[End Of The Line]
Plot:A woman named Karen, a young nurse who works in a psychiatric ward, boards the last subway train of the night only to have it stop suddenly in the middle of the tunnel. As those around her are brutally murdered, Karen and a handful of survivors must face supernatural forces, homicidal religious cult members, as well as their own fears and suspicions of Armageddon, in order to survive.

Cast:Ilona Elkin, Nicolas Wright, Robin Wilcock, Joan McBride.

My Thoughts:Brilliant chiller!

Review:"End Of The Line" from Canadian filmmaker Maurice Devereaux is proof that original ideas in horror are certainly far from deceased. In fact, if you look under the right rock, you'll find them. And sadly for us Americans, our well of original ideas is quickly running dry while the well of original ideas in Canada and Europe is practically running over. "End Of The Line" follows a group of strangers on a subway ride who soon find themselves thrust into a situation so terrifying and chilling that it would scare the devil himself. During the ride, the train comes to a sudden stop.

The lights then go out, and soon the reason for the stop is discovered. A sicko who was in the middle of commiting a sexual deviant act pulled the cord. After a warning from the conductor, the train once again prepares to start moving. But suddenly, some of the passengers are mysteriously "paged", and when that happens...they break out cross-like daggers and begin attacking certain passengers with them. Further events reveal the mad-stabbers are a part of a god-fearing cult, who have their sights set on spilling alot of blood on this night.

Now, the group of people who managed to survie the stabbing spree must band together to survive what's coming. This film is truly a brilliant piece of work because it creates a unique situation to scare the viewer, and a unique scenario to put it's antgaonists and protagonists into. Unique situations don't come along too often these days, and with all the movies using recycled storylines and plot ideas, one finds themselves getitng really bored really early. But in the case of "End Of The Line", I was glued to the screen from the get go until the very end.

The movie really puts a scary situation into play. The subway itself is kind of scary should you end up being locked in overnight, or on the run from someone with bad intentions in the subways deeper inner-regions. But this film creates some of the freakiest cult members I've ever seen since King's "Children Of The Corn", adult cult members with deadly weapons...and a strong (but misguided) belief in what they're doing, and that it's right. Imagine being pursued in the subway system by these sickos, who have strength in numbers.

On top of all of that, paranoia breaks out when some of the subway riders who escaped the first attack, begin to discover that those among them might not be who they seem. The wolf in sheeps clothing elements heighten the suspense and terror of the situation presented in the movie, and then more subplots are tossed out which include demons and supernatural evils possibly lurking in the shadows and dark recesses of the subway, and who may or may not be in league withe the cult.

And another subplot which deals with some of the cult members turning on one another and one in particular who has his own agenda. There's also the matter of the cult having jacked the airwaves and television stations and filling them with a bloody graphic, and hellfire and brimstone sermons. Yeah, there's alot in this movie to keep the viewer intrigued and thinking all the way through. But while Devereaux does alot to create a strong ora of suspense and mystery in his horror flick, he also does not forget it's a "horror" film, thus he gives the fans what they want.

Lots of blood, gore, and graphic violence. There's definitely something for everyone in this movie, and there's never a dull moment with the cult becoming scarier and scarier as the film goes along, and the pursuit of the surviving riders becoming more and more intense as the chase is on through the dark tunnels and crevices of the subway.

The final act concludes the movie on a very strong note, with alot of twists which most viewers won't see coming, and thus should be impressed and excited by the surprise element this film offers up during it's climax. The movies final scene is also very haunting and leaves you wanting more, always a plus. "End Of The Line" is horror at it's finest, written and directed by a filmmaker who knows how to do the genre justice.

Positives:Great story, very well shot...especially the dark scenes which aren't too dark, lots of blood and gore, excellent twists, turns, and suspense, very thrilling and chilling script, and a great final act and eventual ending.

Negatives:Nothing major.

Overall:Four out of four stars.





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