Rites of Passage (2011)

Directed by: W. Peter Iliff | 95 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Wes Bentley, Kate Maberly, Ryan Donowho, Christian Slater, Stephen Dorff, Briana Evigan, Travis van Winkle, Carly Schroeder, Ashley Hinshaw, Guy Burnet, Daniel Cudmore, Angelic Zambrana, Sharon Hinnendael, Mercedes Leggett, Alexi Yulish

It should come as no surprise that ‘Rites of Passage’ never made it to theaters and was released straight to DVD. Because this rather chaotic thriller/horror film about a group of anthropology students will almost certainly not have attracted full houses. The protagonist in ‘Rites of Passage’ is Nathan (Ryan Donowho), a college student in his early twenties. When he and his classmates go to investigate his parents’ abandoned beach house, the group encounters Nathan’s brother Benny (Wes Bentley). Benny is severely depressed and continuously stoned by some kind of tea he drinks. While in that state, he has delusions and visions of the Chumash Indians, the original inhabitants of California. Benny therefore leads a secluded life on the ranch next to the holiday home, which he shares with one Delgado (Christian Slater). Delgado has lost his wife and child in a car accident caused by a drunk youth. Since then, he has hated society as a whole and especially students.

If this short description of the story comes across as somewhat strange and confused, then it has succeeded in giving a picture of ‘Rites of Passage’. The story is rather far-fetched and feels very bizarre and unbelievable from the start. Not that the story ultimately matters much, because when the group of students arrives at the holiday home, the film soon turns out to consist of little more than a predictable survival trip, in which the students die one by one. Unfortunately, there is no real tension anywhere in the film, but it is the basis of a good horror film. Do not expect an oppressive or nervous atmosphere from ‘Rites of Passage’, because then you will come home from a cold fair.

Of the two perpetrators, Delgado and Benny, it is difficult to determine which of the two is the strangest. Delgado is completely nuts and does little more than randomly shoot innocent students with his rifle. Opposite is the clumsy Benny who, as mentioned, continuously gets visions of the Chumash Indians. He is completely obsessed with these Indians and when he is in higher realms he sees dream images in which he is happy together with a female Chumash Indian. His goal is to kidnap a girl so that his dream can become a reality. The visions, which aim to contribute to a mysterious atmosphere, become rather laughable after a while. Benny is clearly out of this world and both the perpetrators are quite absurd characters that you as a viewer can only hate. The characters of the students are unfortunately not much better. The makers have made little effort here to deepen the characters, so that what remains is a group of unity sausages.

No, the final result is far below par. While the basis of the story is already bad, the later scenes, when the students are hunted in the holiday home, are also of a dubious level. It ends in a big chaos where everyone seems to be doing something. It’s that same chaos and lack of logic that is ultimately the biggest culprit in this film and ensures that no one has to regret that ‘Rites of Passage’ never made it to the silver screen.