It Ends: Is Alexander Ullom the Next Horror Standout?

Yes — Variety frames Alexander Ullom as a breakout horror voice after his $80,000 debut It Ends hits theaters Aug. 21 via Neon, rescued from a “dead in the water” post-SXSW limbo by Letterboxd then Neon. With It Ends Alexander Ullom the 28-year-old already has Neon distributing his gore-heavy follow-up, 4 x 4: The Event.

Key Takeaways

• It Ends opens in theaters Aug. 21, 2026, from Neon after critical raves at SXSW in March 2025.
• Ullom shot the feature for an $80,000 production budget across three filming rounds, starting near $30,000.
• A path from influencer buzz to Letterboxd Video Store led Neon to pick up the debut and back his next film.
• Neon is promoting an Endless Screening 36-hour marathon challenge at NYC’s Metro Private Cinema.
• Ullom is grouped with rising horror peers including Curry Barker and Kane Parsons.

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What is It Ends about?

Variety’s feature describes three recent college graduates — James (Phinehas Yoon), Day (Akira Jackson) and Fisher (Noah Toth) — reuniting with military buddy Tyler (Mitchell Cole) for a late-night Jeep run for food. A tree-blocked road draws Tyler out; a ferocious mob attacks the car and mangles Fisher’s arm before the group escapes.

They soon realize they may be on a road to nowhere — another realm, or a cruel purgatory. The outlet says Ullom shows “directorial prowess far beyond his years” as the friends barrel down a seemingly endless road. Ullom began writing at 21, drawing on aimlessness and a rough mental-health transition into adulthood, plus early “Backrooms” thread energy.

How did It Ends get from SXSW to Neon?

After SXSW praise, distributors passed and Ullom says the film was “dead in the water.” He nearly uploaded it to YouTube. A chance talk with filmmaker-influencer Nicolas Curcio sparked online chatter that Letterboxd’s CEO saw, leading to an early Letterboxd Video Store slot for undistributed titles.

Neon then acquired It Ends and, impressed by the low-budget debut, also agreed to distribute Ullom’s sophomore movie. Full reporting is in Variety’s interview with Ullom.

Principal photography ran 28 days, with large reshoots twice, largely in Florida parks where Ullom grew up. Casting came via Instagram open call; Mitchell Cole was an HVAC repair worker in the Florida panhandle. Ullom lived in a walk-in closet with crew and cast while finishing the project.

Is Alexander Ullom the next great horror director?

Variety poses that question openly, noting a new crop of young horror filmmakers alongside Curry Barker (Obsession) and Kane Parsons (Backrooms). Ullom calls It Ends a “Linklater made a horror movie” tone piece — not built for a marketplace — and says he’d love another New Hollywood-style wave if “the kids” keep getting to play.

He just wrapped 4 x 4: The Event, which he bills as “balls-to-the-wall gore and violence,” pitched as “Battle Royale” meets “Saw” meets “Climax”: eight contestants in an illegal sensory-assault livestream who must kill or be killed with what they can order online. Neon is distributing that film too.

What’s the Endless Screening challenge?

To promote It Ends, Neon launched a four-person Endless Screening contest: a 36-hour marathon (about 25 consecutive showings) at Metro Private Cinema in New York. Each member earns 25 cents per minute up to $540, plus $500 each if the whole team finishes, with $250 concession credit (no alcohol) and designated breaks. Ullom jokes he’d hate any movie watched 25 times but supports whatever gets people into theaters.

Bottom line: It Ends reaches U.S. theaters today as a hard-won Neon release, and Ullom’s rapid Neon follow-up deal is why the “next great horror director” chatter is sticking.