Quick Links

Netflix’s End of the Road features Queen Latifah in a brand-new road trip thriller. The multiple award-winning actress leads the cast as the protagonist Brenda, who drives her family cross-country through the desert to start a new life after losing her job. A simple journey is complicated along the way after they encounter a creepy killer bent on causing havoc.

End of the Road is helmed by Millicent Shelton in what will be her feature film directorial debut. Shelton made her name directing various popular TV shows including episodes of Everybody Hates Chris, Girlfriends, The Walking Dead, Castle, and the teen drama TV series 90210. End of the Road promises to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller helped along by an impressive cast. The script is written by The Intruder writer David Loughery based on an original screenplay by Christopher Moore.

While End of The Road should normally pass for a thriller, the filmmakers are reportedly looking to create a new genre they term “family-based action road trip thriller”, which would be a fusion of action and heart-warming family-based drama. The movie world isn’t exactly lacking in sub-genres and new entrants, so it will be interesting to see what they make out of this and subsequent attempts to populate this “new genre”. Here is everything you need to know about the plot, cast, filming details, and more of the film.

queen latifah end of the road social featured
Image via Netflix

Related:The 7 Best New Movies on Netflix in September 2022

What Is End of the Road About?

After Brenda loses her job, she decides the best thing for her is a change of scenery. She packs up her stuff and takes her family cross-country to start a new life. The journey south would involve an audacious drive across the New Mexico desert. Destination? Houston. All things being equal, the trip, which was also meant to provide an ample family bonding experience, soon goes south. At a stop-over, Brenda and her family witness a murder that changes everything. A rampaging killer is on their trail and will stop at nothing until he gets back what belongs to him.

The official synopsis reads as follows:

In this high-octane action thriller, a cross-country road trip becomes a highway to hell for Brenda (Queen Latifah), her, two kids and her brother Reggie (Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges). After witnessing a brutal murder, the family finds themselves in the crosshairs of a mysterious killer. Now alone in the New Mexico desert and cut off from any help, Brenda is pulled into a deadly fight to keep her family alive.

Watch the End of the Road Trailer

The opening scene of the trailer shows Brenda and her family on a road trip across the vast New Mexico desert en route to Houston where they hope to pitch camp, push the reset button, and start all over again. Flashbacks reveal the events that led Brenda to the conclusion that leaving town was the only option. As they continue, Brenda's brother expresses his misgivings about the journey. After hours of driving, they check into a motel to rest their heads only for their rest to be disrupted by a violent murder next door. What ensues next is unclear, but subsequent scenes make it obvious that someone among the traveling party might just have taken money belonging to the kind of fellows no one should be messing with.

When Is End of the Road Releasing?

End of the Road will be released on Netflix on September 9, 2022. And yes, it is going to be exclusive to Netflix so you can't watch the movie anywhere else when it releases.

Is End of the Road Coming to Movie Theaters?

No, as mentioned above the movie is a Netflix original so it isn't going to be heading to the theaters. In case you don't have a Netflix subscription yet, they start at $9.99 per month for the Basic plan.

Related:The 66 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now

Who's In the End of the Road Cast?

end of the road ludacris chris bridges
Image via Netflix

Fresh off the set of Adam Sandler’s latest Netflix team-up Hustle, iconic hip-hop star and actor Queen Latifah is cast as the lead character Brenda. An accomplished rapper and actress, her most popular movies include the road trip comedy Girls Trip and the musical Hairspray. Her performance as Mama in the movie adaptation of Chicago earned her an Oscar nomination in 2002.

Chris “Ludacris” Bridges plays Reggie, Brenda’s younger brother. A three-time Grammy Award winner, Luda’s most memorable acting performances are as Tej Parker in the Fast and Furious film series. Apart from that, he has played Eldridge Buultjens in The Ride and Hell in the 2020 thriller drama John Henry.

Also on the cast is Beau Bridges, who has won two Golden Globes, three Emmys, and one Grammy Award during a six-decade-long career. He came to prominence for his performance in the 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys. His other notable credits include Max Payne, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and Stargate: The Ark of Truth. Jesse Luken plays Harvey Ruck. Luken is popular for his role as Eric in the science fiction romance series Star-Crossed. He has also appeared in the FX drama series Justified, the 2014 thriller The Guest, and the 2018 anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

Other members of the cast include Frances Lee McCain, Keith Jardine, Tabatha Shaun, Mychala Faith Lee, Travis Hammer, J. Nathan Simmons, Phuong Kubacki, Efrain Villa, Rob Estrada, Micah McNeil, Tim Stafford, Aaron Valentine, Jasper Keen, Rachel Michaela, and Yvette Fazio-Delaney.

Who Is Making End of the Road?

The film is directed by Millicent Shelton, who started her career directing music videos for the likes of R. Kelly, CeCe Peniston, Mary J. Blige, Aaliyah, and Salt-n-Pepa. Over the years she has become a successful director focusing mostly on TV work. She has directed episodes of Insecure, Black-ish, and 30 Rock. End of the Road will be her feature film directorial debut. Queen Latifah, Ben Pugh, Erica Steinberg, Daniel J. Heffner, and Shakim Compere are executive producing. The producers are Tracey Edmonds for Edmonds Entertainment, Mark Burg for Twisted Pictures, and Brad Kaplan.