IFC Midnight & Padraig Reynolds’ creature feature RITES OF SPRINGwill be released on VOD July 27, alongside a limited theatrical release at New York City’s IFC Center. I initially thought it was going to be just another kidnap-torture-kill kind of flick (don’t get me wrong, I dig those kinds of films, but we’ve recently been inundated with quite a few of them). And then…then I found out there was going to be a monster in addition to the kidnap-torture-kill aspect. I’m a sucker for creature features, so I decided to check out the official site, and now all I can say is that I’m incredibly excited to see it. Now we’ve recently come across a clip from the film. Check it out below!
SYNOPSIS:
Starring AJ Bowen (THE SIGNAL, HOUSE OF THE DEVIL) and Anessa Ramsey (YELLOWBRICKROAD, THE SIGNAL), a group of kidnappers abduct the daughter of a wealthy socialite and hide out in an abandoned school in the middle of the woods. But feelings of guilt soon overtake them, dividing the group and putting their entire plan in jeopardy. The evening further spirals out of control when their poorly chosen hideout becomes a hunting ground for a mysterious creature that requires springtime ritualistic sacrifices!
Additionally, it will also feature creature design by Aaron Sims (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: THE DREAM CHILD, WRONG TURN, THE MIST, I AM LEGEND, CLASH OF THE TITANS, & THE THING) and makeup effects artist Toby Sells.
IFC Midnight & Padraig Reynolds’ creature feature RITES OF SPRINGwill be released on VOD July 27, alongside a limited theatrical release at New York City’s IFC Center. When I initially watched the trailer (see below), I thought it was going to be just another kidnap-torture-kill kind of flick (don’t get me wrong, I dig those kinds of films, but we’ve recently been inundated with quite a few of them). And then…then I found out there was going to be a monster in addition to the kidnap-torture-kill aspect. I’m a sucker for creature features, so I decided to check out the official site, and now all I can say is that I’m incredibly excited to see it. The story, artwork, stills, and trailer have me thinking we might have a fantastically creepy indy horror flick on our hands. And NOW, thanks to Movies.comwe have photos, sculpt design, and concept art of the creature itself (currently known as WORMFACE)! Check it all out below after the trailer and synopsis and click here for an interview with Reynolds, creature designer Aaron Sims and makeup effects artist Toby Sells. This creature looks AMAZING!
SYNOPSIS:
Starring AJ Bowen (THE SIGNAL, HOUSE OF THE DEVIL) and Anessa Ramsey (YELLOWBRICKROAD, THE SIGNAL), a group of kidnappers abduct the daughter of a wealthy socialite and hide out in an abandoned school in the middle of the woods. But feelings of guilt soon overtake them, dividing the group and putting their entire plan in jeopardy. The evening further spirals out of control when their poorly chosen hideout becomes a hunting ground for a mysterious creature that requires springtime ritualistic sacrifices!
Additionally, it will also feature creature design by Aaron Sims (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: THE DREAM CHILD, WRONG TURN, THE MIST, I AM LEGEND, CLASH OF THE TITANS, & THE THING) and makeup effects artist Toby Sells.
WORMFACE:
CHECK OUT THE CONCEPT ART & CREATURE SCULPT AFTER THE BREAK!
IFC Midnight has set a release date for Padraig Reynolds’ creature feature RITES OF SPRING. The film will be released on VOD July 27, alongside a limited theatrical release at New York City’s IFC Center. This film had, until recently, been flying under my radar. When I initially watched the trailer (see below), I thought it was going to be just another kidnap-torture-kill kind of flick (don’t get me wrong, I dig those kinds of films, but we’ve recently been inundated with quite a few of them). And then…then I found out there was going to be a monster in addition to the kidnap-torture-kill aspect. I’m a sucker for creature features, so I decided to check out the official site, and now all I can say is that I’m incredibly stoked to see it. The story, artwork, stills, and trailer have me thinking we might have a fantastically creepy indy horror flick on our hands.
Now we have two new stills that have hit the web, check ‘em out below!
SYNOPSIS:
Starring AJ Bowen (THE SIGNAL, HOUSE OF THE DEVIL) and Anessa Ramsey (YELLOWBRICKROAD, THE SIGNAL), a group of kidnappers abduct the daughter of a wealthy socialite and hide out in an abandoned school in the middle of the woods. But feelings of guilt soon overtake them, dividing the group and putting their entire plan in jeopardy. The evening further spirals out of control when their poorly chosen hideout becomes a hunting ground for a mysterious creature that requires springtime ritualistic sacrifices!
Additionally, it will also feature creature design by Aaron Sims (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: THE DREAM CHILD, WRONG TURN, THE MIST, I AM LEGEND, CLASH OF THE TITANS, & THE THING).
