THE ENDLESS (2017)
Lost amidst the glitz and glam and (apparent) grappling of last night’s Academy Awards was the news that outstanding filmmakers Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson released their fantastic film THE ENDLESS onto YouTube, in its entirety, for free. The movie is excellent and if you haven’t seen it, you should and now you have literally no reason to not watch it. It is available on one of the most ubiquitous websites in the world and doesn’t cost a dime.
Here's literally the entire movie The Endless for free on @YouTube.
— Aaron Moorhead (@AaronMoorhead) March 27, 2022
(This is legal, we did this, please enjoy over and over and over till the non-end of timelessness)https://t.co/iLPhku72jS
I saw this at Fantastic Fest when I was a younger lad, and it was a bonkers experience with the crowd loving every minute of this sci-fi, dramedy, meta-commentary, horror-adjacent, family film. It also ties in to the duo’s 2012 movie RESOLUTION, but watching that title isn’t a pre-requisite to enjoying THE ENDLESS (as I confirmed by asking fellow Fest goers who I knew hadn’t seen RESOLUTION). Written by Benson, directed by Benson and Moorhead, and starring Benson, Moorhead, Callie Hernandez, Emily Montague, Lew Temple, Tate Ellington, and James Jordan.
Here’s the trailer for THE ENDLESS:
And the summary of the film is as follows:
Following their Lovecraftian modern cult classic SPRING, acclaimed filmmakers Moorhead and Benson return with this mind-bending thriller that follows two brothers who receive a cryptic video message inspiring them to revisit the UFO death cult they escaped a decade earlier. Hoping to find the closure that they couldn't as young men, they're forced to reconsider the cult's beliefs when confronted with unexplainable phenomena surrounding the camp. As the members prepare for the coming of a mysterious event, the brothers race to unravel the seemingly impossible truth before their lives become permanently entangled with the cult.
I loved RESOLUTION, SPRING, THE ENDLESS, and SYNCHRONIC. They are credited with directing half the episodes of the upcoming Moon Knight show on Disney+ (though I think the workload doesn’t necessarily reflect per episode—as in being in charge of different units at different locations, but I could be wrong). While I wasn’t a big fan of all four episodes I was given to preview, I don’t think any of my issues with them can be laid at the feet of Benson and/or Moorhead. More importantly, I cannot wait to see their next movie, SOMETHING IN THE DIRT, which blew up at Sundance and hopefully we’ll get to watch it soon.
THE ENDLESS is “embedded” below, though you’ll have to click through and watch it ON YouTube due to age restrictions around content. Again—check out this superb film; it is not like anything you expect or have experienced and you’ll be thrilled that you did.