Movie Review: IT ENDS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: August 21st, 2026 / 02:24 AM

Rating: R
Stars: Mitchell Cole, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, Phinehas Yoon
Writer: Alex Ullom
Director: Alex Ullom
Distributor: Neon
Release Date: August 21, 2026

IT ENDS is a remarkably on-target metaphor. Alas, to say what the metaphor is about constitutes a gigantic spoiler. It’s also not for everyone, but viewers who connect with its rhythms will find it meaningful.

Beginning like any number of horror and/or teen comedy films, IT ENDS opens with four friends, just graduated from college, on a late-night jaunt to get a snack. We’re in a Jeep Cherokee with Tyler (Mitchell Cole), Day (Akira Jackson), Fisher (Noah Toth), and James (Phinehas Yoon).

All of them are, to greater or lesser extent, worried about what going their separate ways will mean. Good news on that front: they’ll be together for quite a while.

The GPS directs them onto a road through a forest. There should be a turnoff, but there isn’t; there should be signs, but there aren’t. Also, the vehicle should be running low on gas, but it’s not; they should all be hungry or tired or need to relieve themselves, but they aren’t and they don’t.

Perhaps worst of all (at least at first) is what happens when they pull over and attempt to explore the woods.

IT ENDS blessedly skips over the almost obligatory section where somebody ignores what’s going on, insists on a normal explanation and requires more proof. All four characters reasonably deduce that they’re having some sort of supernatural experience, although they don’t agree on what it is or what it signifies.

What seems evident is that they can’t safely stop for long; on the other hand, if they don’t turn off the motor, they apparently can keep going forever.

IT ENDS doesn’t do what its characters or its audience expect. Instead of taking the customary route of jokes leading into terror, writer/director Alex Ullom puts some huge scares up front and then goes into a mixture of dark humor and existentialism. The characters don’t discuss it as such, but they don’t have the perspective that Ullom gives us.

Another intriguing aspect of IT ENDS is how the characters change under pressure. They don’t fragment into clichés but rather take swerves that go from unlikely to inevitable.

Cole as the resident tough guy, Jackson as the cheery/melancholy soul, Toth as the go-along/get-along fellow and Yoon as the seemingly most tightly wound all give expertly naturalistic performances.

There is an enormous amount to say about IT ENDS – it just can’t be said to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. It’s for people who want something to think and talk about, and probably most of all for those who comprehend and agree with its conclusions.

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Latest Buzz

A very on-point metaphor, couched in horror terms

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: IT ENDS

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Newsletter subscription status