Customer Reviews

End of the Line

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Just finished watching this little indie again, and I have to say that I enjoyed it more the 2nd time around. I'll try to keep this short and sweet:

Synopsis

The film centers on a group of commuters that get stranded in an isolated subway network and are pursued by the members of a religious group trying to "save" them. Unfortunately, this means taking a crucifix dagger to the back and/or chest as the members believe the end of the world has come and that the only way to protect the souls of the innocent is to send them straight to god themselves.

Thoughts

The atmosphere was dark and brooding
There were some really excellent gore sequences
The acting was believable
The demons were unique and creepy
I appreciated the commentary regarding the danger of religious fundamentalism and how blind faith and/or brainwashing can (and in the past have) lead to problems

My only major complaint was the limited appearances by the demons. But after watching the film the 2nd time, I was glad that the on screen portrayal of the demons was limited as this would have undoubtedly reduced the impact of the ending

This movie would make a strong addition to any genre fans library

8/10

Enjoy

E. Romero

Religious zealots following the orders of a fanatical pastor to kill in order to save souls is not a new theme, but the presentation here is rather unique. While the city erupts in violence after the order to begin murdering the sinful citizenry, our story centers around a handful of passengers in the subway trying to outwit or outrun believers who have received the call (via cell phones) to carry out the murderous plot. There is plenty of blood, a bit of suspense, and the apperance of demons, who could have added to the film if they were written into more scenes. The characters have just enough depth for us to have more than a passing interest, and there are few moments of absolute stupidity that often burden horror films. There is an aura of dread and realism that does make the flick engrossing, though it suffers from a slow beginning and an ending that I did not find satisfying at all. However, the journey is an engrossing one as the pace picks up, and there is adequate balance between suspense, drama, and a supernatural element that keeps the viewer involved.

...considering it started out so badly for me. Some cheap scares at the beginning, cheap/sparse looking sets(especially the train compartments), the over-sexed young couple cliche, religious nuts on the loose plot-line, etc. All this conspired against the movie and made me want to shut it off early on, but i couldn't cause it was a rental and my gf wanted to see it through.

And i'm glad i did. Cause somewhere along the way, as the survivors gathered together and united against the zealots, i actually began to care or like them. This is very rare in horror films for me cause usually i find characters in horror films tend to be annoying to the point where i just end up rooting for the killer or monster to dispose of them in a gory fashion. Or, i only see them as a means to further the plot or action. Or, i usually care for only the lead performer(s).

Not so with this low-budget gem. I actually wanted to see most, if not all of them, make it through. I wanted that Asian chick to get here revenge on her attacker, the 'over-sexed' young couple mentioned earlier to escape their predicament, the two railway workers, the two leads, the tough guy trying to lead the group...i wanted, or wouldn't have mind, if most of the people survived this film and was glued to the screen to see who would and how. Bad news, not all of them make it. But i'll let you watch it to see who makes it and who doesn't.

I can't persuade you to watch this movie cause of the scenery, action, or effects(although it is rather bloody) since it's a low budget horror. But it does have some nice atmosphere, chills, and creepiness-factor that some horror films today severely lack. And it has something most horror films today don't have- a group of people you may actually like, care about, identify with, or root for.

Btw, the dvd had a few extras but i had to return the rental disc before i could access them. I really would have liked to check out the commentary though to see what went through the director's mind when putting this film together. Worth a watch and definitely recommended as a rental.

About an "end of days" cult of hundreds of religious zealots ordered by their Pastor (via a mass distribution cell phone message) to go out and kill as many innocent humans as possible so that their victims' souls can be saved and sent to God before a predicted on-slaught of demons take possession of the world. Mostly takes place on a sub-way and in an underground sub-way tunnel. It's very philosophical. The ending leaves it up to you to believe what you want. The movie is kinda light on actual demon sightings. But there's plenty of knife weilding everyday Christian's (including little kids, old ladies, etc.) for any horror fan. Lot's of gruesome stabbings.

