Rites of Passage (2012)

An anthropology student invites his classmates and professor to his family's abandoned ranch, once a sacred Chumash burial ground, to recreate an ancient ceremony.

Director:

W. Peter Iliff

Writers:

W. Peter Iliff (screenplay), W. Peter Iliff (story),

Stars:

Wes Bentley, Kate Maberly, Ryan Donowho

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wes Bentley	...	Benny
Kate Maberly	...	Dani
Ryan Donowho	...	Nathan
Travis Van Winkle	...	Hart
Briana Evigan	...	Penelope
Christian Slater	...	Delgado
Stephen Dorff	...	Professor Nash
Carly Schroeder	...	Carly
Ashley Hinshaw	...	Sandee
Guy Burnet	...	Mojo
Daniel Cudmore	...	Moose
Angelic Zambrana	...	Squirrel
Sharon Hinnendael	...	Roxanne
Mercedes Leggett	...	Jaci
Nicholas Leiting	...	Jaci's Boyfriend

Storyline

A group of anthropology students take a road trip to the family ranch of one of them for a weekend of drinking and taking drugs, the latter under the pretense of researching ancient rituals. They run in trouble, however, because the brother that lives on the seemingly abandoned premises displays disturbing behavior in his search for a "bride" and a stranger named Delgado turns up to enact revenge for a misdeed in the past by one of the students.

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Genres:

Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for drug and alcohol abuse, violence, some strong sexual content and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Creepers

Filming Locations:

Santa Barbara, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Voltage Pictures, Demarest Media, Atmosphere Entertainment MM

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film making adventure started more than 35 years ago when Peter Iliff and Rick Halsey attended the University of California, Santa Barbara. Iliff went on to become an extremely talented screenwriter (Point Break, Patriot Games) and Halsey spread his passion for the natural world as a biology teacher/writer. Every once and awhile, the two pals would drive up to Santa Barbara and stay at Halsey's land to write. The property has a large number of greenhouses that are slowly falling apart since they were taken out of prodction in 1980s. Both always thought the place would provide an excellent set for a movie. Then suddenly, November 2009, the time was right. Iliff and Halsey wrote their story, finished the screenplay, attracted the necessary capital, and rolled into action. By the end of August they were in pre-production. With their assembled cast of remarkably talented actors and dedicated crew, they started filming "Rites of Passage" on October 13. They wrapped November 17, 2010.

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Soundtracks

"Roll It Up"
Written by Herman Beeftink
Performed by Isa'ako
Courtesy of Elite Source Music

User Reviews

Thrilling and killing

Peter Iliff has come a long way since his first successful screenplay, Point Break. His new film, Rites of Passage, is a complete departure from the Hollywood norm. The film focuses around a group of friends in Santa Barbara who take a lot of drugs and trip out on some ranch. The film is clearly directed towards a younger audience, and for the budget they were given, I think they did a great job. There isn't much past the surface of the film, but it works great as a popcorn thriller that I enjoyed with my friends. It was great to see all of the recognizable spots around Isla Vista and SB where Rites of Passage was shot. Would I watch it again? Maybe not. But it was certainly an entertaining and relevant film for a college student like myself.