End of the Line

Prior to "End of the Line," the only thing I'd seen by writer-director Maurice Devereaux was a satirical short on PMS, done in the style of a '50s educational film (look it up on YouTube). Needless to say, this guy is a versatile talent worth keeping an eye on. Like many low-budget, independent horror films, "Line" begins fairly awkward, with wobbly performances, questionable makeup effects, and bizarre camera choreography. But after a deliberate buildup followed by an incredibly chilling segue into cold-blooded violence, "End of the Line" goes off and running to its own rhythm and tune, with near-total disregard for political correctness and moral scrutiny. The plot wouldn't seem so intensely button-pushing if we hadn't been inundated (especially in the wake of 9/11) with a rash of films that failingly attempt to rationalize and justify contemptible actions (on both sides) in the midst of warfare and natural disaster; Devereaux's 'monsters' are members of an expansive (and apparently global) religious sect, led by a Jim Jones type foretelling the impending apocalypse. Armed with crucifix daggers, strong belief, and Sunday Smiles, these zealots are the stuff of nightmares (proving once again what George Romero established in "Night of the Living Dead"--what a zombie does to a person is nothing compared to what the human survivors do to themselves). Beginning on a stopped subway car (where the PA crackles with cryptic, incoherent messages) and progressing through the subterranean tunnels below, a disparate group of survivors attempt to find their way to safety while being stalked by the murderous sect. The location is one of "Line"'s key strengths: the dimly-lit, desolate tunnels provide a thick, claustrophobic sense of desperation and isolation that only ratchets up the terror of the situation. Similarly, the performances by a cast of Stateside unknowns improves considerably as the film progresses, to the point where the viewer aligns his own survival instinct with that of the characters, and the desire to see them make it out alive. But like Romero, Devereaux isn't content with Happy Endings, and leaves us on an admirably ambiguous note that would do Dante Aligheri proud. "End of the Line" is a triumph for the genre.

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 ...

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.

It's the 'End of the Line' for a group of train passengers trying to survive a cultist attack in this 2007 Canadian horror film.

We meet Karen, a very traumatized woman who has been having terrible nightmares involving being attacked on a subway train. After completing her during late evening shift at the hospital, Karen leaves and heads to take the train home still plagued by the nightmares she's been having along with strange drawings she's been receiving which has depictions of demons taking over the world. Once at the subway tracks. Karen notices a cute young man and makes eyes with him. Also there is a creepy man who starts harassing her. The other guy (Mike) stops anything bad from happening.

Once on the train, Karen is jolted when it suddenly stops mid tunnel. After some intense moments of Karen seeing visions of a dead girl on the tracks, we find out that there is a doomsday cult which has been consuming and distributing hallucinogen laced muffins which make people have visions of demons - Karen ate one at work. The goal of the cult is to save the souls of humanity for God, which is done by killing non-believers with swords and daggers. With the group set to take over the world, Karen and a group of train passengers will have to try and fight off the cultists who are committed to creating a mass suicide.

Shot entirely in Toronto, and being from the city, it was cool to see some very familiar subways station locations from our TTC transit line. The opening scene of the film was so effective, and had the best jump scare of the entire thing. 'End of the Line' was a pretty effective horror thriller with an interesting and very different premise than what we're used to in the genre. I thought having the main filming location be on a subway train (and in the tracks) helped build a very claustrophobic atmosphere which was great. The acting overall was alright, with Ilona Elkin leading the way as Karen. The major failure of the movie is how slow it runs after an exhilarating first 30 minutes. Once the characters go on the run to avoid the cultists, it kinda drags on and on and gets a bit dull.

All in all, I'd recommend giving 'End of the Line' a watch. It's got an interesting plot and some really well done kill scenes, it just drags on a bit too much in the middle towards the end.

6/10.

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.