Gainesville High School alumna Carrie Carusone is now on the forefront of a Generation Z movie that was released nationwide Aug. 28.
Carusone is the co-producer of "It Ends," a psychological, horror drama about four post-grads on an endless journey. The movie was partly filmed in Gainesville.
Carusone said she always loved films, but it wasn’t until Gainesville High School that she went all in on her passion for filmmaking. Tony Malo, Carusone’s film teacher, sparked the first flame.
“He walked up to me in the cafeteria and he was like, ‘Hey, you look like you do film,’” Carusone recalled. “I literally had like a pixie cut and an almost shaved head.”
It was at that point Malo asked sophomore Carusone to join his film class. Flash forward to junior year and Carusone spoke with a WUFT reporter about Malo’s impact on her desire to become a filmmaker.
“This is what I am going to do with my life,” Carusone said in a 2015 interview with WUFT News. “I’ve never met a teacher who cared so much… It changed my life drastically.”
Now, more than 10 years later, Carusone is proving the elective she took in high school was all worth it. Her name is on the silver screen nationwide.
Carusone said "It Ends" was shot over the course of three years.
“We actually had a lot of movie review influencers join our community,” Carusone said. “With all that buzz, Letterboxd was looking at hidden gems that hadn’t been bought out by festivals yet.”
After Letterboxd, a social media site for movie lovers, featured the movie, Neon Films brought "It Ends" on board in December.
“Our movie budget is very tiny compared to bigger movies like 'Obsession,'” Carusone said. “Our first production was only $34,000, with a cast of four and a crew of 12. It’s pretty tight, especially with this concept.”
Despite the low budget, the film managed to make its way into theaters nationwide. The 2026 film was named a New York Times Critics Pick on Aug. 20 — a day before the limited release. In an article by New York Times movies critic, Alissa Wilkinson, she said "It Ends" is about “finally taking the on-ramp to adulthood, only to discover that what you’ve worked for your whole life, until now, is unblinking, unchanging monotony.”
“You spend so much of your youth thinking about what adulthood is going to look like,” Carusone explained. “You picture it, you map it out and then you realize it’s not what everyone has painted for you. And honestly, let it go, and find the energy and put it back into yourself to believe in yourself.”
As for Carusone, she spent most of her youth buying an $8 movie ticket and sitting in the theaters. Now that adulthood is here, her only concern is wondering where in Gainesville "It Ends" is playing.
“I hope it’s at Butler,” Carusone said. “That's where I saw all my first movies.”
As it turns out, some youth dreams do come true. You can catch the film playing at Regal Butler Town Center.