Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Rites of Spring’

Written by Scott Edwards

Small towns always hold some sort of appeal as everyone always knows what is going on. Many people that have lived in big cities all of their lives have a dream of moving to one of these areas to get away from the crowds as they have put up with this all for far too long. But small towns can also hold many secrets that only those that have lived there all of their lives will know and outsiders will never be privy to.

Rachel and her friend are leaving the bar after a great night of drinking when they notice that one of their car tires is flat. Getting out to change it, they are both kidnapped by a stranger that has an out of the ordinary plan for their fate. Waking up in a barn, they do not know what to expect from the stranger, but he is asking them all sorts of questions about their past and the most important question to him, are they clean?

Ben Geringer and girlfriend Amy are on the other side of town working with their friend Paul to set up a get rich quick plan. Ben has been laid off from his job for something that was not his fault and the plan will get revenge upon his boss. Going to kidnap his boss’ daughters seems like the best way to get even with the old man, but while in the house, Paul seems to lose his mind and kill the old man’s wife. Demanding a ransom for the return of the two girls, Ben, Amy and Paul escape into the woods and their plan seems to be going off without a hitch, but the old man has formed a plan of his own to bring the girls back.

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​Across town, Rachel is able to free herself from the old barn but needs to find her friend before escaping back to humanity. Finding her friend with her head cut off, Rachel tries to muster up enough power to kill the old farmer that she believes conceived this act, but he tells her that there is nothing she can do to stop the ‘rites of spring’. Not knowing what the old man is talking about, she sees a figure come up from the cellar that is not human and is looking for blood. Trying to find help, she stumbles on to the hideout Ben, Amy and Paul are staying at and begs for them to leave as well. The kidnapping crew believes she has lost her mind, until the creature comes and takes one of their own.

Rites of Spring follows the story of Rachel and her friend as they have been kidnapped and are to be sacrificed to some sort of creature that brings a prize harvest to a farmer. As his family has always performed this act, he believes that there is nothing wrong with it and will continue to feed the beast until the farm is passed on. When Rachel is able to escape her captor, she runs into an old friend, Ben, who is in the middle of a kidnapping and begs for his help, but with his job going the wrong way and his old boss finding the crew's hiding spot, he does not know what he can do. With the creature following Rachel from the farm wanting blood, it stumbles into the same situation, but is not deterred by the guns that are waved in its face, it kills everyone that gets in its way. Needing to find a way to escape with their lives, Rachel, Ben and Amy need to devise a plan to get on to the main road and get out of town before the beast catches up with them.

I cannot lie, I loved how this movie played out and how two different groups were drawn into the same situation. Although one storyline was kind of stale for a little while, Rachel’s, while she was tied up in the barn, it keeps you intrigued enough to wonder what will happen to her and her friend. I must admit, I liked seeing the hesitation with the kidnapping crew as well. Ben never seemed to be too keen on the idea, although it would get him paid by the man that fired him. This is a just a good overall scary movie that will leave you cringing in your seat as the creature is released and starts its hunt, looking for as much blood as it can find. Stay Scared!

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