It Ends Review: One Of 2026’s Best Horror Movies Is A Slow-Burn Indie Marvel

Delicate and dread-inducing, It Ends is an impressively effective horror movie that trades big scares for deeply effective existential terror.

It Ends admittedly sounds like a drag on paper, but it's fascinating in execution. The film really impressed critics when it premiered at SXSW 2025, and it garnered a strong reputation online after a brief period of availability on Letterboxd's rental service. That combo was enough for the ultimate slow-burn horror movie, in which the four main characters rarely leave their car, to finally score a theatrical release.

The set-up gives way to plenty of indie movie navel-gazing, none of which feels unnecessary. On the contrary: That very focused approach to character is what keeps the film compelling, especially as the reality of their situation only becomes more frightening with each passing minute, hour, and day.

It Ends might not be for everyone; there's certainly a type of horror fan who will balk at the lack of violence or overt scares. However, as a heady exploration of the human condition in an impossible situation, it's an understated marvel. Writer-director Alexander Ullom has crafted a deliberate exploration of depression and isolation that uses them as springboards for a very impressive debut feature.

It Ends Is A Dread-Inducing Emotional Showcase

It Ends is like a feature-length episode of The Twilight Zone, with a focus on character that lends itself well to the tightly constructed dynamics and low-key horror of the premise. The film follows four childhood friends who are reuniting for the first time since graduation. James (Phinehas Yoon), Day (Akira Jackson), Fisher (Noah Toth), and Tyler (Mitchell Cole) all climb into a car and drive down a quiet forest road.

The problem is, that road never ends. It just goes on and on and on. The four steadily realize something is wrong when it dawns on them that they aren't running out of gas, or feeling hunger – and that hordes of screaming people come out of the trees whenever they stop. Ullom then chooses to linger in the ramifications of that discovery.

If that sounds dull, it's very much meant to be. It Ends never really escapes this existential hell that the four have found themselves in. In the face of endless repetition and ambiguity, hope fades, resilience in the face of the world's mysteries fails, and the characters are overtaken by a genuinely unsettling sense of dread.

It's a bold move for Ullom, who directed, wrote, and edited the movie. It's also deeply effective if you allow it to be. There's a subtle sensation of dawning terror that steadily grows, with just enough changes and jump scares early on to lure the audience into the film's deliberate, creepy experience.

It Ends Only Works Because Of The Great Cast

Because so much of the film is rooted in these four characters and their interactions, to the extent that it feels more like a stage play than a cinematic experience at times, it's crucial the cast delivers. Phinehas Yoon does great work as James, who quickly becomes the emotional bedrock of the film. Akira Jackson and Noah Toth find a lot of layers to their potentially one-note characters, especially as the situation becomes more haunting, and Mitchell Cole is very effective as the somber Tyler. Cole finds little frays around the edges of Tyler's stoicism that make him feel like someone on the edge even before the situation becomes bizarre.

It Ends relies entirely on these four to find moments of levity, vulnerability, and tension. The fact that they do so well isn't just a credit to their acting talents, but also the effectiveness of Ullom's script, which is dread-inducing without ever being overwhelmingly bleak. It's a movie very much about humanity in an impossible situation, with the greatest danger to the four being what they allow to happen to them. The result is a haunting and vulnerable collection of performances.

It Ends is a very specific kind of horror movie, in which the audience may find themselves losing track of time as the characters do. It runs at a brisk pace, but knows when to pull back on certain developments to let the moment stew. It's a deliberate movie that could be mistaken for slow, but that assessment would be missing the point.

The dawning dread at the heart of It Ends underscores the real intention of the premise. There's a sense of mystery that speaks to the unknowable realities of life. Throughout it all, the film refuses to gift the characters, or the audience, a single certainty. Instead, the thematic meaning of the characters' words and choices gives this slow burn more power. Ullom has transformed a tricky premise into the kind of horror drama that sticks with you long after the credits roll.

It Ends releases in theaters on Friday, August 21.