50 Essential Sci-Fi Films of the 21st Century (So Far)

Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have built their career in science-fiction horror, frequently weaving in other generic elements but never forgetting their roots. Their films are a deeply collaborative process, with Benson as writer, Moorhead as cinematographer, and the pair of them directing, but with The Endless, they went one step further by starring as the main characters, and this extra level of control helped make their magnum opus.  

A bona fide future cult classic, The Endless brings brothers Justin and Aaron Smith (Benson and Moorhead, respectively) back to Camp Arcadia, the "UFO death cult" in the woods that they escaped years earlier. A mysterious video cassette lures them in, promising an impending ascension and a sinister new step in the cult’s game plan. However, when they arrive, they discover nothing has changed: the camp itself looks the same, and the people haven’t aged a day. And it’s got everything to do with a mysterious entity lingering above the woods.

It turns out the entity can create time loops, trapping people in whatever span of time it chooses, and ending, then resetting, their experiences with their death. It’s a wonderful twist on both the cult and time travel subgenres that delivers on its grand temporal concept without the need for the usual tsunami of white noise CG. Suitably understated, The Endless is presented in muted, sepia tones with splashes of colour, making each effect on the road to doom all the more affecting.