Back in 2012, I reviewed a small, independent and mysterious horror film called Resolution that surprised me in so many different ways. Directors Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson delivered a film that kept me on the edge of my seat and insanely engaged regardless of the fact that it was tough to tell what exactly was going. I was a big fan of the film and, naturally, couldn’t wait to see what they had in store for their sophomore feature film. They seemingly took a complete 180 degree turn with their new film Spring, opting for a romantic film with a supernatural twist. Having not seen the trailer or read the synopsis, I didn’t realize there was a horror/supernatural element until I got about 25 minutes into the film but, regardless, the results are surprisingly good.
I’m going to try and keep this review and plot as spoiler free as possible, but should I need to get specific I will be sure to mark the spoiler sections.
When Evan’s (Lou Taylor Pucci) mother passes away, he heads to a bar but ends up getting into a fight that potentially has legal consequences. He decides it’s time to make a change to inject some positivity into his life so he drops everything and travels to Italy. When he meets a mysterious girl named Louise (Nadia Hilker) in a small town in Southern Italy, he decides to stay, live and work there, hoping to get to know her more. As the film progresses and unbeknownst to Evan, we discover that Louise has a dark secret that threatens their fun, blooming relationship.
As with their first film, what makes this Benson/Moorhead film special is the air of mystery that the plot is engulfed in. We meet this mysterious woman who has an unrecognizable accent, that’s immediately DTF, and is willing to play mind games with Evan regardless of how clever or smart his comebacks are. You’re slowly led on to believe that this is going to be an interesting romantic drama of the normal realm and then cue the music that leads to a bombshell of a scene. The scene is surprising but it doesn’t freak you out, in fact, it makes you more curious to see where this film will go because life for the character goes on like nothing ever happened. It’s also an incredibly misleading scene which is probably my favorite part about it.
The way the directors craft and tell their story is what makes watching their films such a unique and fresh experience. While we get to see the film from both Evan and Louise’s perspective, it isn’t until the third act that we finally begin to understand what the actual situation is, what’s causing it and how everything might be resolved. Thankfully, a lot of the specifics are explained, as an audience member we might not grasp everything immediately, but the filmmakers do a good enough job of laying all the cards out since, as we all know, sci-fi and horror flicks get dissected and analyzed the most.
What’s really great about the film is the cinematography. Early on, there are a ton of shots of nature and various creatures that reside in the Italian town. At first it seemed a little weird that they would pay so much attention to these small critters no matter how cool they are, but after I finished the film it dawned on me that this was their crafty way of foreshadowing what was to come and the ties that humans have with nature. Also, who doesn’t love looking at beautiful scenic shots of Southern Italy, especially some really nifty aerial ones.
If I had to nitpick, I’d say that there were a couple of dialogue issues throughout but my main gripe would be that while the acting was solid, it wasn’t always convincing. You could spot moments of hesitation or instances where there should have been more of an emotional impact, but it’s easy for me to forgive these things because when you look at the big picture, the film was a rousing success.
I’m not one for romance flicks but I really did enjoy Spring. The down-to-earth approach to the relationship and the supernatural twist is what helps separate this genre defying pic from campy, genre blending Hollywood romances and unoriginal bores. The best way I can describe the film is that it’s like a supernatural version of Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy. The film is very dialogue heavy, in a smart way, but it also SPOILER has some great creature and transformation effects that help break up the drama and inject thrilling elements into the suspense that the chilling music and mysterious story create. END SPOILER
You can catch Spring in theaters and on VOD today.
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