Review: ‘It Ends’ takes Gen Z trauma on a road trip

2026 / Dir. Alexander Ullom

Rating: 4/5

Watch if you like: if the characters from Dazed and Confused accidentally fell into the Backrooms; being asked endless would-you-rather questions until the end of time.

I remember that feeling after graduating college when you’re thrown out into the “real” world and it’s like, well, now what? Just keep on going, I guess. That feeling is exactly what’s captured in Alexander Ullom’s hybrid “hangout-horror” It Ends, where four friends get trapped together on an endless road to nowhere. 

After being picked up by their friend Tyler (Mitchell Cole), who they haven’t seen since high school, recent college grads James (Phinehas Yoon), Day (Akira Jackson), and Fisher (Noah Toth) turn down a dark, wooded road. While the GPS says to keep going straight to get to the highway, Tyler’s sure they’ve missed the turn and goes back, hitting a dead end where they originally turned. Then all hell breaks loose when dozens of screaming people come running for the car. The group gets away, but six hours later, without finding a turn, they realize their gas tank, which started at a quarter tank, is still at the same level. Even stranger, they’re not tired, hungry, or needing to use the bathroom. But whenever they stop, after about 90 seconds, the angry, screaming mob appears. 

Though this may sound similar to the TV show From or Backrooms, another recent debut from a young Gen-Z filmmaker, Ullom isn’t interested in creating lore or solving mysteries, but rather in what these four fairly different people do when placed in this scenario. That comes in different stages: first, collectively as they wonder if they’ve died and been sent to hell, or if anyone got cursed by a witch or something, and then by testing out the rules of the place during the 90-second stops. 

As they go on, they each struggle and come to terms with the never-ending road, individually. For the reserved James, who becomes our de facto leader, any slight change along the road has to carry meaning and a reason to keep going. Tyler, an HVAC technician with more time in the real world who at first seems more practical, quickly feels deflated. The cool Day and the easily anxious Fisher, meanwhile, develop rituals to keep the days going, like an hour to air grievances, a time to stop and scream, or to play the few songs they have downloaded on their phones, which don’t have internet or cell service, but don’t seem to die either. 

All of this works incredibly well as a metaphor for a young person’s uncertainty about the life ahead, particularly coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and into a time of economic uncertainty. Equally effective is how well it transports the experience of living through the pandemic into this horror-sci-fi conceit. There’s the experimental phase reminiscent of wiping down your groceries with Lysol wipes, and later the coping phase where you got into growing your own sourdough. When future generations ask what the pandemic was like, I’d put on this movie. 

While there are a couple of well-crafted scares, this is more of a hangout movie from hell with characters largely talking, yelling, arguing, and grieving. Casting actors with only a couple of lesser-known credits apiece can be risky for a lower-budget film; each pulls their weight, though, delivering natural performances that make these characters feel real and fleshed out, even when the story doesn’t give them much backstory. In particular, Phinehas Yoon is a real standout and an actor to watch. With the most screen time and the film’s biggest emotional arc, he takes a standoffish, internal, analytical character to his breaking point. 

Along those lines, what really stands out about It Ends is the self-assured filmmaking. Making a movie about people getting stuck in a car is a great way to maximize your budget, but keeping it interesting is another point entirely. Ullom and cinematographers Evan Draper and Jazleana Jones use inventive camera work and, along with a beautiful score from ambient musician Eluvium, create this unnerving, melancholic tone throughout that’s impactful even without traditional horror scares. A big scare sequence I don’t want to spoil, using the tension created by the click of the emergency light and the red, strobing globe, is masterful and makes you hope this crew sticks around with bigger and bigger budgets. 

It Ends is definitely not for anyone who is looking for a bunch of jumpscares, but don’t worry, this comes out at the same time as Insidious 6 if that’s your bag. Instead, if you’re someone who can appreciate the creative use of horror dynamics mixed with indie filmmaking from a confident young creative team, I think you’ll be as impressed and surprised by It Ends as I was.