Weekend at the end of the World - Review

FIlmmaking at any level has a basis in passion, whether it’s passion for telling a story, or a drive to get audiences into a theatre to make more and more money, it's there. While I would love this film to make lots of money and have more independent creators be rewarded for putting their work into the world, I think the passion behind this one is clearly in the craft of a film, and (hopefully) the enjoyment of creation.

The Weekend at the end of the World is filled with creativity, in almost every aspect of the production. The visuals are wild, the soundscape is bizarre and the performances are energetic. All of these elements come together to create a fun, palatable and surprisingly dramatic film.

Miles (Cameron Fife) and Karl (Clay Eliott) are driving to Miles’ Meemaw’s (Troian Bellisario) cabin after Karl had a rough and unfortunately viral failed proposal. When they arrive, they meet Hank (Thomas Lennon) who is their boiled egg obsessed neighbour, just looking for a friend to share his eggs with. Miles and Karl ignore Hank as much as possible, as they try to enjoy the first night in the cabin, before they flip it and sell it for at least six-hundred thousand dollars.

A rogue card game seems to kick start something cosmic in the background of the cabin, as the first sparks of purple glow behind the friends. A few cards deep and a visit from Hank later, and the game has escalated, opening a portal to the Allness right in the decaying living room.

Suddenly, out crawls Meemaw telling the duo that they are the only ones that can save the world from darkness.

Both Miles and Karl venture into the Allness to save the world and flip the cabin to be the richest pair of guys with an old cabin in the world.

The story is simple enough, we’ve been and done dimensions and world ending stakes before, but this film has a nice take on the concept, with twists and turns that did genuinely surprise me. I looked at the runtime at a pivotal point, seeing I had quite a long time left to go, and raised a suspicious eyebrow at the plot twists that were awaiting me. I also appreciated the breadcrumbs in the script for these story choices later on, which didn’t feel like they came out of nowhere to just pad the length.

There is maybe a little overexplaining at times, when we learn of the Allness and when some details are revealed later. I do think the dialogue helps in these moments not to make it too expository in a way that feels boring.

The comedy in the film was hit and miss with me. There are a lot of jokes thrown in there, at times they worked and then others fell a little flat for me. While I think the characters had some good lines, some of the jokes dumbed them down to a level that felt not quite in line with some of the other choices they were making. I thought the standouts for comedy were both Elliot and Lennon who have a great scene after they all emerge from the Allness. Lennon has very little dialogue in the film (for good reason) and is able to portray a lot through his exaggerated facial expressions and post verbal groans.

One of the ongoing jokes that I quite liked was just how often Karl had blood on his face, to the point where I now struggle to think of a scene without him wearing some dried blood.

In terms of drama, Bellisario does most of the heavy lifting with the plot and then the more emotional climax of the film. I think she adds a lot of weight to it that I wasn’t really expecting in such a light hearted film as this.

The film is a horror comedy, leaning mostly on the comedy side, but there are one or two jumpscares in the film when its setting the tone, and a really strange cameo in the Allness that blends the horror and comedy together.

The horror side comes mostly from the visuals, with some excellent SFX makeup work that doesn’t overstep into something complicated, but works really well with the VFX to create more of an atmosphere. The wig budget was clearly a small one, with Troian’s hair in her first scene looking closer to hay than hair. She thankfully ditches the wig not too long after her introduction.

I do want to talk specifically about the VFX in the film, as I think it is the most impressive aspect of it all. The director, Gille Klabin was also responsible for the visual effects and is credited solely for them . The VFX made the film for me, coupled with the makeup and lighting, it sells a really creative other dimension with big ideas. Even small VFX additions like particles coming from a character's mouth, or a slight distortion of a hand or the background are given care that boost the look of the film hugely.

The camera work was mixed for me. A lot of great wide lens shots that were just interesting enough for me to miss them when the conversational over the shoulder shots felt a little bland. I would have liked to see more of that visual style that went into the VFX come into the camera work too.

Similar feelings with the audio and music, where there were some great atmospheres in the sound, and weird distortion on voices that sold me, but then the music fell into the background. Again, I think a film which boasts creativity in so many departments, could have had some great music, but the score just rode the waves of the scenes for me. Not bad enough to stand out, but not good enough to be memorable either. Participation trophy.

The Weekend at the end of the World is an exciting piece of independent cinema, made for under three-hundred thousand dollars and notably has an equity split of profits with the crew. I want to see more cinema like that, even if not every aspect worked for me, the passion behind the scenes and in front of the camera is what I love to see in a film. I hope Klabin and their team continue to put out creative works of genuine care that can hopefully push others to do the same.