IFC Midnight has set a release date for Padraig Reynolds’ creature feature RITES OF SPRING. The film will be released on VOD July 27, alongside a limited theatrical release at New York City’s IFC Center. This film had, until recently, been flying under my radar. When I initially watched the trailer (see below), I thought it was going to be just another kidnap-torture-kill kind of flick (don’t get me wrong, I dig those kinds of films, but we’ve recently been inundated with quite a few of them). And then…then I found out there was going to be a monster in addition to the kidnap-torture-kill aspect. I’m a sucker for creature features, so I decided to check out the official site, and now all I can say is that I’m incredibly stoked to see it. The story, artwork, stills, and trailer have me thinking we might have a fantastically creepy indy horror flick on our hands.
SYNOPSIS:
Starring AJ Bowen (THE SIGNAL, HOUSE OF THE DEVIL) and Anessa Ramsey (YELLOWBRICKROAD, THE SIGNAL), a group of kidnappers abduct the daughter of a wealthy socialite and hide out in an abandoned school in the middle of the woods. But feelings of guilt soon overtake them, dividing the group and putting their entire plan in jeopardy. The evening further spirals out of control when their poorly chosen hideout becomes a hunting ground for a mysterious creature that requires springtime ritualistic sacrifices!
Additionally, it will also feature creature design by Aaron Sims (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: THE DREAM CHILD, WRONG TURN, THE MIST, I AM LEGEND, CLASH OF THE TITANS, & THE THING).
Awards: Splinter won six awards at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival: Best Editing, Best Score, Best Special Effects, Best Make-Up, Best Directing and Best Picture. Splinter was nominated for Best Horror Film award by the 35th Annual Saturn Awards. Winners are due to be announced at a ceremony in Burbank, CA, on June 24th 2009.
A Brief Synopsis:
A young couple (played by Paul Costanzo and Jill Wagner) are out for an anniversary weekend of fun and camping. Having to head back into town, they are stopped at gunpoint by two hitchhiking criminals heading north (played by Shea Whigham and Rachel Kerbs). Things go from bad to worse as the group get a flat while running over a strangely active bit of roadkill. Pulling into a gas station to take care of a busted radiator, the night takes a horrific turn as a strange, parasitic SPLINTER creature with the ability to inhabit, completely distort human (and any other mammal) bodies to use as their own personal death vehicles to attack other creatures while it continues to devour the creature it inhabits from the inside out. CAN IT BE STOPPED? WHO WILL SURVIVE? WHAT WILL BE LEFT OF THEM? (Wait, can I use that last bit?)
This movie was fantastic. I can see why it won all of those freakin’ screamfest awards. The makeup was spot on, the story was spot on, and most importantly (and something that generally brings down a good independent horror flick) the writing and acting was great! I was drawn in by the story from the word go and the movie took hold and didn’t let go for the entire ride. For fans of the site, it’s no real secret that I’ve been excited by this film since I first heard about it some months ago. I mean, a movie set entirely in the backwoods, mainly a backwoods old gas station is sure to drag me in (look at the name of the site for cryin’ out loud), so when I found out that I was getting a review copy, I was stoked. I watched the film a few days ago and decided not to write a review right after I saw it in order to let it roll around in the ‘ol noggin’ for a while. I wanted to get over my initial excitement and see if the movie still had me after a while.
It does boils ‘n ghouls, without a doubt.
The only negative I can find with the movie would have to be with the monster itself. Though the last bit of the movie showed a good bit of the creature (in a way), I could’ve done with more. I understand that keeping it to the shadows was probably both a budgetary and asthetic necessity, but, as with any good creature feature, I want to see the monster! The hand gag, however, was freakin’ hilarious and reminded me of THE EVIL DEAD 2 a great deal. I could probably have used a little more on the gore as well, but that’s just personal bias there. What can I say, at times, I’m a gore hound. One of the best aspects of the film would have to be watching Owen (from THE BACKWOODS HORRORSHOW and THE LINUX BLOG) jump at all the right places. It’s great to see that kind of reaction from a horror film.
I look forward to the work Toby Wilkins will be doing in the future. We have the potential for a new horror great on our hands.
Below is a commercial that’s been floating around the mighty internets for a bit now. It’s a commercial from UNCLE SEYMOUR COFFIN’S CREATURE FEATURE SHOW from Halloween 2. Hmmm. Doubt it’ll be in the movie…probably a DVD extra if anything. Uncle Seymore Coffins’ Creature Double-Feature
So this is a purely personal post. I’ve been thinking long and hard (that’s what she said) about doing a kind of CREATURE FEATURE type thing in relation to the site. Something like THE BACKWOODS HORRORSHOW, only as a visual (aka video) medium. Something kind of along the lines of THE COOL GHOUL or ZACHERLY’s schtick, but with my own, backwoodsy kind of spin on it. I’d create a character and do movie reviews and maybe MST3K a few flicks (public domain, obviously, because studios get all huffy about using their flicks without authorization). Any thoughts from you readers out there, feel free to use the “comment” feature.
And speaking of comments, I’ve been thinking about adding a forum to the site; in a way trying to create a sort of BACKWOODS HORROR fan community, though I don’t know how many of you are out there and if that’d be a waste of time or not. Let me know by commenting below or by sending me an email at: aaron@backwoodshorror.com
