‘It Ends’ Review: A Never-Ending Road Leads to a Promising New Voice in Horror

It has not been an easy journey for It Ends. The debut feature by Alexander Ullom hit the festival circuit in 2025, gaining praise but no distributor. After landing on the Letterboxd Video Store and creating more traction, the film was finally picked up by Neon for a theatrical release. And for good reason. 2026 is the year of high concept, light fantasy horror releases from young filmmakers. It Ends fits in perfectly with other popular releases from this year like Obsession and Backrooms. Making its trouble with distribution look more like a long time coming than a problem with the film. It Ends follows a group of four friends, James, Fisher, Day, and Tyler, as they turn onto a never-ending road that is full of unanswered questions and horror. Together the four must decide how to face this new path as they drive miles with no way out in sight. Read our full review for It Ends below. 

The main takeaway from It Ends is that you should be excited for whatever Alexander Ullom does next. Though this film is laced with a few flaws, what is clear is that Ullom has potential to become a major voice in horror one day. The movie is strong conceptually, visually, and on an emotional standpoint. This felt like an extremely personal film about the anxiety of joining the workforce or heading out on your own. Basically every time the core four are talking about the road it can be interpreted as them talking about their post-college life. It can feel like there is one single path you must go: get a job then start a family and then hopefully retire and then die, etcetera. The use of this never-ending road as a metaphor for life comes off extremely clear and clever. I can see this film meaning a lot to people in their early twenties because of how strongly written the characters are. It is a really solid concept that was taken to its limit. 

The major problem is that, though this is conceptually strong, it is limiting. Luckily, It Ends has an hour and twenty-nine minute runtime. It tries to not overstay its welcome, but even with this short runtime the whole basis of the story makes the film a little monotonous at points. Yet, that is sort of the point. In the end it makes you feel like you too are on this drive with these characters by taking you through all the slow moments too. Not knowing what to say to each other, fighting, just listening to music, or quiet time. It was all really thought through and the director was not afraid to make the audience feel how repetitive their lives have become on the road. I will say this film is not scary in the traditional sense. There aren’t many jump scares or a traditional villain, because it is more the concept of being stuck that provides the fear or anxiety. I say this to level your expectations when it comes to the horror, the existential dread works but beyond that there are barely any scares. Even if it does not all work, you cannot deny how promising a debut this really is. 

Another major strength of It Ends is the cast. The four characters are played by relatively new comers Akira Jackson, Phinehas Yoon, Noah Toth, and Mitchell Cole. The highlight for me was the duo of Akira Jackson and Noah Toth. If you watch a lot of movies or shows trying to capture Gen Z people in their twenties, then you would know how hard it apparently is. Jackson and Toth, though, truly capture the spirit and the language of this generation. This is why younger filmmakers are so important. Sometimes they are the only ones actually able to capture their own generation. Phinehas Yoon also is very strong as the lead, he is given the tougher role of the serious one in the group who is hellbent on getting out. Lastly Mitchell Cole’s smaller performance leaves an impact throughout the entire film and was overall very reserved. All four of these actors did a fantastic job and I hope to see more of them in the future. 

In the end, It Ends is a must see of the year. Especially if you love Obsession or Backrooms, and are looking for more fresh, new voices in this sometimes tired genre. Even though the film had a rocky start, it has had one of the happiest endings. Alexander Ullom already has a deal with Neon to distribute his next film 4×4: The Event and a star studded cast to accompany it. Needless to say, drive on over to your local theater and see It Ends, because it is most definitely worth your time. 

It Ends was written and directed by Alexander Ullom and stars Akira Jackson, Phinehas Yoon, Noah Toth, and Mitchell Cole. The film was given a theatrical release on August 28. 

Thank you for reading. If you liked this It Ends review, check out more reviews here at Feature First!