I wasn't really expecting much from this one, but it made me jump out of my seat in the first five minutes, so it I decided to pay attention and was glad I did.
End of the Line has a fairly been-there-done-that plot for the most part. Religious fanatics run amok and sinister things happening in a subway is not exactly new ground for horror films, but, unlike many of its ilk, End of the Line, chose to throw in one subtle theme that, for me, made it all worthwhile.
The character of Mike is the one to watch. When we are first introduced to Mike in the subway, he is holding Carl Sagan's "The Demon Haunted World", which is a book (one of my favorites) about using skeptical and critical thinking skills to help weed through this world of half-truths and wacky beliefs, which in this film are represented by a religious cult hell-bent on "saving" everyone. Later in the film Mike tells Karen that she shouldn't be afraid of ghosts (or the like), because they would serve as proof of the afterlife. The final scene drives that point home when Karen is surrounded by a horde of you-get-what-you-pay-for demons and reacts in an unexpected manner.
Ultimately, this movies isn't so much anti-religion as it is a statement about forming beliefs based on evidentiary fact not prophecy or popular opinion.
I recommend End of the Line for anyone who doesn't mind substituting budget for substance. Also, it has plenty of blood for you gore hounds out there. I should mention that, if you are devoutly religious, that you probably should not watch this one; it will make you all grumpy and defensive.
P.S. I have a feeling there are even more less-obvious thematic elements which I might have missed that may warrant a 2nd viewing.
End of the Line has a fairly been-there-done-that plot for the most part. Religious fanatics run amok and sinister things happening in a subway is not exactly new ground for horror films, but, unlike many of its ilk, End of the Line, chose to throw in one subtle theme that, for me, made it all worthwhile.
The character of Mike is the one to watch. When we are first introduced to Mike in the subway, he is holding Carl Sagan's "The Demon Haunted World", which is a book (one of my favorites) about using skeptical and critical thinking skills to help weed through this world of half-truths and wacky beliefs, which in this film are represented by a religious cult hell-bent on "saving" everyone. Later in the film Mike tells Karen that she shouldn't be afraid of ghosts (or the like), because they would serve as proof of the afterlife. The final scene drives that point home when Karen is surrounded by a horde of you-get-what-you-pay-for demons and reacts in an unexpected manner.
Ultimately, this movies isn't so much anti-religion as it is a statement about forming beliefs based on evidentiary fact not prophecy or popular opinion.
I recommend End of the Line for anyone who doesn't mind substituting budget for substance. Also, it has plenty of blood for you gore hounds out there. I should mention that, if you are devoutly religious, that you probably should not watch this one; it will make you all grumpy and defensive.
P.S. I have a feeling there are even more less-obvious thematic elements which I might have missed that may warrant a 2nd viewing.