End of the Road features African-American characters, which is unusual for hillbilly horror movies. That alters the dynamic such that now poor and affluent White people are scaring Black people instead of poor White people terrorizing rich White people, which is a rare occurrence (which is way closer to reality). The negative encounters that Brenda and her family have raise issues of racism that African-Americans deal with even when they are only traveling. Brenda’s non-violent strategy to protect her family’s safety illustrates the self-policing African-Americans must undertake in a circumstance that doesn’t call for that kind of restraint. Brenda’s morality is tested when a significant amount of dirty money she badly needs to support her family—is introduced. It is then shown if Brenda would put her morals before making some undeserved money. However, the directing is so weak and the script is such a tonal muddle that none of these components work as a unit.
The sequences with the hillbillies, Ruck, or Captain JD Hammers (Beau Bridges), it appears, were written on one file while the character exchanges involving Brenda, Cam, Kelly, and Reggie were written on another file. After then, they were just combined without considering how these two features would work better together. For want of a better term, the interactions between family members are lighthearted, amusing, and family-friendly. Everything else seemed to have come straight out of a gangster or horror movie. You only need to look at Us if you want to see how it is done correctly (2019). The Tethered are aggressive and campy, but the Wilsons are humorous and outspoken.
Shelton, cinematographer Ed Wu, and production designer Lucio Seixas choose to bathe the last act in purple lighting to make it appear as though it is taking place in an extraterrestrial world or that the planet is being overtaken by cosmic energy. Warning: There is no such thing as that happening. Look, I’m all for lights without purpose. But the shade of the color should be natural. Not in purple! For instance, to highlight the setting and create exciting scenes, filmmakers and their DOPs placed sizable sources of artificial light in several horror movies from the 1980s and even more recently in Censor (2021). However, to avoid repetition, they are never purple—always white, light blue, or light green. We see a little neon blue illumination when Brenda comes across several Neo Nazis, so you might argue that End of the Road attempts to ease us into it. However, the transition to purple is confusing.
The primary cast gives strong performances. Queen Latifah has the biggest influence. She does a fantastic job in her dramatic situations. Her action-packed moments, though, needed a lot more effort. That’s the only thing that could’ve connected the family-friendly road trip with the gangster-slasher heist portions of the film. We are unable to change what has already been done. Next, let’s talk about Ludacris’ charm and his unwavering commitment to every phrase he sings. Young people Mychala Lee and Shaun Dixon are tremendously skilled, and they sell their scenes like nobody’s business.
End Of The Road Ending Explained
The events leading up to the last act are briefly outlined below. Brenda arrives at the Sunset Motel with her family. So does Ruck, who has double-crossed Mr. Cross and has a bag full of cash. Brenda and the others hear a disturbance in Ruck’s room that is followed by a gunshot. They enter to investigate and discover that Ruck has been shot. Reggie discovers the bag of money while Brenda is attempting to save him. RUCK DEATH They make a police call.
Brenda hides the money at another motel and instructs Mr. Cross to get it after she finds that it belongs to a mobster by the name of Mr. Cross. But a Neo-Nazi gang member grabs it and takes off. Cross kidnaps Cam and orders, Brenda, to get the suitcase after failing to receive the money. Brenda pursues the Nazis in order to get the money, breaking several bones and firing some guns while doing so out of fear for the worse. Hammers, in the meantime, run across Kelly and Reggie and pretends to be protecting them by taking them to his residence. He unintentionally introduces his wife Val to them (Frances Lee McCain). But after that, he approaches the trunk of his car and pulls out a restrained Cam.
