{{Use American English|date=November 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = Violent Ends | image = Violent Ends film poster.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | alt = | director = John-Michael Powell | screenplay = John-Michael Powell | producer = {{Plainlist| * Vincent Sieber-Smith * Undine Buka }} | starring = {{Plainlist|<!-- Per poster --> * Billy Magnussen * James Badge Dale * Kate Burton * Ray McKinnon * Nick Stahl * Alexandra Shipp }} | music = Anthony Willis | cinematography = Elijah Guess | editing = Mark Gasparo | production_companies = Midnight Road Entertainment | distributor = Independent Film Company | released = {{Film date|2025|10|31|United States}} | runtime = 111 minutes<ref name="RT" /> | country = United States<ref name="TN">{{Cite The Numbers |id=Violent-Ends-(2025) |title=Violent Ends (2025) |access-date=December 4, 2025}}</ref> | language = English | budget = $2 million | gross = $185,131 }}
'''''Violent Ends''''' is a 2025 American independent Southern Gothic thriller-crime film written and directed by John-Michael Powell. The film stars Billy Magnussen, James Badge Dale, Kate Burton, Ray McKinnon, Nick Stahl, and Alexandra Shipp. Principal photography took place in Northwest Arkansas from October to November 2023, with an estimated production budget of $2 million.
The film was released in select cinemas in the United States on October 31, 2025, by Independent Film Company. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $185,131.
==Cast== {{Cast listing| * Billy Magnussen as Lucas Frost * James Badge Dale as Sid Frost, Lucas's sadistic cousin and Walt's eldest son * Kate Burton as Darlene Woodley, the deputy sheriff of Copperhead Creek and Lucas and Tuck's mother * Ray McKinnon as Walt Frost, Lucas's uncle who manages the methamphetamine operations of the family drug trade * Nick Stahl as Tuck Whitehead, Lucas's half-brother * Alexandra Shipp as Emma Darling, Lucas's fianceé * Sean Harrison Jones as Justin "Dickey" Dixon * Matt Riedy as Ray Frost, Lucas's father * Bruce McKinnon as Donny Frost, Lucas's uncle * Jared Bankens as Eli Frost, Lucas's cousin and Sid's younger brother * Vassiliki Ellwood as Tanya Whitehead * Nathaniel Woolsey as Fiddle Frost * Scott McLean Harrison as Reed Frost * Travis Farris as Jeb Frost * Faron Ledbetter as Whitney Oldham, a pastor * Van Stewman Jr. as Merle Bateland * James Vincent Dean as Tony Pugilese * David Ury as Lou Byers * Michael Lynn Thomas as Ellis Lamkin * Jay Devon Johnson as Ralph Gaines, the sheriff of Copperhead Creek * Rhonda Johnson Dents as Rosetta Ware }}
==Production== Writer and director John-Michael Powell, a native of North Little Rock, Arkansas, had "always wanted to set a film in [his] home state".<ref name="AT">{{cite web |last1=Grear |first1=Daniel |title=NLR native John-Michael Powell’s film 'Violent Ends' hits theaters Friday |url=https://arktimes.com/rock-candy/2025/10/29/nlr-native-john-michael-powells-film-violent-ends-hits-theaters-friday |website=Arkansas Times |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 29, 2025}}</ref><ref name="FarOut">{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Scott |title=John-Michael Powell: "I make movies about good people making bad decisions for the right reasons" |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/john-michael-powell-violent-ends-interview/ |website=Far Out Magazine |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 29, 2025}}</ref> He completed the first draft of the screenplay, originally titled ''The Killing Kind'', in 2013.<ref name="KUAF">{{cite web |last1=Kellams |first1=Kyle |title='Violent Ends' directed by Arkansas native set in home state |url=https://www.kuaf.com/show/ozarks-at-large/2025-10-29/violent-ends-directed-by-arkansas-native-set-in-home-state |publisher=KUAF |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 29, 2025}}</ref><ref name="FandomWire">{{cite web |last1=Boelman |first1=Sean |title=Violent Ends Director John-Michael Powell Discusses His Subtly Harrowing Neo-Western (INTERVIEW) |url=https://fandomwire.com/violent-ends-john-michael-powell-interview/ |website=FandomWire |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 30, 2025}}</ref> The film was "a few weeks away from shooting" in 2017 when the production "fell apart", and he subsequently wrote and directed the "microbudget" film ''The Send-Off'' (2022) during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="VarietyInterview">{{cite web |last1=Earl |first1=William |title='Violent Ends': How John-Michael Powell's Southern Thriller Without 'Redneck Yokel Stereotypes' Depicts the 'Cyclical Nature of Violence' Through a Bloody Family Feud |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/features/violent-ends-southern-redneck-yokel-stereotypes-1236552104/ |website=Variety |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 31, 2025}}</ref> ''The Send-Off'' won the Audience Award at the Arkansas Cinema Society's Filmland, which came with a grant from Panavision that he used to partially fund ''Violent Ends''.<ref name="IdleClass">{{cite web |last1=Ford |first1=Kody |title=John-Michael Powell on filmmaking and his latest Violent Ends |url=http://idleclassmag.com/john-michael-powell-filmmaking-latest-violent-ends/ |website=The Idle Class |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 24, 2025}}</ref>
Powell previously worked as an editor on the 2012 film ''The Brass Teapot'' which co-starred Billy Magnussen, whom he felt had "so much more in his well" while reviewing the production dailies. While casting ''Violent Ends'', he "leapt at the opportunity" to work directly with Magnussen.<ref name="FandomWire" /> During development, the film's title was changed from ''The Killing Kind'' to ''Violent Ends'' for "a host of reasons", including the premiere of the British television series ''The Killing Kind'' in September 2023.<ref name="FandomWire" />
