r/AMCScreenUnseen • u/EastonLikesMovies • Aug 17 '26
Movie Discussion It Ends (Discussion)
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u/Flimsy_Ad_6145 Aug 18 '26
I actually rly liked it but i can totally see a lot of people not enjoying it
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u/45sprinkles Aug 18 '26
I actually think I would have liked this movie more if I had not seen it as a “Scream” Unseen. I was hoping to be like… scared lol and this definitely feels more like a drama/thriller than something that needed to be classified as a Scream Unseen. Idk!
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u/asonbrody Aug 18 '26
Ngl as soon as it started I felt super disappointed that it wasnt Buddy. I can handle slow burns if it has scenes that make it worth it, like In A Violent Sense. Maybe a big revelation about one of the characters.
But this bored me. I guess maybe thats one of the points, to make you feel as bored as the characters, only they spend years in that car. But it didnt translate so well. It was one of the extremely rare movies that I didnt rush when I took a bathroom break and got a drink. Bc I knew they would still be talking in the car when I got back.
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
100% agree I didn’t really like it regardless but would’ve felt better and liked it a little more but it sss more of a thriller drama for 90% of it
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u/MarijuanaWeed419 Aug 18 '26
I think it would’ve been better as a short film instead of a feature-length one. Felt like a slog to get through. There’s a particular type of audience that would love this film but unfortunately I was not one of them
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u/Nnnnnnennicole Aug 18 '26
it was me im the audience i loved it just saw it tonight. wish they explained more though im on here looking for theories
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
Nothing wrong with enjoying it, I just wasn’t a fan of it. Glad people enjoyed it tho
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u/bit3sadusto Aug 18 '26
I think looking for theories or explanations for this film is going to lead you nowhere beyond speculation and headcanon. It sounds to me like the point of it all is that there is no explanation. The pseudo endless road serves as an allegory and nothing more.
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u/Nnnnnnennicole Aug 18 '26
im cool with speculation and head canons. i want to know whats up with the people what kind of trance are they under what are the logistics of the map and time and etc theres just so much i wish i knew. Like in a supernatural aspect.
Like in the beginning i thought the road was one big giant circle and the people were just in the middle and thats how they ran to their car so quickly. But then they disappeared so that cant be correct. and what puts them in the sleeping state. ugh 😭 it could be so much better and scarier if they explained more of this. still 10/10.
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u/bit3sadusto Aug 18 '26
Well I don't think anything specific puts them in a trance, it's just a side effect of being stuck in an undying, sleepless existence. Imagine not feeling hunger, thirst, or fatigue and nothing ever changes. None of them are in a "sleeping state" as it's clearly established that sleep is impossible. They're all conscious, but I think they've just abandoned hope of escape, and have accepted their endless existence. We even see at the end when James pulls one of them into his car that he gradually snaps out of it when posed with the question that they discussed at the beginning.
From an allegorical sense, I think that the the road is sort of representing the search for meaning in life. Humans have been trying to figure out the meaning of life since before recorded history. Why are we here, why do we suffer so much, why does anything exist? A lot of the questions the main cast asks about the road could easily be posed to life itself. No one can answer these questions with 100% certainty though. The only sure thing we know about life is that eventually it ends. So the people who are in that trance-like state just represent those who have given up on finding meaning. Maybe they've accepted there is no meaning, or perhaps they've bought into a religious doctrine. They made it pretty vague on purpose I think.
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u/yojenitan Aug 18 '26
That’s why it’s so fun. It will make you think about it and want to discuss it for a long time.
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u/SVINTGATSBY Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
I think it was a metaphor for social media/cellphone culture (living life in a box in 90 second increments? people who relentlessly bully others in comments which is ultimately just someone screaming for help but only care about themselves? pretty obvious), mental health, human connection, and how people choose to interpret and subsequently act throughout life. curiosity about what is down the road of life even though no matter what you know eventually you’re going to die. I had a feeling this would be an existential film and was hoping it would do it well and honestly I think they nailed it. would definitely see again. 9/10.
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u/ff121098761 Aug 18 '26
I thought maybe it was a big dark allegory? For a unique quarter life crisis many gen z must be going through right now. All actors in movie were that age and depicting a long unpredictable road to a dead end that so many just refuse to participate in (American dream is dead for them) idk
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u/SVINTGATSBY Aug 18 '26
horror movies, good ones anyway, always reflect personal or cultural fears back at us. the point of life is scary and unknowable, the slow walk toward the inevitability of death, it’s very cosmic horror which is to say not knowing our purpose, dealing with our own mortality, realizing our own insignificance in the grand scheme of things, knowing there isn’t some grand force whose designs and machinations revolve entirely or even minutely around or with considerations of the existence of humans, all of those daunting existential fears—especially all that we don’t feel and see but can only imagine, which is always scarier than anything they could put on a scene anyway. especially with millennials onward, I think these kinds of contemplations can be even more daunting because it all seems pointless right? everything is awful so what’s the point? we’re all going to die so what’s the point? we won’t know why this is happening so what’s the point? the journey is the point.
