest of the movie.
Once the new normal sets in for It Ends’ survivors, the plot becomes stretched thin. The banter turns to bickering, which reflects the hypothetical car-ride questions they asked themselves in the film’s opening. During the car trip that never ends, would you rather lay down and stop fighting? Would you find new ways to entertain yourself? Or would you forever sally forth in the hopes of finding the end of the road? These questions pass the time, but with its limited scope, It Ends feels more like a pit stop than a feature-length destination.
Director: Alex Ullom
Writers: Alex Ullom
Starring: Mitchell Cole, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, Phinehas Yoon
Release Date: August 21, 2026
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