IFC Midnight announced today that the company is acquiring U.S. rights to director Padraig Reynolds' thriller Rites of Spring. The film, with a screenplay also by Reynolds, stars AJ Bowen, Anessa Ramsey, Sonny Marinelli, Katherine Randolph, Marco St. John, Hannah Bryan, Sarah Pachelli, James Bartz, Shanna Forrestall, Skylar Burke, and Andrew Breland. Bobby Benton and John Norris served as executive producers while Wes Benton and Eric Thompson produced.

In Rites of Spring, a group of kidnappers abduct the daughter of a wealthy socialite and hide out in an abandoned school in the middle of the woods. But feelings of guilt soon overtake the kidnappers, dividing the group and putting their entire plan in jeopardy. The evening further spirals out of control when their poorly chosen hideout becomes a hunting ground for a mysterious creature that requires springtime ritualistic sacrifices.

The deal for the film was negotiated by Jeff Deutchman, Director of Acquisitions & Productions for Sundance Selects/IFC Films with Nate Bolotin of XYZ Films on behalf of the filmmakers.