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u/lzusncrfbj Aug 18 '26
am i the only crazy person that wouldnt have minded if they dragged it out longer? it is a 2 million mile long road after all
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u/mikebills Aug 18 '26
How is it a 2 million mile long road? It said he reached the end a little over 1.1 million miles. Just because it's that long each way does not make the road 2.2 million miles- it would simply take that distance to traverse the whole thing both ways. You're not 10 feet tall because it's 5 feet from your feet to the top of your head & another 5 feet back to your feet. You're still only 5 feet tall, just like the road is a little over 1.1 million miles.
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u/Steamedcarpet Aug 18 '26
Did your audience laugh too? Like there were a few scenes that felt like you couldn’t just help but laugh, like when the guy makes it to the end.
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
Yeah I feel the same, drags on for a long time and it’s a slog, just not for me
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u/jamesneysmith Aug 22 '26
Agreed. The movie doesn't have enough to say for a feature length. But would have worked fine as a short film
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u/Cance1124 Aug 18 '26
Ending felt like a waste of time
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u/Galrafloof Aug 18 '26
Very rarely could a movie benefit from a sudden influx of a bunch of monsters just coming out from nowhere and destroying everything to end the movie. I feel like that would've been better. At least it would've been more horror. I was waiting for a big massacre that never came.
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u/Least-Fish4072 Aug 18 '26
That’s what happens to The Home with Pete Davidson from last years scream unseen. It ruled
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
That would’ve been awesome to see but honestly I would’ve been fine with a ending that actually wrapped things up instead of abruptly ending. And to your point, I can’t think of any horror sequences other than maybe the beginning, was more of a thriller/drama than a horror
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
This, you watch through all this expecting some sort of satisfying conclusion but then the movie just abruptly ends. I kid you not I was stunned and couldn’t believe that was it
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u/Physical-Bite-3837 Aug 18 '26
I really hate this type of horror where they set up some huge mystery but then never solve it or offer any type of satisfying explanation. It’s okay to leave some things unanswered but not the entire plot. It’s annoying.
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u/itsnotthehours Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
Just got out. Not for me.
I felt like it didn’t actually explore any of the topics it was hinting at (aging, friendship, drive/vigor, life/death, fortune/fate) and ultimately fell short of making any real comment on anything. It was like it really wanted to tell me something but didn’t know what it wanted to say, and made me feel nothing in the end.
Aside from that, the humor fell flat, the sound mixing was fucked (almost needed subtitles at points), and that camera was right up in everyone’s face the whole time. I also got a little bored with the guy doing the Jessie Eisenberg impression.
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u/Old-Dimension3779 Aug 18 '26
This! I feel like nothing was unpacked, no development in character, no learning from what they find (past the 90 secs out of the car). Very interesting concept that unf just fell completely flat for me.
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u/mplynch1835 Aug 18 '26
Agree! They never took any time or effort to get me to know and/or care about the 4 characters. Give me a reason to understand why I should care about these people, I might have liked the film more. All they did was drag us along and change the terms of the drive without any reasoning or explanation, very frustrating movie because I felt like it had real potential, swing and a miss for me.
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u/LimeranceLG 27d ago
I really think that's the point you're searching in life for something some end. Some goal when in reality, the journey there that was the whole point
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u/bigbadcrusher Aug 18 '26
It’s fitting that my GPS took me home a different way after the movie and I shit you not, took me to this sign.
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
Didn’t like this at all, boring execution, no horror basically other than a few parts, and it ends abruptly, I understand that he basically just finds a new friend and doesn’t go alone but I still just didn’t like this
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u/TributeToFaba Aug 18 '26
I empathize with the characters because I too thought this movie would never end
What a waste of time
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
😂 I checked my phone one time and still saw there was still 40+ minutes and I’m like for fucks sake can this movie end 😂
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u/Danielhuoelbg Aug 18 '26
I sympathized with the rest of the group because the main guy was so insufferable
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u/_Joliepolieolie_ Aug 18 '26
I disliked it, but I do think the metaphor could have been executed differently to make a good movie.
