I am always attracted to genre-bending fiction. Particularly when it comes to horror. The ability to take a simple story and tell in in a completely different way, evoking new emotions and broadening an established template is always a challenge, and can lead to some really great gems.
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s SPRING is just such a film - it tells a beautiful and realistic story of first love, incorporating some familiar (yet fascinating) supernatural constructs. But the way it unfolds is masterful, weaving the horror elements into an engaging and beautiful love story.
The film has been compared to BEFORE SUNRISE (with good reason - it's like the filmmakers plunked Richard Linklater down into one of H.P. Lovecraft’s happier dreams), and like BEFORE SUNRISE, SPRING invites us to be an intimate observer in a new relationship, watching a young couple navigate the exciting yet unpredictable waters of falling in love.
Following the loss of his mother to cancer, Evan (Lou Taylor Pucci) decides to take a spontaneous break from life in order to get his head together and manage his grief. He jumps a plane to Italy, bums around with some backpackers, journeys to a small, coastal village and is hired on at a local farm. He also meets a girl – Louise (Nadia Hilker). Louise is charming, aloof, playing hard to get. When they meet, she suggests they spend the night together, and Evan counters with the offer of a first date. Eventually, he convinces her that he is worth more than a one-night stand, and the two spend dreamy days haunting local museums, exploring the coast and enjoying each other's company. Their connection and chemistry is palpable, and it’s impossible not to fall in love right along with them.
But love is not always as simple as it first seems, and we quickly learn that Louise is guarding a dark secret. Benson and Moorhead take their time revealing the truth; they give us glimpses here and there - short scenes that fill in the gaps and begin to construct the outline of Louise’s secret, but rarely enough to really put any conclusions together, saving the big reveal for well over half-way into the film. And as great as these scenes are, they really work so well because they take their time, and allow us to get to know Louise and Evan as people, before the truth is unleashed. It's a great tactic, amplifying the effect of the reveal, creating tension in wondering just how her secret will impact these characters.
The beauty of SPRING lies in the exploration of the beautiful and transient nature of being. The fact that everything and everyone must one day end, and it is in this meditation that the story is so firmly rooted. Would you give up everything if you met the right person? Is there beauty and worth in something temporary? One way or another, this couple’s time together is limited, as it is for all of us. And the way this story explores that concept is incredible and horrifying, in its own way.
Benson and Moorhead make incredible use of a limited budget with this film, watching Evan and Louise traipse the Italian coast and letting the scenery set much of the mood. The soft light, muted colors and the relaxed score make SPRING feel like one long, hazy dream. The days begin to blend together, and the film unfolds at a slow, deliberate pace, giving us plenty of time to know and understand this pair, becoming as enamored with each of them as they are with each other.
SPRING exists in a space that is both complex and difficult to qualify. Horror and romance don’t often blend together as richly they do here, and the end result is pure magic. It effortlessly incorporates feelings of dread and a few frightening moments, but the developing relationship is always front and center, never overshadowed by unnecessary shock. It's an incredible film, and one that resonates deeply.
