I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

I’m Thinking of Ending Things is the rare thriller that doesn’t just want to scare you—it wants to get under your skin and stay there, like a half-remembered dream you can’t shake. What begins as an uneasy road trip blooms into something eerily funny, hauntingly intimate, and richly symbolic, powered by performances that feel both precise and emotionally exposed. The film’s pleasures aren’t in tidy answers but in the way it invites you to lean in, to feel the dread and tenderness in the same breath, and to puzzle over what’s real long after the credits. It’s not for everyone—if you need straightforward storytelling, it may frustrate—but if you’re hungry for an original, thought-provoking experience that trusts your intelligence, it’s absolutely worth the ride.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things is clearly aiming for an unsettling, literary fever dream about identity, regret, and the stories we tell ourselves, using the “meet the parents” setup as a bait-and-switch into something far more abstract. The problem is it often confuses depth with obscurity, piling on symbolism and tonal left turns until the tension turns into homework, especially if you’re expecting a coherent mystery or a horror payoff. The pacing is deliberately slow and talky, and the emotional connection can feel distant, which makes the runtime drag if you’re not already on its wavelength. If you like cerebral, ambiguous art-house puzzles and don’t need answers, you may admire the performances and atmosphere; if you want a clear narrative and satisfying thrills, this will likely feel pretentious and frustrating.