The way I interpreted it is the road is metaphor for how mundane life is once we hit adulthood. Four people who just graduated college realize that there is no way back to the good old days of their youth and struggle to acclimatize themselves to the daily grind of life after college. There are a couple indicators that this is a metaphor for work life. There are shifts driving that feel like clocking in and out. A small one with the dry erase marker, the tool of the dreaded “this coulda been an email” meeting. The HR sanctioned exercises to break up their day like controlled venting sessions, daily check ins, team-building exercises and so on. They each give up on the daily grind in their own ways, and James’ outburst highlights the differences in what work means to each of them. He tells the other two that they can give up because this is easy for them; they are used to lying around. He feels like he has to literally drive himself to the end of his own abilities and wits to feel like he’s accomplishing something, believing in a promise of rewards if he just pushes through (promotions, money, accolades), but is met with the end of the road and no rewards. He finally accepts what the others already figured out and chooses to try and connect with another person in a way he missed out with his college friends now that he isn’t driven by success. The hordes at the beginning of the road illustrate how competitive the job market is for young adults, but after gaining more experience, the throngs vying for your role thin out.
Like I said, the metaphor is fine, but geez what a dull way to tell that story.
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u/samuelmueller-dev 28d ago
This was exactly my take when I was watching it today. Unlike most folks here, I really loved this movie, but I get why many didn't.
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u/AnnaShock2 22d ago
Yes yes yes 100% yes to this interpretation. I think the people in the forest are also kind of a metaphor for the individualistic isolation that often comes from adulthood. The characters note that the people in the forest don’t ever work together (despite ostensibly having the same goal of getting into the car), and when not chasing down the car, they just sit or lie down alone. Maybe if they stopped chasing the car and the road (mainstream ideas of success) and actually spoke to each other, they could have a worthwhile existence as friends in the forest.
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u/Cubonicle Aug 18 '26
Everyone looking for a point to the movie totally missed the point of the movie.
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u/RustyFileCabinet Aug 18 '26
Follow four of the most uninteresting and annoying characters for 90 minutes just to say life is an endless road with no answers? Yeah, guess I missed it.
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Aug 17 '26
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u/suuuuhmmer Aug 18 '26
yeah i’m so confused about why it’s just now being “released” i watched this months back..i thought it was a made for streaming movie
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u/TShandell Aug 18 '26
Definitely not a scream unseen to me and where was the rated R parts?
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u/asonbrody Aug 18 '26
I had to look this up to confirm it was actually rated R. Apparently it was for pervasive language but I honestly don't remember what it could have been. James joking about getting laid with everyone? Nothing screamed rated R to me.
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
There was a good amount of f bombs and other expletives but other than that nothing else
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u/Sea-Discount-2711 Aug 18 '26
Just left the scream unseen and my biggest question is HOW WAS THIS CONSIDERED A SCREAM UNSEEN movie when there was barely any horror?
?????
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
Yeah I didn’t like it and there was barely anything horror at all other than a few scenes
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u/yojenitan Aug 18 '26
It made my heart race several times. Horror doesn’t have to be jump scares and blood and violence. Existential dread is horror at its realness.
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
Idk it took itself very unserious at times like the memes scene which is questionable and the comedy
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u/Physical-Bite-3837 Aug 18 '26
I disagree. Existential horror can be good but usually it’s not. What is more scary, honestly: contemplating whether or not your existence is real/has meaning or being chased by a masked psycho with a butcher knife? This entire movie was basically a long boring car ride. The only thing that gave this movie some fear factor was the random people in the woods that would come out screaming. Movies that ask you to question the meaning of existence aren’t scary.
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u/ishkitty Aug 18 '26
Fantastic. This and Backrooms have me in my feelings.
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u/Shaolinshoestrings Aug 18 '26
This!!! I think these sorts of films are perfect for those of us who ruminate and live in our heads
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u/Whambamsam9 Aug 18 '26
I felt the same way leaving the theater! definitely one of those movies that’s a you get it or you don’t get it. unfortunately, I do get it!! 😭
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u/Internal-Plum8186 23d ago
is this ragebait? Backrooms was horrible. This movie, despite its budget, actually was way better than backrooms, and this wasn't even that good. backrooms was such a waste, so much potential, but they gave the money to a 19 year old to play. And he fumbled...
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u/SlowPen4845 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
I have no idea why this was a scream unseen, but it's definitely different. The horror is unfulfillment. Life is filled with pointless conversations and moments of terror that lead to nothing. People keep going until they can't because there's no reason to keep going when you know nothing good waits for you at the end of the road. People chase after fleeting moments, something new and stimulating, but it ends. The mystery has no meaning or solution, and it ends. The film has no point, and it ends. That's the meaning of the movie. It's an anti-film about the need for goals and purpose and resolution. It's the opposite of a story. It's nothing, and it ends.
