‘It Ends’ (2025)

Set almost entirely within the confines of a Jeep Cherokee, the foursome of friends – Day (Akira Jackson), Fisher (Noah Toth), Tyler (Mitchell Cole) and James (Phinehas Yoon) – set out to grab some food after getting together to help James and Fisher move. Not having seen Tyler for a year and with the rest of the group having just graduated, the friends find themselves driving down a seemingly endless forest road.

With no frills, excessive set designs or seemingly any digitally altered imagery, ‘It Ends’ swiftly establishes its premise. The four friends set out on a road that seems to stretch on forever. With no turn-off points or other traffic on the road, the friends learn that after they stop, the car will get mobbed by people running towards them from the woods, shouting for help. Learning that they have a 90-second window before the people reach them when parked, the group try to understand how and why they are on the road.

As they don’t get tired, feel hungry or run out of gas, the individuals take turns driving the car. Initially overwhelmed, Fisher suffers panic attacks and James analyses every detail and uses logic to come to a rational reason for why they are stuck there.

With no answers provided, the group lose Tyler as he decides to stay in the woods after the group stop for a break. Driving on, James, Day and Fisher slide into a routine to keep themselves occupied, with Fisher and Day enjoying screaming sessions and inconsequential discussions to pass the time.

Growing more obsessed with trying to understand the reason for the endless road, James leaves Day and Fisher behind as they decide to stop going. Journeying on, James’s fixation worsens, taking every minor change, such as rain, as a sign that he is heading towards something.

Eventually reaching a sign that reads ‘ROAD ENDS’, James ruminates on the anticlimactic conclusion to his journey, finally screaming out to vent his frustration before deciding to head back down the road for Day and Fisher. Picking up a random passed-out person (or someone who’s given up?), by the side of the road, James strikes up one of Day and Fisher’s inane conversations and drives on back down the road to his friends.

As the short ride turns into much more than the youngsters had bargained for, ‘It Ends’ very quickly shifts the jovial tone and lively discussion into a more serious and bleak rumination on why the group are trapped on the road.

Trying to figure out why they're trapped, the group raise, and then quickly dismiss, being under a curse, having to repent, being trapped in purgatory and Yoon's James even trying to declare that he's glad to be there with everyone in an attempt to break whatever spell they're under. Much to the dismay of the passengers and to great comical effect, James’s declaration of his love for everyone there changes nothing.

Early on, Cole's Tyler remains quiet. While the others try to rationalise their predicament, Tyler fails to express fear of the situation, rather accepting their fate. Not questioning or seeking a reason for why they are there, Cole delivers a resigned yet acceptant performance. With earlier reference to his career in the military, it would be obvious to draw parallels between Tyler's resignation and the frequency with which people in the military find it difficult to cope with the futility of life.

Regardless, Tyler chooses to use one of the group’s 90 second breaks to run in the woods and tell James he will not return to the car. The group cope with grief, Fisher and Day in shock and disbelief, whilst James maintains a somewhat collected front.

What began as a terrifying enigma soon resolves to be a literal vehicle for the journey of life. While Fisher and Day cope by establishing a routine, they get by as they bounce ideas off one another, expressing grievances and finding brief moments of joy.

James on the other hand exhibits an incessant need to find out why they are trapped on the road. With Jackson and Toth showcasing what acceptance and making do looks like, Yoon's James slowly unravels as he seeks any sign as justification for them being on the road.

Leaving Day and Fisher on the road as they choose to stop moving, James frantically seeks the ultimate answer. Deteriorating, the scene in which it starts to rain underscores the desperation with which some of us yearn for a greater meaning to life.

Ultimately reaching the end, a simple sign deflates and dispels any delusions James may have had about any meaning to any of this. Choosing to turn back, feature debutant Alexander Ullom perhaps shares with us what he believes to be the only reason for carrying on at all. With other people making your time worthwhile, Ullom highlights the simple yet undeniable truth, that having friends, a family, really anyone to share your thoughts with, is what makes existence bearable.

With a simple but thought-provoking premise ‘It Ends’ takes us on a trip. With a stripped-back setting and a clear concept, the film invites us to contemplate and assess, to understand the simplicity of our existence and incites us not to push for a clear-cut and rational reason behind it all, as there may not be one.

Score: 4/4