Most of the reviewers are getting caught up in the religious aspect of the movie. I say that is a secondary element - this is still a horror movie first and secondarily is a horror movie about religious people gone wrong, which, I suppose, characterizes this more as a documentary than a fictional movie :). Overall, the movie was mostly average. It was atmospherically fun and different having been set in a subway system, and drew interesting parallels to "sleeper cell"-like armies just waiting to be activated. There were a few good scares for sure, and some good creepy moments. However, it was just average for me. There's nothing particularly memorable or inspiring enough to make me want to watch the movie again. So I'd probably highly rate it for rental purposes, but would not advocate buying before seeing.

End of the Line is clever, entertaining, subtle and (amazingly) did not once insult my intelligence. Highly recommended for horror fans.

Say hello to your new folk hero, fellow horror fanatics. Low budget Canadian writer, director, producer Maurice Devereaux has outdone himself. His last film Slashers was among the most murderously entertaining horror films I'd seen in years and it' took him 5 years to finally get the backing to follow it up. How sad is that? Well, not only does "End of the Line" not disappoint, it blows away the competition. Devereaux has positioned himself to be the next George Romero with his brutal and satirical horror chops and talent for working outside of the system. There's a special feature where he explains why he refuses to answer questions about the film's budget due to distribution negotiations. That is to say that it is so small for a film of this quality that it would leave the Hollywood types dumbfounded and (hopefully) embarrassed with themselves. This is the best horror film to be released in America this year so far and the fact that it took 3 years to get released here and didn't even get a theatrical run makes we want to punch somebody. This is not to be missed.

At first, "End of the Line" felt like it was going to be a bit like The Midnight Meat Train, which was another great horror flick that got ridiculously ignored in favor of the same old Hollywood garbage. But when the story takes it's big turn then I can say that this one is not only different, but superior. If there's one theme that I find irresistable, it has to be the apocalypse. I don't care if it's zombies, nuclear bombs, giant naked anime girls, or armies of demons battling angels I am obsessed with the end of the world. Well, how about death by religious fanatics? Imagine if every Christian on the planet went homicidal in the name of their God at the exact same moment. Timely, stylish, socially relevant, and scary as all hell. Apparently I'm not the only one who's noticed just how creepy the entire setup of organized religion is. But you know what's even scarier: what if the maniacs are right? Yes, this will do just fine. Once again, Canadian horror shows us how it's done.

The cast in this does an amazing job top to bottom. Whether it's the spot-on impression of the everpresent double-chinned pastor, the classic middle-aged fanatical woman, or the repressed misogynistic scumbag the villains of this piece are both recognizable as our neighbors and as freaky as they come. The protagonists are a likable and imperfect bunch who behave very much the way most of us would under the circumstances. It's pleasing to watch a film like this and not be yelling at the screen or rolling my eyes at the constant stupidity of the people I'm supposed to want to survive but end up only wishing for their prompt death. Also, this film is BRUTAL! Not only in it's commentary, but visually the gore is awesome. You know a movie is working when you regret the deaths of some of the killers. There's one shot that literally made me gasp it was so completely and horribly disturbing to me. This is not PG-13 and it's not even R. This is a film that is legitimately unrated for a reason. They probably could have gotten a hard R with exactly one less shot in the film, but I heartily applaud the people behind this film for not compromising. This is what I like to call "the real deal".

The DVD release features a very entertaining deleted scene, commentary, a very good 30-minute "making-of" feature, and a few more odds and ends for a complete package. There is no reason not to buy this movie if you are looking for a great survival horror film. Being hunted in the subway by "normal" people may not be the the way I want to experience the End of Days, but watching others live (and die) that way was a mighty good time. Let's do our duty and support this stuff. This is the kind of film I personally want to watch and the fact is that these films almost never get made inside of the Hollywood system because the monkey-suited fatcats think the films won't make money and they can't be bothered to promote them. I for one wish to prove them wrong. More often the not, lower budget = higher creativity and I'd personally rather see a superior story crafted by somebody who cares about what he's doing then sit through another big-budget explosion-fest poorly directed by some Hollywood hack. But that's just me. I do have a question to ask of some of the better horror filmmakers of the last decade before I go. What is it with Asian girls throwing themselves in front of trains?

Well... it is amazing how a great idea and a carefully developed screenplay makes all the difference. END OF THE LINE could have been just another boring imitation of a formula (the kind of thing we see in 90% of all the straight-to-DVD movies we see today).

But this film succeeds on being much more.