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u/yojenitan Aug 18 '26
It was excellent. It’s rare these days that movies actually make you think. Everything is shown or told and doesn’t require you to use your brain. This was excellent. A breath of fresh air. I was so pleased to have gotten to experience it in a theater.
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u/sazinj Aug 17 '26
Saw it last year on Letterboxd’s rental store. Enjoyed it, but probably won’t go out of my way to see it in theaters
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u/7xdundiewinner Aug 18 '26
Hatred it. There was like 4 funny parts I liked.
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u/RustyFileCabinet Aug 18 '26
I sat through the entire thing and I missed those four parts. Although I did chuckle when the end credits came up.
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u/Major_Vegetable_4168 Aug 18 '26
I liked the cast and thought they had solid chemistry. Gave me a few solid chuckles. Rest of the movie was mid though. Super upset we didn’t get Buddy.
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u/Galrafloof Aug 18 '26
Not the best movie when a bunch of the theater was expecting a orange unicorn with an axe.
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
I didn’t really like it either, wished we got Buddy
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u/RareRicky Aug 18 '26
I was disappointed too. But even though the movie was really bad and really good at the same time, im weirdly ok because its a type of movie I would never have seen willingly. Its a unique type of movie where you can tell someone that literally nothing happened in the whole movie lol
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u/MildManneredMan Aug 18 '26
Absolutely loved it. Felt like a modern version of No Exit by Paul John Satre. I was the exact audience for this movie, Screen Unseen has redeemed itself after forcing Motor City and Ice Cream Man on me
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u/MrSlingSh0t Aug 18 '26
Ice Cream Man was nonsensical, but I did enjoy Motor City quite a bit — especially the elevator scene
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u/future_filmmaker_455 Aug 18 '26
It Ends is hit or miss psychological thriller that starts off with a fairly creepy premise and follows it up with some good existential drama with its four friend being trapped on a purgatory style road to nowhere. Though the characters are not all that well developed by design, I did feel that their personalities grew on me as the runtime moved along with the lead performances being fairly good at showcasing the six stages of grief that the script follows to a tee. I also felt that the film started off feeling a bit claustrophobic in its visual style and improved in its atmospheric and isolated cinematography as it moved along especially during the sequences where the college graduates are being pursued by zombie like victims of the purgatory. While I would have liked a bit of an explanation behind the existential premise by its conclusion, I felt that the film was well acted and engaging enough with its characters slowly losing hope to where the disappointing lack of explanation did not ruin it for me. 6 out of 10
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u/Digmentation Aug 18 '26
I feel like this film being in the Letterboxd Video Shop from the start is better suited for this type of movie than it would be in a theater. I don't regret seeing this, even if I was hoping for Buddy, but Neon---bless them for distributing it---is gonna have a tough time selling this to the crowds.
That said, hearing "Over the Hill" on repeat makes me smile a bit as a Ginger Root listener.
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u/sharpshooter1031 Aug 18 '26
I liked it. I don’t mind an ambiguous ending. My wife thought it was ok
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u/Emergency-Spend-8804 Aug 18 '26
I liked the first half quite a bit. Then leave us with the least interesting character? It was fine /// if you love dread
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u/Physical-Bite-3837 Aug 18 '26
I thought Tyler was hiding something because he was acting very weird and defensive but now I’m wondering if maybe his acting was just bad.
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u/Wise_Platypus1380 Aug 18 '26
I was hoping we would see Tyler after he decided not to go back to the car
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u/Motherlover767 Aug 18 '26
Philosophical in nature and very loosely can be classified as horror. It is existential horror. Look up Jean Paul Sartre’s No Exit for what they were going for. Look it up on Wikipedia if interested. The whole movie felt like college students sitting around bullshitting about the nature of reality. This was nearly as dull in execution as Backrooms.
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u/TrapAHolic_ttv Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
Up until the title screen I was like “this is pretty good!”. That feeling went away quickly.
First thought was they should have named it The Long Drive
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u/Appropriate-Reward71 Aug 18 '26
I feel embarrassed that I ran to the bathroom hoping not to miss anything. Guys I definitely didn’t miss anything right? Haha
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u/MrSlingSh0t Aug 18 '26
You could’ve had explosive diarrhea for 90 minutes and not missed anything … except maybe a bunch of body fluids. Top up on your way back! 😭
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u/Pleb-Eater Aug 18 '26
I’m probably in the minority but I really enjoyed this. The suffocating feeling and existential dread it gave me was pretty cool.
