Spring has come and with it tradition and rites that need to
be adhered to in order for order to be kept.
This is the basic premise behind Rites
of Spring (2011) a better than expected monster film that fuses the
gangster film with the horror film in surprisingly original ways.
Written and directed by Padraig Reynolds the film has two
parallel storylines. One follows four
criminals whose kidnapping goes south and the second storyline follows two women
who are abducted by a man who has a nefarious objective that involves a monster
hidden in a hole in the barn. When the
kidnappers stumble upon one of the captured women all hell breaks loose and
everyone finds themselves being hunted down by a creature that none of them
understands.
The reason why the film works is because it has a very
simply premise that is not hampered down by a complicated plot and although there
is a complicated mythology surrounding the creature in the film very little
time is spent explaining it. At a brisk
running time of only 80 minutes the film is a roller coaster ride from
beginning to end and horror fans should not be dismayed by the gangster-kidnapping
story as Reynolds does a great job of balancing the two very different story
threads.
What also elevates this film above other indie horror films
is the better than expected cast headlined by the always dependable AJ Bowen
(of The Signal and You’re Next) and Reynolds direction of
the material. This is a film much better
than expected and will not disappoint horror fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment