Rites of Spring

A Nutty Mash-Up: Two Film Genres Collide For One Night Of Murderous Mayhem
I'm a bit torn in my evaluation of the new thriller "Rites of Spring." As a low budget shocker, it leaves a lot to be desired with a clunky screenplay that raises more questions than it answers. But I also appreciated that the film attempted to meld two different film genres into one story. If not always successful, it was something that I'd never really seen before. So I'll give writer/director Padraig Reynolds points for originality. "Rites of Spring" is really two different films. One is a standard heist picture and one is a horror story. Neither is particularly well developed or spectacular on their own, but it's the mash-up that keeps things interesting. My head is telling me that the movie should only rate about two stars. My heart, however, is pushing me toward three stars just because the idea behind the film is rather bonkers. And I like that! I didn't love "Rites of Spring" and probably wouldn't view it a second time, but I enjoyed seeing the two stories collide...

INTERESTING SLASHER FLICK
RITES OF SPRING is one creepy little horror flick that is two movies in one. Part of the movie is a crime drama and the other a WICKER MAN type horror film with a great creature named Worm Face. At first watch I didn't really know what to think of the movie. It's very ambitious and keeps you guessing throughout. Which I found very satisfying for these type of films. I also enjoyed that the two stories were connected and that the Rachel character is responsible for this butterfly effect that she sets in motion. There are some holes in the script that left me puzzled. What happened to the little girl? What happened to the bodies? Does it really end like that? The movie looks very professional and is absolutely beautiful. RITES OF SPRING is a gem of a low budget horror movie but I just wish that the script would have taken a little more time to explain itself. Definitely worth a rental and far better then a lot of big budget horror movies out there.

Fantastic horror/kidnapping/slasher/monster film
Rites of spring is a fine little film, and has a uncommon storyline where there is a dual set of circumstances going on at the same time. i didn't really care for the story of the kidnapping/ransom part of the story, and wish that they would have concentrated more on the sacrificial part of it. i wonder if there is a longer version of this film that had key scenes that were cut out because of censorship, that would have explained why stuff happened the way it did? in the first part of the film an older guy prepares for a sacrificial date and has to have virgins to sacrifice to a monster locked away in the bottom of the barn. it didn't make any sense to me why they had to chop off heads and use goat heads for the sacrifice? it is a shame that they couldn't remake this film and just have the storyline revolve around the monster/sacrifice story. would have been fantastic if they could divulge more about the monster and why they had to sacrifice chicks to him. oh. well... maybe if enough...

Click to Editorial Reviews