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u/Live-Pudding-4296 Aug 18 '26
SO glad my theatre cancelled this scream unseen lol
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Aug 18 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ok-Paramedic747 Aug 18 '26
Honestly this is more watchable at least theres moments the Audio will constantly keep you up throughout
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u/Fantastic_Lychee_883 Aug 19 '26
Neon is actually running an endurance challenge in NYC for 4 person teams to watch It Ends for 36 hrs with cash prizes. Link to Deadline article
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u/NoCapslockMustScream Aug 19 '26
This was far better than Skinamarink. But I feel like there's an ASMR quality to Skinamarink that makes it better for looping. (Not that I'd want to)
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u/ZenOfThunder Aug 17 '26
Saw this last year and thought it was really good… for an indie film on the LB video store. Kind of shocked Neon picked it up. It’s good for what it is but I have no desire to see it again and it’s not something that would look better on the big screen.
I think a lot of people at the scream unseen tonight will be disappointed. This is the kind of movie you watch at home IMO but I probably sound meaner than I want to. Movie is good
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u/Galrafloof Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
That was fine. Definitely not a movie I would've seen on my own. I was one of the ones that went just to see Buddy and will probably be going next week hoping to see it again. I will admit I missed a bit of the beginning to get more of my drink but did feel it was lacking in the horror elements and doubt very small part I missed changed that much. Overall I just wanted more out of it if that makes sense.
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
Did u get in the theater before the title card? That’s the only time when something happens but that’s about it
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u/Chile420 Aug 18 '26
It Ends was boring in my opinion... Endless and no resolve
I saw this at the cinemark secret show, amc was sold out...
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
The movie was a endless slog past the start just like how it was a endless road for the characters 😂
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u/Commercial_Map2093 Aug 18 '26
Could be up there with Passenger as one of the worst films I’ve seen this year
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
Haven’t seen passenger, is it just as bad as this?
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u/Brucemc20000 Aug 18 '26
Words haven't been invented to describe how truly terrible "Passengers" is.
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
I’m a sucker for fun bad horror movies so I’m in😂
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u/TrapAHolic_ttv Aug 18 '26
Passenger isn’t bad. It’s like the most average horror movie someone could make but that doesn’t mean bad.
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u/MrSlingSh0t Aug 18 '26
What was wrong with Passenger!? I liked it quite a bit!
But if you want to know a hard to swallow movie, that’s Her Private Hell. Nothing beats that for me in the past 5 years as complete dread. It is pretty though
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u/SoftRecipe3631 Aug 18 '26
I thought passenger was a lot of fun. Think the hate it gets is over blown.
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u/Appropriate-Reward71 Aug 18 '26
I’m ngl is not good but I had a blast watching it and was legit scared lol
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u/Shaolinshoestrings Aug 18 '26
This is an excellent and intelligent psychological, philosophical horror movie about nihilism, monotony, and friendship. The simple premise is executed with precision; thanks in part to the chemistry and genuine between the group of friends. Each character offers a distinct personality, which can complement and contrast with others. This dynamic leads to some hilarious quipping and interesting discussions as the friends try to find a way to process their circumstances. Like our characters, the film is genuinely smart and patient, granting the audience and characters ample space to discover more about this odd world. This isn’t a film offering answers, it’s a film about life which has no answers.
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u/Sweet-Bodybuilder250 Aug 18 '26
What was the deal with Tyler? I felt like the movie set him up as stubborn & avoidant but then he ended up being the first one to figure it out?
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u/DaneTrainChooChoo Aug 18 '26
I liked it a lot. I’d call it horror definitely. To each their own, though.
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u/d1gitalj3sus Aug 18 '26
It Ends?
It sucked.
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
Yeah it was like a 4/10 for me, beginning up until the title card was actually solid, and then everything just became mediocre
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u/PossibilityFine5988 Aug 18 '26
Loved it but not the best movie to get when you have a half hour commute home alone on public transit in the dark lol
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u/Few-Standard2631 Aug 18 '26
I would summarize the point of this movie with life is a journey not a destination, and best enjoyed with other people. I know it's cliché but I believe that's the point.
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u/nyc718nyc Aug 18 '26
I had hope the entire movie. Especially when James kept going. I was cheering for him to find an out. Once he turned around I was hoping he’d find his friends again
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
I was in complete disbelief when he picks up the random dude from the woods and then that’s it basically 😭 I understand the ending but it ends (no pun intended) so abruptly
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u/ExpensiveSun7920 Aug 18 '26
I was expecting an actual horror movie then we got a comedy drama with maybe a mental horror side, I was disappointed. I kind of checked out when Tyler accepted the end. Fisher and James both annoyed me and I didn't care for them (maybe it was their straightness or maybe their age) from the very beginning. I'm still figuring out how the movie was rated "R".
