It Ends

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alexander Ullom directs. Evan Draper behind the camera. Matthew Robert Cooper scores. Alexander Ullom cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
• 2Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 3Grossed $1M — a 14.2× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
• 4Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
• 5Directed by Alexander Ullom, shot by Evan Draper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Matthew Robert Cooper. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Alexander Ullom shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Phinehas Yoon and Akira Jackson and Noah Toth carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "Some wrong turns last forever.".
• 10IMDB entry: tt35519455 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 11Only 69 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
• 12Classified under 13 themes, including "supernatural", "woods", "college friends", "road".

The technical file

Cinematography

Evan Draper

Original score

Matthew Robert Cooper

Editing

Alexander Ullom

Production design

Carrie Carusone

VFX supervisor

Trent Smith

Sound

Andy Hay

Runtime

89 min · 1h 29m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$80,000

Box office

$1,139,411

Return

1424% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

It Ends (2026) ↗

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official UK Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Final Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Sierbahnn2026-05-27
  ★ 5/10

  Open wide and still claustrophobic It is a bit strange how an open road can feel claustrophobic, but it does. It is a well acted movie, and while the plot is only there to allow for character exploration, and you never truly get to learn a whole lot about the actual setting, that's part of the idea. Resolutions are optional in such stories. The movie is by no means bad, but it is not one I will revisit and rewatch.

  Read full review ↓
• Brent Marchant2026-08-23
  ★ 2/10

  In the interest of full disclosure up front, I’ll do my best to assess this release without being overly unkind. To be honest, this debut feature from writer-director Alexander Ullom has almost assuredly earned itself a spot on my “Worst of 2026” list. Loosely based on the 1944 existentialist stage play No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre, “It Ends” tells the story of four twenty-something friends (a term I use loosely) (Phinehas Yoon, Mitchell Cole, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth) who embark on a late-night drive but soon find themselves lost on a never-ending highway through a thickly forested woodland from which there’s no apparent escape (i.e., “no exit”). In an effort to spice up the plot, the narrative subsequently attempts to infuse a few horror tropes, but, sadly, these poorly handled elements aren’t particularly scary or the least bit enlightening in defining the essence of the plot. (At one point, for instance, the puzzled quartet is attacked by a band of fleet-footed zombies, forcing the fearful foursome to flee for their lives. It’s an element that’s reincorporated or inferred throughout the film but that, frankly, has little ultimate bearing on the story. What’s more, the sequence is so ineptly executed that it’s ultimately more confusing than frightening.) Not long thereafter, when matters settle down and these lost souls begin discussing the nature of their bewildering circumstances, they’re forced to begin considering that they might be trapped in some kind of alternate existence, even a hellish version of the afterlife. That possibility, in turn, prompts yet another round of long-winded, uninteresting existential discussions that are part metaphysics, part petty bickering and part overwrought Generation Z angst, all set against the backdrop of an incessant road trip for which practical concerns like having enough fuel for the journey (wherever it may be headed) are apparently irrelevant. And that, in a nutshell, fittingly characterizes the dynamics of this wholly pretentious offering, despite what may have started out with a worthwhile premise and good intentions. The blame here lies largely with the woefully undercooked, meandering screenplay. For example, most of the excessive group discussions are lame and unfocused and lack engaging substance, light years removed from the eloquence and insight of the source material that inspired this production. Then there’s the seriously underused horror aspect, which might have added more interest if more skillfully and integrally employed. The filming techniques are also stunningly puzzling, with much of the action shot too dimly and/or too up-close, so much so that, in sequences like the zombie attack, it’s difficult to tell what’s happening. And, of course, there are plot holes aplenty, which are genuinely inexcusable, even for a first-time filmmaker. To its credit, though, the picture gets one thing right: it’s a testament to Sartre’s renowned contention that “hell is other people,” as these characters come to find out for themselves, bringing fresh meaning to that statement and to the audience (indeed, I can’t imagine being stuck with individuals like these for eternity; 89 minutes was more than enough for me). But that spot-on irony is not nearly enough to save this effort, especially since it even more ironically gives viewers reason to skip this release. Perhaps, as a senior, the generational nuances at work here were lost on me, but, that aside, while screening this offering, I also couldn’t help but keep asking myself, “Are we there yet?”

  Read full review ↓
• tender_buttkiss2026-10-08
  ★ 5/10

  I wouldn't classify this as a horror. There's a brief moment early on where you might be on the edge of your seat a bit, but then afterwards whatever danger these characters face becomes dulled and quickly it sinks into existential dread with the cast trying to rationalize an irrational setting. Are they dead? Is this limbo? And when it becomes clear they either don't know or don't want to face their reality, this movie then becomes a weird indie darling movie. Yeah, it's a bummer, but there's no real deaths and no guts or gore and the only screaming is cathartic ones meant to relieve stress and excess emotion. Nifty idea, but definitely don't go into this movie expecting to be bombarded with jump scares or unseen ghouls attacking them in the night. It's pretty darn tame in that regard.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Snoot Entertainment

  US

• GR

  Growing Up Dead Films

  US

• AB

  Above .330

  US

Key crew

• ProducerCarrie Carusone
• ProducerEvan Barber
• EditorAlexander Ullom
• Executive ProducerChristopher Amick
• Executive ProducerRoshni Rush Bhatia
• Executive ProducerJessica Wu
• Executive ProducerKeith Calder
• Executive ProducerRyan Keely
• Executive ProducerAndrew Mayne
• Executive ProducerBen Mekler
• Executive ProducerElle León Nostas
• Executive ProducerCarson Tappan
• ADR MixerJake Valentine
• ColoristNicholas Hasson
• Music SupervisorBrittany Douziech
• Production AssistantLiam Fineout
• Production DesignCarrie Carusone
• Sound DesignerAndy Hay
• Sound DesignerTrevor Gates
• Additional PhotographyAlexander Ullom
• First Assistant DirectorEvan Barber
• Production CoordinatorConnie O'Connor
• Production CoordinatorCosta Karalis
• GafferChris Violette

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• supernatural
• woods
• college friends
• road
• supernatural horror
• lost
• psychological
• existential horror
• independent film
• provocative
• psychological horror
• teenager
• teen horror

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2025-03-07· South by Southwest Film & TV Festival
• Premiere2025-05-02· Atlanta Film Festival
• Premiere2025-04-13· Florida Film Festival
• Premiere2025-05-04· Chicago Critics Film Festival
• Premiere2025-09-26· Tallahassee Film Festival
• Premiere2025-04-05· Overlook Film Festival
• Premiere2025-10-23· Philadelphia Film Festival
• Theatrical (limited)2026-08-21R· New York City, New York / Los Angeles, California
• Theatrical2026-08-28R
• Digital2025-12-10R· Letterboxd Video Store – Unreleased Gems (30 days)

Also known as

International titles

• สิ้น. สุด.TH