Mr. Devereaux is another example of someone who really knows what it takes in order to make a serious horror film. And his direction/screenplay/production do deliver the goods!

The story is very unusual: people everywhere start seeing demons and the world seems to have been taken over by a fanatic Christian sect. In that context, a group of people get stuck inside a subway train at the same moment the sect starts mass murdering. Between demons and fanatics, there seems to be no place in the world for normal people anymore...

The great thing about this film is that it is beautifully crafted. Music, cinematography, screenplay, makeup, everything is in place. Mr. Devereaux clearly knows the price of those things and their value. He uses everything intelligently.

That means the film actually looks much more expensive than what it cost and THAT fact alone is worth checking. I do not know how much this film cost... but whatever it did I'm sure it look it cost a lot more.

Being a low-budget, of course the film has some limitations... but the Director/Producer clearly knows how to avoid those budget traps that expose the such limitations. The tight story, situations, pace and makeup easily make up for any lesser element you may spot.

On a nutshell, this film pushes the limits of what you can do with a low budget EXACTLY BECAUSE of a careful development of the screenplay, shooting and post.

The critical/satirical take on religious fanaticism (in this case good old Christian fanaticism!) is both funny and disturbing. It looks like the fanatics are much more dangerous than the demons! (laughs)

I did not like the DVD cover and the art work, however. It looks too cheap. The film deserves better.

I give this film five stars because... I don't think you can ask for more here.
I recommend this film.

Maurice Devereaux strikes again! The writer/producer/director of the deliciously entertaining SLASHERS has finally found a distributor for his 2007 film END OF THE LINE and is this flick ever a doozy. It hits the ground running with a good and proper scare just to let us know that we're in for something special and believe me this flick is special. It has a completely original story that never takes you where you think you're going, an interesting assortment of characters who are more than just victims d'jour, a cast of very competent actors to inhabit those characters, plus a nice assortment of gory ways to kill them off. Oh yes, there will be blood.

I don't want to go into the story too much because its best to go into this movie cold. Our heroine is Karen,a psychiatric nurse at a hospital that has been receiving more than the usual number of loonies. Karen(Ilona Elkin) herself has been experiencing unnerving dreams and visions--centered around one of her patients who committed suicide by diving in front of a subway train. All of the film's action takes place in the subway, and it starts in earnest when Karen is accosted by a nasty looking trouble maker who clearly is up to no good. A good looking young man named Mike(Nicholas Wright) comes to her rescue and the die is cast. Within the next few hours these three characters along with a feisty hot Asian chick Emily Shelton), a pair of young lovers (Tim Rozon and and Nina Fillis), a couple of subway workers and a take charge guy named Neil (Neil Napier)will be fighting for their lives and maybe even their souls against--against what? Well, that would be telling and I want you to find out for yourself. There are all sorts of twists and turns and an ending that will either mystify you or tick you off. Watch it at least twice, but WATCH IT, its a roaring good time.

On second thought its really a 5 star flick but amazon won't let you change your ratings after the fact.

End of the Line (Maurice Devereaux, 2006)

Interesting, if flawed, little horror flick from Devereaux (Slashers). Psychiatric nurse Karen (Eternal's Ilona Andrews) is taking the subway home when it grinds to a halt in the middle of a tunnel. (This, I should note, is after the night has already gotten pretty ugly, in both the mundane and supernatural senses.) As if that's not bad enough, a local wingnut preacher has just decided that Armageddon is on the way, and has paged all his cult members (yes, paged!) to give them the good news... sending them all on a murderous rampage. Karen and a handful of others from the train who survived the initial onslaught, as well as a pair of lineworkers, have to try and make it through the night without getting killed by homicidal religious wackos. But in the back of their minds lurks the question... what if the preacher's right?

The film suffers from pacing problems at both ends (the setup tends to drag, while the end feels rushed, and the film's final frames are bound to leave the viewer unsatisfied), but once you're away from those, this is a very, very good flick that almost seems to be the spiritual father of a more recent horror movie that spends a lot of its time in subways. The characters are enjoyable, the direction is solid, the script never quite takes itself too seriously, and there are jumps aplenty. And that song the wingnuts keep singing, that's reprised in the end credits? That's just plain creepy. *** ½