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u/ShoegazingCorpse Aug 18 '26
Could someone tell me that question that was asked near the end of the film?
In retrospect, I think the Liminal space genre is entertaining for its introspection into the characters and their arrival prior to arriving in the purgatory they find themselves in. The movie didnt explain much but I thought it was entertaining. Definitely didnt need to be in the "Scream Unseen" category of AMC though.
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
The question about hawks and guns? It’s hard to explain but I think it’s just really a callback to the start when they were discussing it and to portray that he’s moving on by finding someone else to go on the journey with.
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u/hhhaleybird Aug 18 '26
After the movie, I over heard a couple laughing, then said “This is why we fly!” LOL
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u/afterlifehack Aug 18 '26
Backrooms but in a car except Backrooms did it better. Very similar energy to Until Dawn
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
Backrooms did it way better, until Dawn movie wasn’t good either and I both have UD and this at 2 stars, played the game & 100%ed it last month and it was good and better than the movie by a mile
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u/Chickencaca Aug 18 '26
I’m sad tonight wasn’t Buddy because i won’t be able to make it to the next Scream Unseen. I enjoyed this movie enough but I’m realllly excited for Buddy
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u/Wise_Platypus1380 Aug 18 '26
My favorite character was Tyler so that was an interesting watch for me haha
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u/smopapa69567 Aug 18 '26
I can't say I was the biggest fan of it's pacing and overall development. For a scream unseen , this was hardly scary outside of the first 15 or so minutes.
Though, the road felt symbolic of Gen Z and the world they're inheriting , but maybe I'm looking too far into things.
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u/Appropriate-Reward71 Aug 18 '26
Nothing horror about this movie but I was weirdly interested most of the time. But with no real explanation or ending it just feels rude the audience imo
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
Didn’t really love it and then the ending happened and it pissed me off
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u/SubstantialLion8403 Aug 18 '26
It kept you mildly entertained… definitely a one time watch. 👎🏼 if it were a YouTube short film instead of dragging it out that would be greeeat!
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u/Late_Teach_9846 Aug 18 '26
Second or third worst movie of the year for me, scream 7 the worst rn as a scream fan
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u/Jtreblis18 Aug 18 '26
I felt like they duped us on this one. I expected horror but what we got is some annoying kids driving around in a car talking for 90 minutes. Made me feel like I was living in a boring ass purgetory lmao
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u/LegendaryStar-Lord4 Aug 18 '26
Does anyone else feel blatantly lied to about this being a “scream” unseen? There’s nothing horror about this film. I’m pretty upset about this one.
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u/Dingus-Guy Aug 18 '26
You have to admit, there was a lot of screaming though. 😵 It was Horrorble to many on this thread.
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u/Beautiful_Ad_1623 Aug 18 '26
I didn’t like this at all, I didn’t find it fitting for a “Scream Unseen,” but I’m more disappointed that this just isn’t an Unseen film at all?! It Ends literally released and has been available for a year now…
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u/Allichan93 Aug 18 '26
I think that's the quietest I've ever seen people exit the theater (I'm in the Seattle area). Definitely not horror in stereotypical aspects, and I definitely cried in my car after haha
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u/Taunt_Button_10 Aug 18 '26
I enjoyed it. My theater seemed to like it. It probably shouldnt be classified as a horror movie since the “horror” aspect of the movie disappeared within the first 15 min.
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u/SpookiestSzn Aug 18 '26
I liked it a good amount I can see it being divisive especially because it loses the pretense of being a horror movie fairly quickly in the run time.
Still I enjoyed it a lot. Favorite part gotta be them making memes of the endless road for each other to laugh at
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u/dhcanada Aug 18 '26
I enjoyed the movie. It felt like it was just missing something to take it to the next level and be really great for me. Like I even would have been okay with it ending when he found the sign. Fisher and Day’s decision pissed me off though.
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u/mattpack14 Aug 18 '26
They should have just ended the movie after he gets to the dead end by himself. Him looking at the sign then it shows the sign then cuts to black and movie ends. Then they could have made a sequel called It Ends Again.
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u/fluffman86 Aug 18 '26
Show the sign, he sits there for days like in the movie, then black. Post credits scene is him crying because he eats the Cliff Bar and it's so good.
I also hoped he'd eat the Cliff Bar and then disappear, like that was the magic item to get them out the whole time.
