Luke and Jon feel their lives are hanging at the edge of a cliff when they find out that they are HIV-positive. Unable to assume the bad news and after a casual encounter, they decide to escape together by car in search for freedom and hope. However, crime and self-destruction will slowly get on their way. The dependence on each other will mix with the frailty of their relationship and their inability to mature. Alone, fearful, disheartened, and in desperate need of affection and support, they will pursue the dangerous path that their life has taken, which sometimes seems closer to a dream than to reality.

The Living End is the third film directed by Gregg Araki, which represented a remarkable qualitative leap in his filmography. The film deals in an honest and open way about the consequences (mostly psychological) of getting AIDS. Furthermore, it’s a queer film that shows a homosexual relationship without erotic exhibitionism but without concealing anything. The Living End mixes a love story with the consequences of the panic and the lack of self-esteem that generates becoming HIV-positive. Although filmed in an amateur way, this picture however depicts an obvious authorial commitment.