By Robert Scucci | Published 1 hour ago I’m coming to realize that my favorite kind of sci-fi flicks involve small budgets and minimal special effects while focusing on characters who find themselves in increasingly extraordinary and bizarre situations involving time manipulation. 2001’s Donnie Darko and 2013’s Coherence are perfect examples of how great acting and a tight storyboard can melt your mind. 2024’s Tim Travers and the Time Traveler’s Paradox also wins points for playing with time loops and alternate realities in the most ridiculous ways possible. If you’re a fan of any of these titles, it comes with a strong recommendation that you check out 2017’s The Endless. Starting on solid ground as it digs itself into increasingly existential territory, The Endless continually messes with time, space, and perception when its two protagonists revisit the UFO death cult they escaped from a decade prior. Two Brothers With Drastically Different Memories The Endless centers on Justin (Justin Benson) and Aaron (Aaron Moorhead) Smith, two brothers living miserable lives in San Diego. Working menial jobs and living week-to-week on their meager salaries, they can’t make friends, meet women, or even afford decent food. When they receive a mysterious videotape in the mail from Camp Arcadia, the commune where they grew up, they decide to head back and see what it’s all about. Aaron, the more naive of the two, remembers a warm and welcoming place where he was fed, clothed, and encouraged to pursue the hobbies that made him feel like his best self. Justin, the cynic, recalls being oppressed by a UFO death cult that castrates its members and strives for “ascension.” In his mind, the group is waiting for the right time to commit mass suicide, but the tape suggests that everyone still there is alive, well, and somehow hasn’t aged a day since the brothers left 10 years earlier. A Film That Indoctrinates You As You View It What makes The Endless such a masterful piece of cinema is how you almost become a cult member yourself while watching it. After Aaron convinces Justin to spend the night at their old home, we’re introduced to a number of peculiar characters led by Hal (Tate Ellington), who isn’t exactly a cult leader but definitely the most talkative. His calm authority makes him feel like one anyway, though he insists he’s simply trying to figure out how to ascend based on signs from an entity everyone at Camp Arcadia has experienced at one point or another. As The Endless pushes its premise into increasingly surreal territory, it’s clear that something supernatural is at play. Two moons hang in the sky on most nights, and talk of a third moon and the upcoming ascension is always front and center. As a viewer, you’ll constantly wonder whether the residents of Camp Arcadia are running a long con or if they’re genuinely trying to crack some kind of cosmic code that’s just out of reach. Experiencing their own inexplicable encounters with an unseen, omnipresent force, Justin and Aaron decide to stick around, not because they’ve been pulled back into a UFO death cult, but because they owe it to themselves to figure out exactly what kind of life they walked away from. Is it a suicidal cult? Or is Hal on the verge of a real metaphysical breakthrough that they can witness more objectively now that they’re older and wiser? You Can See What Kind Of Care Went Into This Project Written by Justin Benson while Aaron Moorhead handled cinematography, The Endless benefits from both creators doubling up on directorial and editorial duties. They worked closely on every detail, and it shows. The special effects rely mostly on smart double exposures and dreamy transitions to show that not everything is what it seems as the brothers find themselves trapped in some kind of all-knowing, all-powerful celestial timeloop. There’s no need for explosions or theatrics when the atmosphere alone creates such unease and open-endedness. Related: There’s never an explicit antagonist in The Endless, but every character has a reason to glance over their shoulder as they navigate Camp Arcadia and wait for their supposed chance to ascend. Streaming The Endless GFR SCORE The Endless does a lot with a little, and that includes its release. Having only earned $957,694 at the box office due to limited exposure, the film went on to find its audience and earn serious critical acclaim. As of this writing, The Endless holds a 91 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes , a testament to its sharp writing, dual leads, and grounded yet increasingly unhinged storytelling. If you’re into time-loop trickery, death-cult camaraderie, and a healthy dose of brotherly humor, then you owe it to yourself to log into Tubi and watch The Endless in all of its mind and time-bending glory. Source: https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/ufo-cult-sci-fi-thriller.html