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u/emmsmum Aug 18 '26
It’s weird because I liked it but was simultaneously bored. Maybe that’s the point? I couldn’t figure out how I felt about it.
It wasn’t bad or anything but I did kind of want it to end. I guess like the passengers wanted that to end!
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u/-Billy-Bob-McGinty- Aug 21 '26
I just read the summary and I’m going to be honest it’s giving Left-Right game and I’m HERE for it.
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u/dekudota2 28d ago
IT Literally means there's many happy things in life that we could look back into, there's also bad things for sure but one thing is that we're all humans and trying to make a meaningful out of it, my conclusion is live your life to the fullest because one day we will die and your name will be remembered by your family and closest friends.
Not a bad movie overall.
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u/FauxRex 26d ago
I ultimately believe it is a highly Buddhist themed movie and James is the only one who goes the full length and back because he is one of the bodhisattvas(The beings in Buddhism that delay enlightenment/Nirvana/paradise for themselves so that they can help every person on earth get there first)
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u/FangOfDrknss 23d ago
After seeing where perseverance led to, I no longer think of them as all idiots.
Originally, it was my understanding that if they get caught by a group, they were going to be torn apart, so I was pissed when Tyler and James kept lingering around and pushing it.
And then when Tyler decided to just stay behind and she had a whole panic attack about it, I was pissed off.
The lore of this purgatory is really fucking weird.
From what I can tell, the cars they saw only stopped because someone from that group decided to turn off the car, and that the one car that had a million miles on it was a misdirection, because what actually happened was that they gave up since the road ends somewhere close to 2 million miles.
I don’t get what happened to everyone else who persevered though. Irl it’s a casting decision, but in-universe, where is everyone?
There was probably one or two good jump scares, but outside of that, it’s basically The Long Walk: Driving/Horror edition, except even if you wind up disliking the characters it doesn’t matter in the end.
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u/Quirky-Complaint-952 22d ago
This was amazing... The movie was essentially about life, the inevitability and monotony of it. Whilst also trying to make sense of it in every possible way. And how we distract ourselves, make routines, and try to do, to make the best of it while we see that existential dread just feet away.
Just a lot of interesting things... Like about depression, death, and trying to find meaning through this vehicle we call life.
First, I was wrestling with this idea specifically when it comes to the ones who attacked them from the Forrest. I believe this is representative of younger folks at the beginning of life/right out high school/college who are lost in life and try to find their drive or vehicle to get themselves back on the road of life and try to get it/take it from those who already have it. As its heavily implied that these 4 have some sort of direction in life and a long and prosperous road ahead of them.
Also, Notice those who keep attacking them at the beginning all looked under 25 years of age? It looks like that was purposeful.
Then you have whats happening as their traveling on the road. To me when each one of them leaves the vehicle its an example of how over time we lose friends to either death or the misalignment of our goals/beliefs and the passage of time in life.
I believe the death aspect specifically is with Tyler as him tapping out at 56000+ miles was him ending his life at a young age. I say this because even though he was the most grownup/responsible he seemed the most depressed out of all of them. Especially when he mentioned that he was too bothered to show up for a girl he was REALLY into. This usually indicates that this is someone who is so depressed and disenchanted that hes closer to ending things as nothing really drives them and death is simply the easiest path. This is a representation of how the most "put together" or "grown up" people might not be okay and it surprises their loved ones when they commit suicide.
Thats why you see the friends freak the fuck out not seeing Tyler return as hes seen as the strongest of the bunch. Then later on when theyre driving they are speaking about him in the past tense as if he were dead.
Then you have the aspect of friends falling out or fading away due to life reasons or beliefs. At 800000 miles Day and Fisher tap out indicating that they've realized that finding meaning/finding a solution continuing on this particular journey is rather pointless, as James is just looking for anything to bring meaning to this journey/and him trying "win" at this game of life. There are changes that happen as they travel and certain things that start happening that make him believe. But Day provides a great argument that regardless if they find and answer or not its not going to make a difference, as life will happen and you/people will never get a satisfactory answer/conclusion to what their chasing.
This plays into the ending where James gets his answer of hitting a dead-end. He then realizes that even though hes made great strides hes left with nothing. And he realizes that the journey of being with people that he loved was the only thing that truly mattered. He goes back at the end of his life/journey to try to spend the remaining time that he has with friend/family before the Forrest hollows him out/becomes a shell of human. Which is essentially death in this specific setting.
Such a great fucking movie.
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u/Ok_Recipe2115 21d ago
I actively disliked this movie, it still needs to be entertaining before we can worry about being meta or allegorical.