Pre-production and location scouting began in mid-2023, and production offices were set up on July 13, 2023, with filming set to commence that October.<ref name="KUAF" /><ref name="IdleClass" /> The following day, the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA went on strike, forcing the film to shut down.<ref name="IdleClass" /> The production team quickly applied for an independent waiver that would allow actors represented by SAG-AFTRA to appear in the film without violating the strike by agreeing to the union's proposed terms.<ref name="IdleClass" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wiseman |first1=Andrea |last2=Goldsmith |first2=Jill |title=SAG-AFTRA Begins Granting Waivers To Indie Productions But Plenty Of Questions Remain, Not Least Whether Actors Will Show Up |url=https://deadline.com/2023/07/sag-strike-actors-waiver-rebel-wilson-movie-interim-agreement-1235439316/ |website=Deadline |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=July 16, 2023}}</ref> The union granted the project an interim agreement to resume production in mid-September,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hipes |first1=Patrick |title=SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreements: Full List Of Movies And TV Series |url=https://deadline.com/feature/sag-aftra-interim-agreements-list-movies-tv-series-1235446661/ |website=Deadline |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=September 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230914025229/https://deadline.com/feature/sag-aftra-interim-agreements-list-movies-tv-series-1235446661/ |archive-date=September 14, 2023 |url-status=dead<!-- The article is still up and has been updated multiple times, but this specific version shows that Violent Ends was a new addition to the list on September 14, 2023 -->}}</ref> days before the crew would have needed to delay filming to 2024.<ref name="IdleClass" /> As actors could not be approached with offers during the strike, casting directors Lindsay Graham-Ahanonu and Liz Coulon had to hire the entire cast in four weeks,<ref name="IdleClass" /> including James Badge Dale who was immediately available due to the strike.<ref name="FandomWire" />
Principal photography began in Northwest Arkansas in October 2023 with an estimated production budget of $2 million.<ref name="AT" /><ref name="KUAF" /> Scenes were shot in various areas of the Ozark Mountains, the Crawford County Speedway near Van Buren, and a library in Berryville's town square.<ref name="AT" /> Filming wrapped in November.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grobar |first1=Matt |title=Billy Magnussen, Alexandra Shipp & Nick Stahl To Topline Southern Revenge Thriller 'Violent Ends' – First Look |url=https://deadline.com/2023/11/violent-ends-movie-billy-magnussen-alexandra-shipp-1235643633/ |website=Deadline |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=November 30, 2023}}</ref> The sound mixing was completed at Skywalker Ranch in a week,<ref name="IdleClass" /> and the film was finished in May 2024.<ref name="AT" /> During post-production, Powell took influence from ''Gladiator'' (2002) and added title cards to the beginning of the film to provide backstory about the Frost family and their criminal history, as he "didn't want [viewers] to get lost in the weeds of who every cousin is".<ref name="FarOut" />
==Release== ''Violent Ends'' was submitted to several film festivals and shopped to distributors at the Sundance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, and South by Southwest, but it was not screened or purchased at any festivals.<ref name="AT" /><ref name="Distribution">{{cite web |last1=Kay |first1=Jeremy |title=Independent Film Company acquires Billy Magnussen revenge thriller 'Violent Ends' |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/independent-film-company-acquires-billy-magnussen-revenge-thriller-violent-ends/5205102.article |website=Screen Daily |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=May 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251118170703/https://www.screendaily.com/news/independent-film-company-acquires-billy-magnussen-revenge-thriller-violent-ends/5205102.article |archive-date=November 18, 2025 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref> After South by Southwest, sales representatives with the UTA Independent Film Group and XYZ Films screened the film for buyers in Los Angeles, which resulted in "10 offers on the table".<ref name="AT" /> The film's North American distribution rights were ultimately acquired by Independent Film Company in May 2025.<ref name="Distribution" />
The film was screened at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts on October 30, with Powell and producer Undine Buka participating in a question and answer session.<ref name="AT" /> The next day, the film was theatrically released in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Melendez |first1=Marcos |title=Disney Star Fights Back in Action-Packed Clip From This Week's Violent New Thriller [Exclusive] |url=https://movieweb.com/billy-magnussen-thriller-violent-ends-exclusive-clip/ |website=MovieWeb |publisher=Valnet |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 30, 2025}}</ref> On November 18, it was made available for rental and purchase on over-the-top media services.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dietz |first1=Jason |title=2025-26 Movie Release Calendar |url=https://www.metacritic.com/news/upcoming-movie-release-dates-schedule/ |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=December 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251115161132/https://www.metacritic.com/web/20251115161132/https:/www.metacritic.com/news/upcoming-movie-release-dates-schedule/ |archive-date=November 15, 2025 |date=November 13, 2025 |url-status=dead<!-- Site is routinely updated, but this ensures that the accurate archived version always displays -->}}</ref>
