Rites of Spring (2012)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This incredibly low budget horror movie has no clue what it wants to be. It is a home invasion movie, then a kidnap movie, then a serial killer movie, then a killer hillbilly movie, and the worst part is that it does all of these equally bad. The acting is terrible across the board, the story is laughable, the direction is all over the place, like it was filmed by a 10 year old that was using all the new features on his camera phone, which it was probably shot on. I understand that this was a bad movie and it knows it, but that does not change the fact the it is awful on every level, well, except maybe for the poster, which was interesting enough to catch my eye and got me to watch this waste of time movie. 1.5 Beards Out Of 5

Some teens beset by a mad slasher encounter kidnapping crooks, and all have trouble staying alive.This movie comprises Cabin In The Woods syndrome crossed with a routine kidnapping plot, and does neither very well. While it is relatively professional technically, it is woefully inept artistically. Here are the main flaws: 1. Nothing is explained: 2. None of the victims is even slightly sympathetic; 3. Far too much tearful snivelling, screaming etc.; 4. The usual idiotic behaviour (having downed the assailant, let's just run away, leaving him to get up and pursue us); 5. A non-ending - the film just stops in the middle of a victim running away.This is one to be avoided.

Now in my headlining title I said "Not bad for a B-movie" But I really don't know what a B-movie is anymore with all the garbage that is in the theatres these days, they is far more worse being released than this film.I think this movie has merit as far as this type of genre goes. The acting is very well done, yes the film is clichéd to death and has a reminiscence of From Dusk Till Dawn, in a small way. But what I mean by this statement is that we have the classic storyline of a guy loosing his job and decides to take the big bosses child for ransom, and this whole ordeal is botched by the people involved it doesn't go so well in the end. Well at the end of the film you will understand what I mean by me saying expected and unexpected avenues....Then we also have the storyline of some hick living out in the middle of nowhere which leads us to both story lines converging into one another.Not bad cinematography at all for the money they had for this small production, the acting was above par with a little bit of twists and turns.I enjoyed watching this film it wasn't that bad as far as these types of films go. I definitely think it is worth a watch and deserves a look, compared to all the remakes and reboots in the theatres's these days it's a good little flick

The first third of the movie is simply stellar, and well executed (the opening title, with the 16 Horsepower song gave me goosebumps, and I can't stop thinking of it). The photography with its smart out-of-focus effects, and the acting are top-notched. But when the 2 genres collides, everything is messed up and ridiculous. Simply put, the slasher part is a total train wreck, messy, and approximative and just plain ridiculous. Most of time, slasher movie have boring and uninteresting exposition. This is completely the opposite. This is the first time I found the exposition engaging and entertaining. Overall, I think this is a nice effort. And there's definitely very good moments in it. AJ Bowen as a good guy is really convincing , and I can't wait to see more of this actor.