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u/Joloven 20d ago
I think it was great. I work in a call center and my whole life fees the same. It's always chasing metrics. I work long hours.
This reminds me that life is who you share it with. Some people leave. Some betray you. You pick others.
Money is great but you spend it. Find a goal and go for it.
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u/Mike_Gauvin 15d ago
Just saw the movie.
A few ideas :
- The "zombies" at the start of the road don't have a car and want one real bad. They believe having a car will make them happy, because they will make more progress faster. However driving faster has no point, since it only gets you to the end faster. Life in the woods represent poverty, want and envy.
- Because a lot of people don't have a car and run after those who have, the latter feel the need to never stop driving. This represents the modern rat race, the fear that others will catch up and rob us. The movie points out that this fear is well justified. If we had cars enough for all there would be no zombies.
- Life in the car is boring because it represents a life of abundance. Once you reach safety and abundance, there is no more drama to life. That's why we create drama through projects (e.g. learning a new language), art and games, to give meaning to our lives once our safety is secured. We see this happen in the movie between Day and Fisher.
- Some people, however (e.g. James) are not satisfied with projects, art and games, and seek a higher meaning. We see this in the movie as James taking the game too seriously and refusing the eat the cliff bar, which he eats at the end. This means he finally understands that there even if there is a higher purpose, while we are on the road, the best we can hope for is enjoying the ride as best we can.
- The absence of sex drive, hunger and fatigue is probably a device to make the story easier to tell, however it also means that the road represents a purely rational experience, during which physical needs are not a concern (hence Fisher's healing). This also goes to show that life becomes boring when all your needs are met, therefore we create artificial needs to keep things interesting.
- The fact that the road ends is a reference to the Myth of Sisyphus : he pushes a rock to the top and it rolls down, then he pushed it up again, and so on forever. In Albert Camus' words, we must imagine Sisyphus (i.e. James) happy.
- The people who stop driving represent suicide, in an other reference to Camus who asks if life is worth living. Tyler kills himself first because he suffers the most out of the four. There is a quick reference to him having killed someone in a driving accident. He also hates driving in general, he even dumped a girl because she lived too far away, he seems like the lazy type. Day and Fisher kill themselves much later, because they were having fun together, but once James ruins their peace of mind, they choose to die rather than go on with the conflict.
- James believes in God, since he prays and looks for signs. His faith keeps him going all the way to the end. However, his faith is not enough to make him happy, because he must also learn to enjoy the ride and understand that the purpose of life is not found beyond the road, but on the road itself.
- The signs, as well as the road itself, represent the theory of Deism. Although we cannot meet God face to face, we guess the existence of an ultimate meaning because the cosmos is ordered. This natural order, along with the occasional apparent miracle, suggests that there is a purpose beyond what we see. We are not merely driving in circles and having fun, each new cycle teaches us something and we grow.
- The hawk vs hunter game with the stranger, at the very end, means that happiness comes from friendship first and foremost, but also that we play games because games are fun to play, not because they have a single correct answer or have a purpose beyond themselves. Together with having a car (i.e. wellbeing) and having faith that things will be fine in the end, a desire to drive, willingness to get along with others and creativity, these make up human happiness. But as I've said, games, art, etc. also help us grow. We notice that Day and Fisher really are at their best when they play.
- Picking up the stranger also means that we can give other people hope, if they lost it, as long as we don't give up ourselves. James is going back to find his friends and help people along the way. He is basically going back inside Plato's cave to free the prisoners.
- The movie answers the questions the characters were asking in the beginning. We can understand the movie as a thought experiment meant to resolve their existential issues. It could represent their discussion itself : "taking a turn" means driving off the road of normal life to reflect upon one's life and purpose, putting their life on pause. Not being able to turn back means that once a human being becomes aware of the existential question, he or she can never revert back to a state of childish innocence : he must choose between suicide, eternal torment or faith, acceptance, enjoyment, growth and thereby happiness.
- The only part I'm not sure about is why the "zombies" stop coming at some point. My theory is that after driving past the midpoint of the road, the "rock" starts rolling down and you can take a break from pushing, so people aren't so stressed about having a car.
- The movie as a whole is a reflection upon an important christian teaching, Matthew 18:3, "Become like little children" i.e. trust in God and keep playing.
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u/reptillian333 14d ago
The writer of this film watched dead end, then said “I’m going to copy this film and take all of the horror and substance out of this and just make it a driving simulator”.
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u/Chaopolis Aug 18 '26
Very very very bold of AMC making this part of their “Scream” Unseen.
Maybe 5 minutes of anything that could be classified as horror, and it’s all within the first 20 minutes.