Oh, the low budget horror market, that swap meet of quality where trash is peddled as treasure and sometimes, just sometimes, an unexpected delight presents itself.  While toiling once again in the fields of straight-to-video features, I settled in for a little film entitled End of the Line, expecting the usual mediocrity and, just maybe, a brief viewing cut short by apathy.  At one time, I would never stop a movie.  I was a trooper.  No matter how bad, I would stick it out to the bitter end, but no longer.  Time is too short, so my finger is often on the kill switch for indie horror and Michael Bay films.  

End of the Line begins with a jolt and keeps the pace fast throughout much of the 90-minute runtime.  We are introduced to Karen (Ilona Elkin), a nurse at a psychiatric ward making her way home via the city’s subway after a bad shift on a night promising both a full moon and an eclipse.  When she is approached by a creepy dude at the subway station, she is rescued by the heroic Mike (Nicolas Wright), who manages to be both sweetly awkward and confident simultaneously.  Once on board the subway, Karen and the other passengers are attacked by members of a popular Christian movement, best identified by the brown shirts of the church uniform and the daggers hidden within their crosses.  

As Karen, Mike and several other survivors of the initial attack flee into the subway tunnels, director Maurice Devereaux serves up some interesting ideas and situations.  One in the group of survivors, we know, is a recently-lapsed member of the extremist religious movement, having just sullied herself by losing her virginity.  Another of the holy killers is new and still struggling with the directive to murder in order to save the sinners from Hell come to earth.  Among the survivors, some are terrified, some are empowered and some simply want to make it home.

we know, is a recently-lapsed member of the extremist religious movement, having just sullied herself by losing her virginity.  Another of the holy killers is new and still struggling with the directive to murder in order to save the sinners from Hell come to earth.  Among the survivors, some are terrified, some are empowered and some simply want to make it home.

End of the Line borrows a bit from Night of the Living Dead for its survivors-under-siege moments, and even a bit from Jacob’s Ladder, but this isn’t your ordinary rip-off of other horror films.  End of the Line poses some interesting questions, chiefly that of how horrifying religious extremism can be and, horror of horrors, what if the nuts are right?  When the religious wackos start talking about Armageddon, we dismiss it, just as our protagonists do, but as circumstantial evidence begins to mount, we wonder along with the characters if the world isn’t ending, if the holy rollers may be correct in stating Hell is coming.

Devereaux, both writer and director of the film, manages to build an impressive level of tension, not afraid to go for some cheap jump scares to keep things moving, but using them as spice in an already interesting film.  A key moment in which Mike and Karen discuss the possibility of afterlife and the relative meaning of the boogeyman informs a very interesting conclusion to the film after answering some of the key questions about the apocalypse.  It’s a fitting conclusion to a satisfying and often unsettling journey.  There are a handful of images that linger, and some genuine chills to be had here.  

Devereaux, both writer and director of the film, manages to build an impressive level of tension, not afraid to go for some cheap jump scares to keep things moving, but using them as spice in an already interesting film.  A key moment in which Mike and Karen discuss the possibility of afterlife and the relative meaning of the boogeyman informs a very interesting conclusion to the film after answering some of the key questions about the apocalypse.  It’s a fitting conclusion to a satisfying and often unsettling journey.  There are a handful of images that linger, and some genuine chills to be had here.  

After recently seeing the religious overtures of The Book of Eli, End of the Line came along and reinforced my core belief that nothing is more frightening than blind faith, and Devereaux knows that the most frightening aspect of that faith is the idea that it may be well-placed.  As daggers are plunged into chests with the assailants murmuring, “God loves you,” I find myself recognizing a fear put to film that I always knew I had, but never knew how strongly.  End of the Line scares me, and, if you can look past the low budget and some shaky performances, I bet it will scare you, too.