The End Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The End Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf May 23, 2025

It’s the end of the world, and characters are going out with a little song and dance in “The End.” Documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer (“The Act of Killing,” “The Look of Silence”) tries his luck with a narrative-driven feature, examining the strange ways of a wealthy family living out their days inside an enormous bunker during a climate apocalypse, determined to carry on as normally as possible before someone enters their lives to change everything. Oppenheimer has elected to serve up such grimness as a musical, allowing these cautious personalities to express themselves through songs, trying to give the endeavor a sense of the unusual and poetic while confronting deep emotional wounds. “The End” carries on for nearly 150 minutes, which is the first of many indulgences from the helmer, but he’s attempting to do something unusual in the work, addressing real-world ills and familial tensions in unexpected ways, helping to digest a somewhat unwieldy film.

In a vast salt mine, Father (Michael Shannon) has created a home for his family. The planet is dead, pulled apart by destruction triggered by climate change, leaving Father to supervise two decades of safety for his wife, Mother (Tilda Swinton), and his Son (George McKay), who’s never known the outside world. The family is joined by Butler (Tim McInnerny), Doctor (Lennie James), and Friend (Bronagh Gallagher), and the group has created a special routine for all, maintaining order and normalcy while focused on training Son for his future of survival. One day, during a tour of the tunnels, a discovery is made, pulling Girl (Moses Ingram) out of the salt, bringing her back to health. While the rules of the bunker call for the murder of outsiders, Father has a change of heart, allowing Girl to join the group. With her presence comes questions and memories that challenge the family, changing Son’s view of the only reality he’s ever known.

“The End” doesn’t deal in disaster cinema, set 20 years after the initial collapse of the world. The story takes place inside an enormous bunker, creating a home for Father and Mother, who’ve used their incredible wealth to recreate domestic peace in the middle of chaos. Life carries on with some normalcy, as Mother keeps busy rearranging works of art, Friend prepares meals, Butler maintains tidiness, and Doctor preserves health. Son is there to absorb it all, handling waves of training meant to strengthen his survival skills, receiving lessons on firearms and emergency situations, and he’s assisting Father with his memoirs, reinforcing the man’s legacy as a concerned “energy business” executive who tried to help a world he knowingly poisoned. Son’s arc involves a lifetime of lies, offered an education in legend, trusting this sanitized version of history.

Girl enters the story in the second act, and she becomes a disruptor without fully understanding her powers. “The End” throws the character into the middle of a system that’s about to break, becoming a sharp reminder of everything that’s happened before the bunker days, which causes a mental and physical reaction around the living space. This agitation plays out in songs, as the characters deal with their repression and, occasionally, their liberation, expressing themselves in an intimate fashion. Musical numbers aren’t especially memorable, lacking more adventurous songwriting, but they serve a purpose, adding a layer of unreality to the bleakness of the setting, also drilling deeper into these personalities, with many fully mummified by their isolation. Also growing throughout the feature is Son’s awareness, pulled from his cocoon by Girl, responding to her truth and physical presence as attraction develops between the pair, adding influence to the family dynamic that upsets Mother, who’s also snapped out of her haze, confronted by feelings she hasn’t visited in decades.

The End Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation handles the two distinct worlds of "The End." The salt mine delivers a cooler appearance, while domestic areas are brighter and often bluer. Hues are secure throughout the viewing experience, offering crisp primaries on costuming and room decoration. Makeup and art additions are also distinct. Skin tones are natural. Detail provides a textured examination of the mine and living spaces, maintaining dimension. Skin particulars are appreciable, examining differences in age. Delineation is satisfactory, dealing with a feature that often uses limited lighting. Some mild banding is detected.

The End Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix examines the musical ways of "The End" with definition, exploring dialogue exchanges as they range in intensity and hushed intimacy. Singing also carries clear vocals, and instrumentation is distinct, while scoring offers a circular presence. Atmospherics handle the expanse of the salt mine and community movement. Gunshots are also sharp. Some panning effects are present. Low-end isn't challenged, but heavier moments and beats register.

The End Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (24:27, HD) with actor George MacKay, who became familiar with the project a few years back, excited to work with writer/director Joshusa Oppenheimer. The themes of the screenplay are examined, along with characterization, sharing details about his interpretation. Performance prep is also shared, as MacKay was subjected to "interviews" from Oppenheimer to reach deeper into Son's personality. The interviewee recalls his previous experiences in movie musicals, adding dance to the equation for "The End," working out the communication of bodily movement. MacKay also analyzes his relationships with co-stars.

• Interview (4:29, HD) with actor Lennie James examines characterization, defining Doctor's place in the bunker. He also explores the salt mine location and its emotional representation, also highlighting his time with musical elements, new to the process, responding to the dramatic value of the songs.

• Interview (11:12, HD) with actor Tim McInnerney, who joined the production right before rehearsals began, not immediately believing the project was a musical. Characterization is analyzed, putting the thespian to work building a history for Butler. The interviewee also shares his experience with dance choreography and celebrates his co-stars.

• Interview (9:24, HD) with actress Moses Ingram, who delves into characterization and the creation of backstory for Girl, helping her performance. Co-stars are assessed, identifying relationships and personalities. Musical themes and singing challenges are also discussed.

• Interview (23:06, HD) with composer Josh Schmidt, who shares his familiarity with writer/director Joshua Oppenheimer's previous work, excited to collaborate with the helmer on such an ambitious project. The interviewee goes into detail concerning creative choices, musically supporting the themes and characters of "The End."

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:26, HD) is included.

The End Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Survivor's guilt is the unofficial lead character in "The End," as everyone is handling some type of trauma, finding Girl's most pronounced, as she's recently dealt with the burning world outside, and in an emotionally devastating way. There are interesting plays for forgiveness and brief departures from repression, most notably between Father and Butler, and these pockets of clarity bring the material to life, getting to the core of Oppenheimer's Big Idea. "The End" manages the closeness of despair relatively well, supporting the viewing experience, but it's an overlong film spending too much time in musical mode, which isn't nearly as compelling as private moments with characters finally recognizing the delusion of their existence, tripped by the denial they've worked hard to develop as they handle the end of the world.