Wednesday, October 27, 1999
9:30pm   Egyptian Theatre

Rites of Passage
Victor Salva; director; 1999; USA; 95 minutes; 35mm

Rites of Passage is a taut thriller about six men caught up in a dangerous mix of chance meetings and violent emotion. The dark, edgy tone of the film is established in the opening scene, in which two escaped convicts come upon a pair of campers with fatal results. The drama continues as attorney D.J. Farraday stumbles upon his father, Del (Dean Stockwell), having an extra-marital affair in a San Francisco hotel. In order to "talk things out," father and son go to their supposedly deserted family cabin (nestled in the beautiful Cascades). There they find D.J.'s younger brother, Campbell, apparently waiting for his boyfriend, Billy.

The two brothers have an uneasy alliance, but Cam's relationship with his father has steadily deteriorated since the Christmas when Del discovered Cam and Billy making out.

In the midst of a hostile family argument comes a knock at the cabin door. Frank and Red, the two convicts, enter the cabin. Smooth-talking Frank baits Del into a high-stakes arm wrestling match. Each man thinks he understands the others. Everyone, it turns out, is wrong. The tension is torturous as the tight plot continually twists, turns, and allegiances shift, until the men ultimately recognize the truth about each other, and themselves.