Rites of Spring

Real actors. Real action. Real scary! No CGI crap to cheapen the mood. Nice job by everyone. You did good Packy, so when is the next installment? Count me in. I'm ready. Mar Senior

I downloaded this movie so that my husband and I would have a nice, spooky movie to watch during a camping trip. All I was hoping for were a few cheap thrills to add to the dark atmosphere of the woods where we were camping and this film brought so much more. I was pulled into the film immediately and it kept my attention throughout with it's well paced moments of suspense. I also applaud the minimal use of gore, which made for a far more effective horror movie, in my opinion.

A excellent story line and plot! I highly recommend this movie to any thriller/suspense movie lovers!

A cool dual story, with good general suspense (featuring spot on pace and increasing intensity), great leads, a couple surprising twists, good creepy use of a minimalist industrial-orchestral score, wide open back country scenery, well-designed old worn-down sets, a nice lil bit o' gore (with great make-up on close-ups), and an edge-of-your-seat ending!! Above all though: RITES OF SPRING showcases simply *OUTSTANDING* cinematography for its budget and the genre in general, without question. The film is at once simply beautifully lit and very creepily shot, and makes great use of hand-held/steadicam camera work. They also did a fine job on the editing, it flows visually very well. A superb first feature by Padraig Reynolds. A great OnDemand catch for suspense lovers. 9/10

I saw this at the Screamfest film festival in LA. I'm not really a huge fan of slasher movies, but the friend I was with is and I'd seen the girl who played the main character in another movie, the Signal, which I enjoyed. I also do often enjoy suspense thrillers, so I appreciated that Rites of Spring had a little bit for everyone. The genre mashup really kept the mystery and suspense going until everything was revealed toward the end. The creature was ridiculously gross, the scares were scary, and the suspense was palpable. It was obvious that the filmmaker really had an appreciate for old slasher classics. Of which, I admit, I have seen only a few. The locations are really what made the movie for me. The realism and authenticity of the settings really help set the movie apart and take it to the next level. That was something I noticed specifically about the look of it. All in all, Rites of Spring was a fun time and a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed it.