End of the Line

I just saw EOTL at the Palm Springs film festival, and I'm very pleased (the guy above would be also be pleased to know that this version was shortened to 95 minutes). It was the rare horror movie that did the fundamental thing right: made you care about the victims. Everyone, even the crazy cultists, was given layers and dimensions beyond surface stereotypes and caricatures (no token black-nerd-ditzy blonde-tough guy-final girl lineup here) This is also probably the only movie I've seen that's actually scary along with having graphic gore. The gore scenes themselves aren't scary, but they are intense, because they are happening to people that you've invested some emotion in. I'm also glad that the demon effects were used sparingly; Devereaux knows that real live crazy people can be much scarier. The atmosphere contributed greatly to this; I've always found scenes of people standing alone in those subway stations pretty creepy (best example: the scene with the Asian girl and the train. Those who've seen the movie will know what I'm talking about) The acting was top-notch across the board, my palms were actually sweating because I wanted at least most of the main cast to make it out alive. The special effects were not-surprisingly excellent; look for a nasty half-decapitation as a great example. Like I said before, it was good that the demons were rarely seen, but when they were, they were very well-done (aside from a few CGI ones, but they had to be in order to pull off certain stunts) Overall, I can give End of the Line the best praise for a horror movie: it does what it meant to do.

Karen is a nurse at a psychiatric hospital whose been having nightmares of jump scares recently(and yeah, those do make a lot of appearances in this... but it does build a proper atmosphere, and is a very tense ride). On her way home, the subway train she's on stops suddenly, and she and a group of other regular people find themselves chased by a cult(who are genuinely and effectively creepy, throughout; they make this, in part, a zombie flick) out for blood, who claim that judgment day is coming(and that death is the better fate). Is this just a band of mad believers, or could they actually be right? This keeps it vague enough that you continue to ask yourself that question throughout, right up until the great ending. It goes into themes about faith(without it saying that it's completely good or bad), religious fanaticism(how far will they go?), hypocrisy, status and the like. This is somewhat exploitative(with some truly brutal gore, and extremely disturbing sequences, if these are moderate in amount), and it gets quite cheesy(the killers all use crosses that function as knives, and one of them, a middle-aged guy no less, wields a friggin' sword). It doesn't overstay its welcome, and keeps to a solid pace, and it gets going quickly whilst at the same time developing the characters, all of whom are sufficiently likable and credible(no one is really obnoxious, albeit one member of the murdering lot is truly despicable... but we love to hate him, and it really works). The FX vary, however most are excellent(a couple of designs and choices are questionable). This is at its best in the first 20 minutes or so, and if you find yourself not happy with the change after about that period of time, you might not like the rest of this. It does feel like the two portions of it don't completely fit together. The hour and a half do pass like nothing, and it has positive surprises along the way. Dialog tends to be fine, if there are a handful of lines that are... strange. Acting is so-so. There's a reason those on this cast aren't "names". There is some sexuality and a little strong language in this. I recommend this to fans of dark Gothic horror. 7/10

Just (and I mean literally, just) saw this at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was preceded by a really creepy first-person handicam short film (The Eyes of Edward James), which had me shaking even before End started.

Suffice it to say, the film did not disappoint. It helps not to know much about the movie, but the key plot points are: * Death & * The Subway

Canadian viewers will get a kick out of the TTC and Montreal Metro shots (and have a fun time taking public transit home), and pretty much anyone will be freaked out about taking the subway after watching it.

The only complaint I would make is it was about 30 minutes and a few characters too long. There was a bit too much characterisation and conversation, and it slowed the plot down - though I'm quick to add that it never went too long before a scary/exciting part picked up again. If this is going to see major release though, they'll definitely need to cut it - anything over 2h is already too much, and this movie definitely didn't need that extra stuff.

One final warning: It is exceedingly gory. I have not seen so much blood and graphic violence in a long time. And it'll scare you.

I really want to see what Maurice Devereaux will come up with in the future. He's got a lot of great ideas in this film and I'd like to see what he's capable of with a good set of actors and a decent budget. I really enjoyed this; it's got so much heart and does all the right things but, as it stands, it falls a bit short of its potential. It's a great low-budget horror film but it tries to be more than that and doesn't quite make it.

The storyline and plot are both excellent and, while not wholly original, are miles ahead of the cookie cutter garbage that passes for "horror" these days. This is definitely a "horror" film in every sense of the word - plenty of scares, a supernatural undercurrent, impending doom and a strong religious theme. A special note should be given to the atmosphere in this film. Even with low production values, the director created an apocalyptic world that felt like it was closing in on you. The results are pretty horrifying.

Basically, a group of people on a late night subway train find themselves stranded when the power goes out. As the passengers wait, a prominent cult leader contacts his followers and tells them that the rapture is imminent. He orders them to "save" (translation: kill with crucifix daggers and sabres) all the non-believers around them.

Many cultists are on the train and begin slaying people but a group of passengers manage to get away and find refuge in a nearby service point. Cell phones, radios and TVs are all of no use and we find out later that the cult leader has taken over a TV station and is broadcasting the mayhem going on in the city and around the world.

From the start there are scenes that are designed to make you jump and lots of strange occurrences that begin to make sense as the movie progresses. Unless you're really perceptive, I doubt you'll get everything on a first viewing, probably because you'll be busy trying not to sh!t your pants during the first 15 minutes.

All this mystery would be fine if this was a more straightforward movie but I still had questions after watching it a second time. Not major questions just little things that nag me as I write this review. The ending was good, though, and I think I got it. The director did say that he wanted to leave it open so that people would discuss the movie and he definitely succeeded.

If you can put up with the amateur acting and are willing to invest some thought into it, this is a great little horror movie.

Horror movies can be fun, can be exciting or can be something to think about. This tries to check many boxes. And depending on how open you are and if you care for certain things (and also the fact you have to keep record and think for yourself and what certain things mean) ... it'll play out one way or the other for you.

So either you'll have a good experience watching this or you won't. The director himself says, you decide what it means, I won't tell you. Not that he doesn't have an opinion or hasn't layed out clues. But again, that's not everyone's cup of tea. So this is decent and has good horror moments, but the over the top acting (some may feel this is an exaggeration) will alienate some viewers ...