The Endless (3½ Stars)

This is the eighth film in the Stuttgart White Nights Festival.

A mother is travelling with her two young sons. The car crashes, killing the mother. The boys are found by a religious cult which takes them in as members. As adults they decide to leave. Their return to normal society is a big media event. The older brother, Justin, calls the cult a UFO Death Cult which is planning a mass suicide. The younger brother, Aaron, doesn't remember anything bad happening.

After 10 years Aaron is sent a videotape in which one of the cult members speaks about an upcoming event called the Ascension. This sounds like the mass suicide his brother has always talked about. He decides to go back to visit the cult, just for one day, and persuades Justin to go with him. When they return they find the same members that they knew when they left, with the exception of one new girl who joined them after running away from a mental asylum. Nobody seems to have aged, but Justin and Aaron shrug it off because it's only been 10 years. They're warmly welcomed by their old friends, so they decide to extend their stay. Then they notice unusual things. On the first night they see two Moons in the sky. On the second night they see three Moons.

This is a surreal mystery. The mundane and the supernatural are intertwined. The viewer is kept guessing until the end.