endoflinereview

Review of the Horror Film "End of the Line"
By S. St. Laurent

Plot description: Karen (Ilona Elkin), a young psychiatric nurse,
becomes trapped in a subway tunnel system after the train she is
riding on comes to a stop. Also on the train are several members of a
religious cult who plan to "save" their fellow man by using murderous
means. A game of cat and mouse ensues as Karen and her fellow
passengers have to fight their way out to "safety"...

Right off the top it must be said that I have no love for the bloodletting style
of horror film, but the odd flick does come along which gives hope to those
who truly believe there is validity in the type. A certain horror film premiered
at the 2006 version of the Toronto International Film Festival. Its name is End
of the Line and it was produced, written and directed by one Maurice
Devereaux. Admittedly, I showed up to the screening since I am very familiar
with this filmmaker's work - I interviewed him two years ago for the "Articles"
page on this site. What is striking about this movie is that it was done for a
very small amount of money but looks very polished. It certainly looks more
expensive than you would expect it to. Adjusting for inflation, Ed Wood
probably had more money to make his opus Plan 9 From Outer Space.

Devereaux has made it known that he has an aversion to organized religion
and he explains it in EOTL: He really doesn't like 'bible thumpers' and presents
here a freaky, almost Jim Jones blend of blind faith. The director's feelings
toward the perversity of faith - or strains thereof - are laid out here in their
nakedness for all to see. Even though the religious cult members are efficient
in killing, Devereaux renders these followers as people with some dimension -
a couple of them actually question their great leader's plan. In today's
political climate it is quite heartening to see anybody questioning anything.
The brand of religious conviction here is extreme but Devereaux makes it
believable - more so as the cult members carry out the imperious leader's
wishes by utilizing only the latest technologies (as of the film's production
date) to get their 'cue'. The result is actually one of simple humour. The gang
has issues with civilization, to put it bluntly, and yet they are clearly utilizing
the advantages of progress. This joke is very simple, easy to understand, and
does not hold a lot of subtext which only makes it funnier. (Maybe this is a
result of Gilligan's Island's influence on the director's sense of humour [Read
my interview with Devereaux on the "Articles" page]. One almost expects to
hear Gerald Fried's 'goofy' music playing under these scenes.)

Devereaux has a knack for creating tension. I had heard days before the
premiere from someone who saw a rough cut of the film that there were
three or four pure jump-out-of-your-seat moments and that one of these
happens in the first couple of minutes of screen time. They were right - I will
leave it at that. (The build-ups to these moments help a great deal and the
shocks themselves are not just for the sake of having shocks.) The director
moves through the tunnels with a sure hand as though he has shot in these
very same tunnels before… he knows what is around the corner and moves
his characters accordingly - they are all chess pieces, though ones sporting
crowbars.

Films like Blood Symbol, and Slashers - though imperfect to various degrees -
do display filmmaking prowess from someone who is obviously driven to make
films and probably wants to do not much of anything else. Theoretically, a
filmmaker or any artist should get better and better at his or her craft
through sheer repetition. With Maurice Devereaux this theory more or less is
realized. EOTL is the project of someone who - through repetition, artistic
and technical improvement - has made a film for which he can be proud.
EOTL is a 'real' movie in every sense of the term, accomplishing so succinctly
and beautifully what many of the type try desperately to attain but rarely do.

Devereaux uses unknown actors and with a lot of gumption - which he seems
to have in spades - makes a straightforward and accessible film, and he does
this in Canada. Not to make too great a point about it, but I am only half
joking when I say that this film should be road-showed around this great
land, pushed about as an example of commercially minded filmmaking done for
so little money and in a country where the mentality is to produce Atom
Egoyan-type pictures. I am exaggerating, of course, but not by much.
"Artistic" films should be made but through insecurity, or some other unseen
force, we in Canada tend to make films which don't promote film as
"industry". Making feature length movies is too expensive a proposition to
come off exclusively as anything else. After architecture, filmmaking is the
most expensive art. (The down side of arts council-type funding - at least
here in Ontario, Canada - is that films or their scripts that have the least bit
commercialism are neglected or bypassed altogether.) Of course, access to
our own movie screens is a whole other issue.

My point is that Canada needs more people like Devereaux who - in a very
American-style fashion - risk their own money to make pictures that have a
chance of people wanting to see them. Commercial filmmaking is a dirty word
here in Canada, to many. Yes folks, you can make a film here which is
unabashedly commercial in its intent, although one with true artistic integrity
and propelled by real showmanship.

