It Ends – 2025 Opening Night Film

A film by Alexander Ullom

A group of recent grads head out on a late night drive for grub, hoping to enjoy one final hangout before their paths diverge. Instead, they accidentally turn onto a never-ending, two-lane hellscape surrounded by untold horrors and cosmic forces beyond their understanding. Cramped together inside a Jeep Cherokee and with the miles stretching infinitely ahead, they face a choice: embrace their new existence or fight to escape it.

One of the year’s biggest festival breakouts, the North Florida-shot “hangout horror” film marks the bold debut of writer-director Alexander Ullom, a Florida State University film school graduate who brings a whole new Gen Z perspective to familiar genre tropes. One of Filmmaker magazine’s “25 new faces of independent film,” Ullom has wowed festival audiences at South by Southwest with what Variety calls his “brilliant, existential road thriller.” He just took top prize in the “New Flesh” category at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. The film stars Phinehas Yoon, Mitchell Cole, Akira Jackson, and Noah Toth.

Director/Writer/Editor: Alexander Ullom
Producer: Carrie Carson, Evan Barber
Principal Cast: Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, Mitchell Cole

Producer Evan Barber and actors Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, and Mitchell Cole are expected to be in attendance for a post-film discussion.

Opening Night pre-reception
Open to pass holders only
6:30 PM
Challenger Learning Center 
Exhibition Hall

About the Filmmaker

Alex is a 27-year-old Jamaican Chinese Caucasian ethnic-smoothie, and one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” His debut feature, It Ends, miraculously fell into place after a viral YouTube sketch, a lucky VR poker game, and a comment on a meme. Alex hopes to make films for anyone who’s dealing with stuff.