Rites of Spring

Rites of Spring follows a trio of kidnappers as they stumble upon a horrific secret at a remote farm, with the narrative also detailing the exploits of two women abducted by a crazy old coot with less-than-savory intentions. It’s hard to argue that Rites of Spring fares best in its palpably riveting first half, as filmmaker Padraig Reynolds does an effective job of establishing an atmosphere of dread and suspense within the dual storylines – with the movie’s rough-around-the-edges vibe (eg amateurish performances, slipshod production values, etc) relatively easy to overlook as a result of Reynolds’ strong directorial choices. The impressively watchable vibe begins to evaporate in the meandering midsection, however, with the film’s fairly abrupt shift from intriguing nailbiter to generic slasher accelerating its descent into irrelevance. Reynolds’ increased emphasis on the run-and-hide exploits of the narrative’s surviving characters grows tiresome almost immediately, and it seems, to more and more pronounced effect, as though the writer/director is following a template for movies of this ilk. The tedious final act only confirms Rites of Spring‘s complete transformation into a rather tedious piece of work, which is a shame, certainly, given the massive potential afforded by the movie’s initial stretch.

** out of ****