Spring

Some might find the supernatural elements of this horror/romance film to be a little hard to swallow. For me, the part of this film that's really hard to swallow is that a short order cook could just pick up and go to Italy from the U.S. at a moment's notice. No way! Not on his salary. The short order cook is Evan, played by likeable actor Lou Taylor Pucci. After the death of his parents and a bar fight, he flees to Italy where he meets the love of his life, Louise (Nadia Hilker). Nadia has it all: the looks, the intelligence and sly wit, and the tendency to shape shift into catlike and reptilian monsters. Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, with a script by Benson, have made a film that's genuinely scary, genuinely touching and genuinely funny all at once. Pucci and Hilker are good together, especially in the moments after Evan discovers Louise's primordial secrets. The way the couple deals with her monster moments is surprisingly funny stuff. As for the horror effects, they are quite good given the film's small budget. Add this one to the list of decent horror efforts that expand upon the genre in the last couple of years, along with The Babadook and It Follows. (Available for rent on iTunes, Amazon.com and On Demand during a limited theatrical run.)