It Ends is the latest indie horror to grip critics and fans alike.
In a truly Gen Z fashion, Alex Ullom found the stars of his first feature by posting ‘Who wants to be in a movie?’ on Instagram.
A fairly casual casting call for a film that is now sitting at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
It Ends is the latest indie horror to grip critics and fans alike.
Neon’s dark comedy horror debuted in American film theatres on Friday, currently soaring with a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score, overtaking smash-hit Obsession and sitting right behind Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. The genre-bending success is a passion project brought to life that is primed to be a hit at the Australian box office.
First-time feature director Alex Ullom is the Gen Z director behind it all, using an 80k budget to establish himself as an upcoming directing star alongside Curry Barker (Obsession) and Kane Parsons (Backrooms).
The film originally premiered in March 2025 at SXSW, but it wasn’t an immediate claim to fame.
Ullom described it as a “dead in the water” project, but a meeting with filmmaker Nicolas Curcio changed everything.
After meeting Ullom, Curcio used his platform to generate online discourse about the film, ultimately leading to Letterboxd showcasing it on its Video Store platform, a movie discovery space.
Neon picked it up from there, adding It Ends to a notable catalogue of films such as Parasite and I, Tonya.
That makes the Instagram casting call feel even more surreal.
Ullom’s simple ‘Who wants to be in a movie?’ post attracted the likes of Noah Toth, Akira Jackson, Phinehas Yoon and Mitchell Cole.
Gone are the days when indie films needed an established star to fuel their success, so any one of these budding actors could be the next Inde Navarrette (Obsession).
It Ends is an infinite-roads thriller following four young adults who end up on a treacherous late-night snack run, with nothing but a Jeep Cherokee between them and the horrors on the highway.
It’s the twisted sister of Backrooms, inspired by Ullom’s own mental health experiences with transitioning to adulthood.
Horror films driven by the current social climate have been a rising theme in 2026, exploring the topics that matter most to young directors and their viewers.
Incel mentality, liminal space and queer erasure have been among the biggest talking points of the past few years, and filmmakers are turning these fears into generational art.
It’s been refreshing to see Gen Z leading the charge in not only a horror resurgence, but one that is deeply connected to the people on the other side of the screen.
Production is well underway for Ullom’s next horror, 4 x 4: An Event, an intense gore film that explores the darkest extremities of internet culture.
From an Instagram casting call and an $80k budget to Letterboxd, Neon and a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score, It Ends has travelled a fairly unlikely road of its own.
It Ends debuts in Australian cinemas on September 3.
