A word of warning – End of the Line may rub you the wrong way. Dealing with the subject of religious extremism and what may or may not be the impending apocalypse, End of the Line is bound to spark some controversy amongst those who view Maurice Devereaux's approach to the material as offensive.

Here's the synopsis from the back of the DVD case (as I'm terrible at writing synopses):

Karen, a young psychiatric nurse, boards the last subway train of the night only to have it stop in the middle of the tunnel. Suddenly her nightmare begins... a mysterious cult has decided it's the end of the world – and the only way to save the souls of the living is to kill them in cold blood. As those around her are brutally murdered, Karen and a handful of survivors must face the homicidal cult members, supernatural forces, as well as their own fears of Armageddon, in order to survive.

Generally, when a filmmaker deals with religion it's bound to spur some negative reactions, but often that sort of controversy is undeserved. End of the Line deals with religious zealots; it's intention is not to upset those who subscribe to any particular religion, but to put the focus on those groups, cults as they're often referred to, who take their beliefs far beyond what anyone would consider rational. In my opinion, those people are threatening. People who are willing to take lives, their own and others, in the name of someone who's existence is based solely on ones beliefs. That's scary, and an excellent theme for a horror film.

Now, to make my religious beliefs clear... I don't have any. I won't go so far as to say anything derogatory toward anyone who has those particular beliefs; I believe everyone has the right to form their own opinions, and I would hope that you would respect my choice to not follow that particular path. With that out of the way, I will state that I have a very difficult time believing that anyone could support such fanatical beliefs as those displayed in End of the Line ; that anyone could justify these actions. The villains depicted are just regular people, but with the simple press of a metaphorical button, they become singularly-focused killers. Believing what they are doing is, in fact, God's work, they are certain of their actions, and believe they will be rewarded by doing so. Maurice Devereaux does a good job of dealing with these themes and making them believable, if still completely unreasonable. These characters aren't about reason though, so the extremes in which they take their violence in order to 'save us' from the apocalypse make sense within the context of the film. 

Blatant religious subtext aside, we can't forget that End of the Line is still a horror film; this much is obvious from the first minute, when we get our first real shock. Unfortunately there aren't many shocks to be had throughout the rest of the film, nor is there any genuine suspense. There is some reasonable gore however, and and more than just a few disturbing scenes, which keep the film firmly grounded in the realm of horror.

The film's biggest confusion however, is its own ending. I can't quite figure out is deliberately vague leaving itself open for viewer interpretation, or if it's just the sheer unwillingness for the filmmakers to take a side. Regardless of the reason, the films conclusion left me curious in a way that I can find many viewers getting upset over. I prefer to think that the ending was deliberate, and I am quite happy that Devereaux chooses not to attempt to stuff any blatant religious jargon down our throats, regardless of what side he's on. A film like this, one that attacks issues that we may or may not feel close to, begs the audience to form its own conclusions and I much prefer this approach to a standard 'closed' ending.

One thing I think I'd like to do a little more often in my reviews is poke fun at some of the ridiculous quotes they choose to put on DVD cases. Take for instance, this quote from the End of the Line DVD – 'Does for Subways what Jaws did for Oceans' – Entertainment Today... What the hell? Really? The reason we were scared of oceans after Jaws , was because of sharks in general – Now the reason we're afraid of subways is a subconscious fear of religious cults that may or may not be hiding in the shadows? Come on, now. The two films are nothing alike, and a comparison like that is just ridiculous.

Anyway... End of the Line is a reasonably well crafted horror film, if not exceptional, but it deals with its subject matter in a unique enough way that I would certainly recommend it sooner than say the most recent Platinum Dunes production.