===Box office=== ''Violent Ends'' was released to 700 theaters on October 31, 2025, grossing $117,813 on its opening weekend and $179,046 in its opening week. In its second week, it grossed $6,085, closing with a total domestic gross of $185,131.<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |title=Violent Ends - Box Office Mojo |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1474723841/weekly/?ref_=bo_rl_tab#tabs |website=Box Office Mojo |publisher=IMDb |access-date=December 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251204160304/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1474723841/weekly/?ref_=bo_rl_tab#tabs |archive-date=December 4, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>
===Critical response=== [[File:James Badge Dale TIFF 2010.jpg|thumb|upright|Several critics praised James Badge Dale's performance as a highlight of the film.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="Paste" /><ref name="IW" /><ref name="MWReview" /><ref name="Variety" />}}]] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 30 critics' reviews are positive.<ref name="RT">{{cite web |title=Violent Ends |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/violent_ends |website=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango |access-date=January 22, 2026}}</ref> Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100, based on four critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.<ref>{{cite web |title=Violent Ends Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/violent-ends/ |publisher=Metacritic |access-date=December 4, 2025}}</ref>
Jim Vorel of ''Paste'' praised the film for its "stellar performances, gritty naturalism and exquisitely gruesome payoffs" while highlighting director of photography Elijah Guess's "detail-rich shooting".<ref name="Paste">{{cite web |last1=Vorel |first1=Jim |title=This Southern Crime Thriller Reaches Gruesome, Engrossingly ''Violent Ends'' |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/billy-magnussen/violent-ends-2025-review-billy-magnussen-james-badge-dale-crime-thriller-southern-arkansas |website=Paste |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 28, 2025}}</ref> Kyle Logan of the ''Chicago Reader'' complimented Elijah Guess's cinematography and the film's tension, though he concluded that the film was "too generic to be something special".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Logan |first1=Kyle |title=Review: ''Violent Ends'' |url=https://chicagoreader.com/film-tv/movie-review/review-violent-ends/ |website=Chicago Reader |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=November 5, 2025}}</ref> ''IndieWire''{{'s}} David Ehrlich highlighted the film's "vividly authentic sense of time and place" and Billy Magnussen's performance, but criticized the film's "canned dialogue and clichéd story beats" and its overall exploration of the cycle of violence.<ref name="IW">{{cite web |last1=Ehrlich |first1=David |title='Violent Ends' Review: Billy Magnussen Takes the Lead in a Rich but Derivative Appalachian Revenge Thriller |url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/violent-ends-movie-review-billy-magnussen-1235158267/ |website=IndieWire |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 31, 2025}}</ref>
In a less positive review for ''MovieWeb'', Eric Goldman also called the film clichéd, describing it as "too mundane to ever achieve much impact".<ref name="MWReview">{{cite web |last1=Goldman |first1=Eric |title='Violent Ends’ is an All-Too-Familiar Revenge Story |url=https://movieweb.com/violent-ends-2025-review/ |website=MovieWeb |publisher=Valnet |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 30, 2025}}</ref> J. Kim Murphy of ''Variety'' summarized ''Violent Ends'' a "standard-issue revenge tale" with "familiar, simplistic plotting".<ref name="Variety">{{cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=J. Kim |title='Violent Ends' Review: A Family Cartel Self-Destructs in All the Expected Ways |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/violent-ends-review-1236566461/ |website=Variety |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=November 4, 2025}}</ref> ''RogerEbert.com''{{'s}} Robert Daniels also felt the film was generic, criticizing it for "lack[ing] a pulse and curiosity" and the ending for being non-committal to its overall "gloomy, hyper-violent" tone.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Daniels |first1=Robert |title=Violent Ends movie review & film summary (2025) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/violent-ends-billy-magnussen-film-review-2025 |website=RogerEbert.com |access-date=December 4, 2025 |date=October 31, 2025}}</ref>
==Note== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.violentends.movie/}} ({{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251118160348/https://www.violentends.movie/ |date=November 18, 2025}} * {{IMDb title|6902560}}
Category:2025 crime thriller films Category:2025 independent films Category:2025 English-language films Category:2020s vigilante films Category:American crime thriller films Category:American independent films Category:American vigilante films Category:Contemporary Western films Category:English-language crime thriller films Category:English-language independent films Category:English-language Western (genre) films Category:Films about cousins Category:Films about criminals Category:Films about the illegal drug trade in the United States Category:Films set in 1992 Category:Films set in the Ozarks Category:Films shot in Arkansas Category:IFC Films films Category:Southern Gothic films Category:Films about hillbillies