Spring is a hard to describe movie, it’s a love story, a finding yourself story, and a horror story, but most importantly, it’s a fantastic, touching story. It follows Evan in the events after his mother’s death when he starts in a downward spiral, flees the country, and after some travelling, decides to stay in a small Italian town and gets a job. One of the factors pushing his decision to stay, may it be conscious or not, is his meeting with the beautiful and mysterious Louise. Very quickly, Evan starts falling for Louise, but for her everything is not as it may seem. Telling anymore of the story would be making a disservice to anyone seeing it after reading this.
The story here is well written, with dialogue that feels real, which can be a challenge at times, especially when dealing with an international cast and a story set in a foreign country. It’s a love story with horror elements to it, so anyone looking for pure, violent or nausea-inducing horror would not be satisfied. Same goes for fans of syrupy romances as this story is not like that either. It’s a story of two people falling in love, horror just being part of their lives. If it need to be categorized, I’d say it’s a drama, the story of one man’s life and one woman’s life crossing paths and changing the road they were each going on. What’s important here is that the writing is more than good, it’s high quality writing, the characters feel real and you end up caring for both Evan and Louise and about what happens to them. The love story happens to them and the horror elements are just a part of it.
I must make a note on the direction here. This film has 2 directors which sometimes can lead to a disjointed movie, but not in this case. Their direction styles work perfectly together and you cannot tell where one’s work ends and the other’s begins as can sometimes happen when there are more than one person in charge.
The actors for the leads were carefully chosen. The directors said in a Q&A that they asked for references by other filmmakers for the part of Louise and got multiple people giving them the name of Nadia Hilker. She was auditioned and was chosen for the part as she could be from anywhere. The choices of Louise and Evan (Lou Taylor Pucci) were very important as the entire movie rests on them. I don’t remember one scene where at least one of them was involved. Their talent and chemistry helped make the film what it is and help keep it from falling into cliches. Their acting added layers to the characters, making them believable beings with a story to tell which the viewers can care about. In a supporting role, but worth noting, is Francesco Carnelutti as Angelo, the elder Italian man who hires Evan and teaches him a thing or two about tending to a farm and about love. His character has a deep saddenest, a pain you can feel in some scenes. His part could easily have been filler or forgettable but Canelutti makes it shine.
Supporting the story, direction, and acting are the special effects, a mix of practical with layers of CGI to enhance them. This movie shows how CGI can be done well on a budget by first having practical effects done in shot, then using CGI, making those practical effects look better or, in this case, grosser and more realistic. The main set piece is something that hits perfectly, but to maintain its impact, it will not be spoiled here. The rest of the effects are there but minimal, they are meant to enhance the situation, not over take it, bringing Louise’s suffering to the forefront, showing the audience bits and pieces of what might be, keeping them guessing until the big reveal. This film is definitely a case of less is more for most of its run time, an approach that has the viewer imagining most of the horror, which works like a charm in this story’s context.
The setting for the movie is a small Italian village which the filmmakers chose carefully as the story was partially inspired by an actual village in Italy where they could not shoot. The replacement village really feels like it’s where it was meant to be set. It’s exactly what the story needed. The location has a bit of mystery and a lot of romance. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to go to Italy, possibly stay there, and fall in love.
Adding to all the above, are the look of the movie and the music. Aaron Moorhead, one of the directors, did the cinematography here. It shows as it goes hand in hand with the tone of the movie. The way the film is shot adds a dreamlike quality to the story. None of the colors are harsh, everything feels comfortable. This goes well with Evan’s falling for Louise as he first goes to Italy to find solace from the turmoil of his life in the US and ends up finding peace in the his relationship with Louise. The look of the movie paired with its mostly subtle score and soundtrack allow the viewer to truely get into the story and them allow for a bit of shock when the horror elements show up.
All of this adds up to a movie you should seek out. If it’s playing near you, go see it. It’s horror, but accessible. It’s beautiful and heartwarming with smidgen of gross. It’s mysterious and pulls you in to make you feel. It’s one of the many independent features of the last couple of years that people should be paying attention to and supporting.