Rites of Spring interview with Padraig Reynolds

A ransom scheme turns into a nightmare for a group of kidnappers who become victims of a horrifying secret that must be paid every spring.

We caught up with writer/director, Padraig Reynolds to talk about Rites of Spring.

HorrorNewsNetwork:  "Rites of Spring" centers around a few storylines. One underlying subplot to the slasher /horror aspect is the ritualistic piece.  What was your inspiration for this?

Padraig Reynolds:  I'm a big fan of films about Pagan rituals and the occult.  I grew up in the midwest and always wanted to make a film about a Farmer that sells his soul in order to get a bountiful harvest every spring.   So the idea for the ritualistic piece came pretty early and gelled over the years. 

HorrorNewsNetwork:  One part of the ritual, which jumped out to me as super creepy, was the horse head mask/"cleaning of the girls."   Did you even find that crazy?  Without giving too much away, it gave the older gentleman a bit more unpredictability.

Padraig Reynolds:  I wanted there to be a precise order for the rituals.  The Stranger has been doing this for years and it his routine.   And the last piece of the ritual before the sacrifice is to place an animal head on the woman.   I also wanted the Stranger to create the animal heads as part of his ritual for the sacrifice.   It's far more creepier if you know that someone actually took the time to make something as opposed to just chopping off an animal head and putting it on someone. 

HorrorNewsNetwork: There's a lot going on story wise in the film.  What was the casting like for a film with quite a few complicated characters?

Padraig Reynolds:  We used about five actors that were local, and the rest were from Los Angeles. The two leads, AJ Bowen and Anessa Ramsey both worked in a film called "The Signal" that I really enjoyed.   For the bad kidnapper Paul, I saw Sonny Marinelli in a great short film called "Waiting."  I knew right away that he was going to play Paul.  As for the Stranger, Marco St. John , I auditioned him in Mississippi and he blew us away.   He brought a great deal of menace and heartache to the character of the Stranger which is quite hard to pull off.  I thought everyone did a tremendous job.    

HorrorNewsNetwork:  Anessa Ramsey's performance as Rachel Adams stands out.  Her character goes through quite the journey.  Tell us about her casting and that particular character development?

Padraig Reynolds:  I really liked Anessa's work in "The Signal" and thought she would be perfect in the role of Rachel.    Anessa has a very strong screen presence and is very likable which I needed Rachel to be.  The character of Rachel is complicated because her actions set this whole butterfly effect in motion.   She was responsible for Ben losing his job and getting fired which causes Ben to seek revenge on his Boss by kidnapping his daughter.  Rachel feels bad for getting Ben fired and is going to confess when the Stranger kidnaps her and a friend in a bar parking lot.   Which sets their two stories on a collision course which ends badly.   

HorrorNewsNetwork: I'm not sure if you would classify "Rites of Spring" as a slasher film, but there's definitely a lot of that element of gore, as well as suspense.  What were some of your favorite horror films that influenced you?

Padraig Reynolds:  My two favorite horror movies are "Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween."   My biggest influence on Rites of Spring was Don Siegel's 1974 kidnapping flick The Black Windmill and Pier Haggard's 1981 hybrid flick Venom.   Both are excellent movies that everyone should watch. 

HorrorNewsNetwork: I don't want to give too much away about the film (because I really do think people should check it out).  However, some of the scenes were pretty intense. What was filming like?  What was your favorite scene after you saw the finished film?

 Padraig Reynolds: My favorites scene is when Rachel hides from Worm Face in the bathroom.  There was a severe thunderstorm outside and all the rain and lightning you hear in that scene is real.  It was pretty intense and scary the night we filmed it.  

HorrorNewsNetwork:  How would you describe "Rites of Spring" to the horror audience?

Padraig Reynolds:  A genre/blending horror film with twists and turns.    

HorrorNewsNetwork: Thank you for taking the time, Padraig! (Note to our readers: Padraig Reynolds will be in NYC Friday - IFC Center: 323 6th Avenue  New York, NY 10014 -  for a Q&A after the midnight screening of Rites of Spring) Have a comment on this interview? Post it here.