With a sultry, red-lipped smile, and a distant, secretive nature, it’s easy to understand why Louise represents the ultimate male fantasy. Seemingly emotionless, she is the epitome of unattainable, and the more she pulls away, the more her new admirer, Evan, chases after her. Evan’s only been in Italy for a few days, but Louise caught his eye with her romantic red dress the minute he strolled into her little town on the coast; a vibrant crimson in a sea of golden-brown and deep blues. After a few late night dates, Evan begins to wonder why his mysterious lover only wants to meet him in the moonlight, and how an old syringe found its way onto her bathroom floor. Louise hides behind the facade of a noncommittal, sexually-driven, carefree lifestyle, but every time Evan gets a little peek behind the curtain, he only sees a monster staring back at him.

Visually, Spring is striking, with beautiful, wide sweeping overhead shots of Italy, it almost seems like this film has more of a relationship with Italy herself than the mysterious woman that calls it home. Each remote location is more beautiful than the last, far away from crowds and distractions and painful memories that Evan would rather not think about right now. Just before his impromptu trip overseas, Evan watched his mother die. He held her hand as she lie pale and atrophied on her bed, and stared into blank eyes as the woman he had been caring for day in and day out left him alone in the world. Later, while drowning his sorrows at the local pub, Evan gets into an altercation with a smart-mouthed degenerate who just won’t let a simple misunderstanding go. Caught up in the aftermath of his mother’s death and afraid of the repercussions by his aggressor’s friends (not to mention the police), Evan flees to Italy, where he meets the fiery siren known as Louise. Red flags abound in this courtship, but Evan can’t help but follow her around like a lost puppy dog, desperate to find the next vice to help him escape his problems. However, Louise is not as interested in pursuing a relationship, and just wants to keep things casual, which of course, only deems her more desirable in Evan’s eyes. Pretty soon, it becomes clear that the reason she’s been pushing him away isn’t because she doesn’t like him, but actually, her condition. A little less than human, Louise understands that it would be impossible to stay with Evan forever, but he’s not ready to let her go.

In recent years, whenever romance and horror are married to create a genre-bending film about a human falling in love with a creature, it’s usually a woman lusting after a male vampire. This star-cross’d lovers scenario involving forbidden love and eternal, unwrinkled youth has been played out so many times that it’s actually become quite cliche. Spring feels so new and refreshing, it serves as a welcome renewal in the horror universe after a long, cold era of rehashing tired old material. Writer/director duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead forgo past formulas and instead offer up a Lovecraftian love story, in which the man is the one carrying a torch for a reluctant supernatural being. It’s so simple, yet so innovative. Benson and Moorhead are not the first filmmakers to use female monsters by a long shot, but it is surprisingly far less common to see a woman in this role than a man, so the plot still stands out in a crowd. With skin-shedding and slimy tentacles slapping the air, the dark dreamy aesthetics of a woman cursed with immortality is intense and inspiring.

Unfortunately, where the problem lies is in the characters themselves. Louise is like the shadow of a woman, beautiful and present in the story, but without much in the way of opinions, or hobbies, or any interests of any kind. All that is really said about her is that she’s a monster who’s lived for thousands of years, and that she’s attractive. Evan doesn’t quite seem like a whole person either, despite the fact that he’s the one that we, as the audience, have been following around for this whole journey. With the film’s opening scene taking place on his mother’s death bed, the film immediately demands sympathy for Evan, and uses this horrible event tactically to serve as character development, and constitute characteristics of Evan’s personality. Despite the effort to overshadow missing character traits with tragedy, a death in the family does not a person make. Both Evan and Louise are trying to run away from their issues, but their issues define them. Evan doesn’t grow or evolve, he just changes locations, and the only apparent reason why he wants Louise so badly is because he can’t have her. Impatient, immature, and selfish, Evan grows furious when Louise won’t confess her love for him after only knowing each other for a few days. Like an egotistical guy at a bar who gets angry at random women who resist his advances, Evan displays some truly childish behavior that’s supposed to signify interest. The fact that Louise entertains his notions and grows fond of him as well is silly and insulting to women, and only fulfills the shallow male fantasy of a woman waiting around her entire life for this one man to come along and complete her. It’s also insulting to men because it likens them to a character from the Twilight franchise; only concerned with surfaced things like a person’s appearance and their dangerous side.

It’s a shame that such a unique concept had to be ruined by such a common love story. The charm of the comely coastline and lonely traveler design is quickly washed away by strange dialogue, and poorly written female characters, which makes the movie and the romance within it feel empty and trivial. If the ending had been different, perhaps the story would be salvaged, but the idea of a creature that is thousands of years old falling in love with a hot-tempered, clingy child in as little as a few days just comes off as shallow and unrealistic. It’s hard to identify with these characters, and it’s even harder to believe in their love that supposedly transcends time. It’s clear that Benson and Moorhead are still finding their voice, but with a freshman film like the suspenseful and innovative Resolution on their resume, and now Spring, a sophomore effort that reeks of potential, it’s clear that these two are definitely on the right path. It’s also clear that the future of horror is rapidly proceeding in the direction of female-led films, wherein the woman isn’t always the victim. Whatever’s next for this filmmaking duo will undoubtedly be their best work yet, and Spring is just a stepping stone to greater success.