The Endless is about two brothers who ran away from what they thought was a UFO cult and decide to visit the compound ten years later after discovering that life in the real world is not better and just need a break. When they return to Camp Arcadia, they receive nothing but a warm welcome from talented people, but the location of the cult is objectively strange. Should they stay or go?
I saw The Endless a little over two years ago and was completely blown away by it then started wondering why the directors, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who also star in the movie, were not more famous. Then I discovered that this movie was a sequel to Resolution. It was a nightmare to discover that I had accidentally watched films out of order. If I ever decided to make my own religion, I broke one of the commandments. Is The Endless understandable without seeing Resolution? Yes, but it would make a lot more sense if I had seen it in its proper order, and it actually improves if you see it repeatedly. The Endless is streaming on Netflix. Resolution is streaming on Amazon Prime.
What separates Benson and Moorehead from most filmmakers is their stories are still interesting with or without the sci fi and horror story. It is primarily a story of two brothers reconciling with their past and their interpersonal power structure is unsatisfying to them, but it is also a broader story about navigating through difficult circumstances that you have no control over and cannot escape. All the characters struggle with control: pretending to have it or adjusting to the growing awareness that they do not have it.
While The Endless is the anti-Midsommar, it explicitly asks the unspoken question posed in that film. When life is disappointing, painful and monotonous, is a little unknown danger a small price to pay for community, comfort and fulfilling instead of meaningless work? As the movie unfolds, it is obvious that Benson and Moorehead believe that it is better to die free than live a slave; however unlike Kanye West, they do not believe that slavery is always a choice. They depict plenty of examples of people who did not have any warnings and still suffer. The innate horror of this movie is the pain and futility of human existence in all its permutations.
The Endless poses the most important question in human existence. When life is irrevocably messed up, how do you handle it? Benson and Moorehead show every possible response until coming to the choice: suicide, solitary rebellion, friendship and community. Each option has its drawbacks because in slavery, there is no real choice just making the best of inhumane circumstances, but the cult, whom we understandably view with suspicion, show that there is an alternative to going mad in the face of Lovecraftian levels of an incomprehensible phenomenon: doing one’s personal best, creating your own traditions, making space for others, accepting everyone regardless of their off-putting flaws, community. It reminds me of Philippians 4:12, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.”
The Endless misdirects our attention and creates suspense by giving us plenty of characters to be suspicious of in and outside of the cult. There is one startling, profane character who is mostly alone. During my initial viewing, his manner overshadowed the substance of his dialogue and situation. There is an ugly, genius poetry to his character that I admired more the second time around. Similarly because I had not seen Resolution, suddenly being introduced to a suspicious tableau made me initially miss the humor and camaraderie between the friends. Even in the direst scenes, there is a beauty to it depending on company kept or one’s sense of self. The most tragic characters are the one who is welcomed into the cult, but sets herself apart from it and the man in the tent.
Benson and Moorehead definitely had a little more money to spend this time around, and they spent it wisely. Unlike Resolution, there is no doubt that there is a threat which is not human. Apparently they could afford drones to do the overhead shots. There are more scenes that unfold in slow motion. The landscape is shot in a way that evokes a timeless, mythical world that coexists with our modern, grubby world. Nature gradually dominates each shot-birds, celestial bodies. The shimmers never look cheap. The denouement should make Stephen King jealous. The Endless did a better job of depicting time and conveying the difference to viewers than Christopher Nolan did in Dunkirk.
If Resolution detailed how this phenomenon works, The Endless gave us more details on who the phenomenon is.
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The Endless’ entity is The Langoliers meets Groundhog Day. It gains control over a person if the person allows it to control them in any way even if it is an involuntarily freeze response like Chris or the person asks an innocent question like Michael in Resolution. This entity cannot usually be seen, but it can physically interact with our world and has dominion over any living being whom it gets control over. For the people in the cult, it is when they see three moons because of the location of the camp with respect to other time loops. We do not know what those other loops subjectively see when it devours and resets their pods. Because the cult members have a playful relationship with the entity, they get more time. It can probably give more time than ten years, but it is the amount of time that the cult received. It can definitely give less depending on how satisfying the story in the time loop is.
The Endless is a very interesting film theologically. Benson and Moorehead do not deny the existence of a literal higher power, but suggest that its existence should not be conflated with deference or deem it superior though they concede it is terrifying. Even though this entity bears no resemblance to the Christian concept of God, its love of stories, desire to interact with people, but not on an equal footing and its use of our media to tell its stories do. The Bible is a really an anthology of related stories. Their view of theology is more provocative and honest than atheism because whether or not God is objectively literal or like the entity, time coupled with the fear of oblivion and eternity which will separate us from the world, people and things that we love and trap us with or without people in a place not of our choosing can be equated with fear of death and what comes afterwards if anything.
Instead of wasting time and trying to understand or reason with it, do your best to postpone it and simply live messy, fucked up lives in complete partnership without pretending to be better than anyone else. It may be the underlying factor that makes Benson and Moorehead’s film collaboration work. Even though under this model, my choice to follow Jesus is unwise and a trap which will bring me closer to oblivion, I can appreciate their stance to just enjoy the ride and embrace our imperfections.