Like any collaborative art, this isn't the "Maurice Devereaux Show" but the
man sure does know how to pick them. Director of Photography Denis-Noel
Mostert succeeds in shooting the picture in a naturalistic way. As a viewer
one is not sure where the source and artificial lighting both begin and end. In
this sense EOTL isn't of the typical horror vein where stock conventions
might apply such as colourful and or subdued lighting at the right moments. (I
should note that Mostert told me after the screening the 'print' was about
two-thirds to one full stop over where he wanted it.) This definitely does not
look like a Mario Bava movie. A natural look makes it more grounded and
realistic; a you-are-there aesthetic.

There is an element of EOTL which is more obvious to the viewer… the music
score. With the opening titles consisting of a trip through a subway tunnel,
composer Martin Gauthier delivers from the get go with a driving theme. This
music is presented in the best Hollywood tradition: Spot on and driving, and
helping make the opening titles so right for the picture. The title sequence is
special insomuch as it shows that Devereaux knows how Hollywood would
typically treat this. Like many moments to come in EOTL the title scene
illustrates that the director knows how to add a big budget feeling to the
show. It should be added that Martin Gauthier knows how to write a tune -
from film to film this skill is not always necessary but is all too rarely displayed
these days. (Many producers today consider it almost distasteful to use
music containing any real melody when required. Not that the typical
producer would know about taste anyway.) The composer for this film
realized that there had to be a gentle and straightforward melody in the
underscore to help keep the on-screen shenanigans somewhat human.
Special makeup artist Adrien Morot, who has worked on many a Hollywood
film, produces (with perhaps one exception) convincing human distortions,
bloodletting, and the like. His product at the picture's end is necessarily
outstanding and only adds to the effectiveness of the denouement.

The actors are surprisingly good. The actors' performances in Devereaux's
previous efforts were unpolished for the most part - he works here with
ACTRA (the Canadian version of SAG) members. Even though undoubtedly
adding to the production's costs this decision pays off handsomely. One
carryover from Slashers, actor Neil Napier, who was excellent in that film as
two of it's villains, is solid in EOTL playing a very different kind of role. Ilona
Elkin plays her lead role with some dimension. Naturally some back-story was
worked out between her and director Devereaux - in some scenes you can
see it in her eyes. Though the cast needs minutes of screen time to hit their
stride once they do they get right down to the proceedings with conviction
and aplomb. These people deserve a lot of credit.

As our main cast - the good guys that is - are knocked off one by one you
the viewer, along with the other characters in the film, feels some loss. With
a lot of these films I find that you don't see any baggage carried by the
survivors. There should be some adjustment when someone 'goes' and you
get the impression in this show that every one of the immediate survivors are
a little different, even though they didn't know each other hours or minutes
before.

During one scene in particular the cast looks authentically nervous as they
slowly make their way down an under-lit access tunnel. It must be the way
they hold their improvised weapons. These characters generally behave the
way you would expect them to in such a situation. I didn't ever get the urge
to yell out, "you idiot… don't go in there!" As they stop on a dime (after
hearing something odd) and grip their weapons, we too feel apprehensive.

This isn't just an image on a screen. You don't get the sense there is a film
crew stuffed into the locations with the actors. Not only do you forget that
these are actors - as you lose yourself in the film's action - but you really
feel that they are alone.

Perhaps my favourite scene is the very end. It is highly reminiscent of one of
the very end scenes for the 1957 horror film The Abominable Snowman of the
Himalayas (Directed by Val Guest). While that film's version is truly chilling,
EOTL's comes pretty close. If Devereaux hasn't seen the Hammer classic then
his 'homage' to it is uncanny.

End of the Line could perhaps use a little bit of tightening - at least in the
overall running time. It's more of a case of how long the film felt when all is
said and done rather that impressions you may have regarding time from
scene to scene. This however is a moot point: If you find the film
entertaining then what does it matter? There is a degree of character
development but as the film rolls along you realize that this expository
material helps any payoffs for the audience. (I could imagine that any
prospective distributor would ask for little trims here and there. Without
giving anything away, there is one scene that would definitely disturb some.
As a matter of fact, at the film fest screening I attended, a couple of people
got up together and one of them yelled out something to the effect, "you are
laughing at this?! How can you watch the screen?!" My answer to this is,
"hey buddy, it's only a movie!")

Yes, I can safely spew out the old and clichéd saying, "this is just about the
most fun I've had at the movies in a while". Without question, it is Maurice
Devereaux's best film. A cynic could opine that if you've seen the director's
earlier features then this isn't exactly saying a lot. But it is better than that.

2006 Simon St. Laurent

BACK TO 'HYPER-REALITY.TV'