‘It Ends’: How a Gen Z Filmmaker Made One of the Year’s Best Movies With $150,000 and a Car

Emerging filmmaker Alex Ullom has carved a distinctive path in the horror genre with his debut feature, "It Ends," a film that captures the existential unease of young adulthood through a minimalist yet deeply resonant narrative. Premiering at South by Southwest in March 2025, the movie centers on four recent college graduates trapped in a surreal, endless road trip with no escape, reflecting broader themes of stagnation and disillusionment faced by his generation.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Ullom’s approach to creating "It Ends" was grounded in resourcefulness and personal experience rather than commercial calculation. The film was produced on an estimated budget of $150,000, a figure that includes multiple rounds of reshoots extending over several years. This modest budget was assembled through a patchwork of unconventional funding sources, including support from a professional magician, a CGI artist involved with the video game "Grand Theft Auto 6," and a film fund established in memory of a friend lost during the pandemic.

Ullom’s background as a Florida State University graduate shaped not only the film’s cast and crew but also the production’s logistics. Many of the actors—Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, and Mitchell Cole—had connections to Ullom’s academic circle. Their commitment to the project spanned years of intermittent filming under challenging Florida conditions, with reshoots in 2023 and 2024 refining the film’s tone and pacing from an initial sprawling 150-minute cut to a taut 90-minute feature.

The narrative juxtaposes horror with moments of levity and mundane interaction, embodying a contemporary youthful experience marked by emotional detachment and digital distraction. Ullom drew heavily from his own struggles with depression and the difficulties of transitioning into adulthood during an uncertain era, especially as a member of the COVID-19 graduating class. The film’s constant setting—a 1990s Jeep Cherokee driving endlessly through an unidentified Florida road—symbolizes a generation caught between inertia and the hope for change.

The production’s iterative process was as much a journey for the cast and crew as the characters they portrayed. With each year’s shoot, the actors reviewed prior footage, enhancing performances and dialogue collaboratively with Ullom. This prolonged engagement fostered a familial atmosphere among the team, who affectionately described their work as an "endless shoot."

After the film's SXSW debut, Ullom faced the common challenge of securing a distributor, spending nearly a year navigating what he described as a “distribution purgatory.” Momentum shifted following an informal encounter with horror community influencers and the subsequent involvement of Letterboxd’s emerging streaming platform. This platform championed "It Ends," enabling the film to reach a wider audience and ultimately attracting the attention of Neon, which secured theatrical distribution rights.

"It Ends" sits within a broader trend of Gen Z filmmakers using horror as a lens to explore contemporary anxieties, alongside figures like Curry Barker and Kane Parsons. However, Ullom distinguishes himself through a more traditional independent filmmaking route and a deeply personal narrative lens. His film offers a fresh yet universal meditation on adulthood’s uncertainties, delivered through a genre that amplifies emotional and psychological tension.

Despite the film’s low budget and protracted production timeline, Ullom expressed surprise at its critical reception and commercial viability, underscoring the unpredictable nature of independent cinema today. His story illustrates how ingenuity, community support, and persistence can propel a modest project into national prominence, reflecting the evolving landscape for young filmmakers navigating the post-pandemic industry.

While some production details, such as the exact filming location of the iconic endless road, remain undisclosed to protect the site, Ullom’s journey from a pandemic graduate working odd jobs—including meme creation and ghostwriting—to a recognized director is emblematic of creative resilience. "It Ends" not only marks a significant milestone in Ullom’s career but also signals a vibrant new voice in genre filmmaking that resonates with a generation confronting the complexities of modern life.