Rating: 
Summary: A personal experience...
Review: I thought this was an excellent war movie, lots and lots better than `Gods and Generals' with a more personal, human experience of the Civil War. Another excellent Civil War movie is `Ride with the Devil' and of course, 'Glory.' I found this film very powerful and thought it was well made, but I found it sometimes difficult to sit through - it's not a bad movie, just different in tone. I know it's not supposed to be a light film, but some of the scenes were traumatic to watch. I'm glad I saw it however. The war is shown in such a matter of fact way - people just get shot with no ceremony etc. exactly as it would have been. I liked the performances by Brian Merrick and Terry Jernigam. The rest of the cast was also great. I say get the video, it is a must see.
Rating:
Summary: very good Indie film...
Review: I would recommend this to all Civil war buffs and Indie filmmakers that have a chance to get a copy of this film. This is the first feature from this director and he does a great job. The story of two soldiers torn by war is as old as time, but "Wicked Spring" takes a fresh view at the troubles and trials of the Civil War soldier. The best scenes in this movie are between the Union and Confederate leads over the reading and writing of letters home. A touching and believeable scene. Outstanding music worthy of any big budget flick, an intense and deliberate use of great sound effects. The authentic feel of the movie is off the charts. If you get a chance, get your hands on this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the WORST Civil War Films!
Review: Ok, there might be some worse films, but what makes this film a complete wreck is the amaturish screenwriting and directing. The film is nicely shot and the actors seem to have some talent, but lack obvious direction. The screenwriting is beyond laughable. The plot makes no sense, and is so completely unbelieveable to be ludicrous. At one point in the film, the main character (played by Brian Merrick, certainly the best performance in the film), who has been saving all of the letters from his sweetheart over the past two years, cannot read them as he is illiterate. Does he ask any of his friends over the past two years to read them to him? No, of course not. He asks a perfect stranger who he meets around a campfire in no-mans land, who he thinks is a Confederate soldier like him, but who is obviously a Yankee soldier (which is plain to everyone except the CS guys in the film) to read these intimate letters to him. That is just one of many, many terrible scenes. It's not that it's a bad Civil War film, it's just a bad film period! I hate wasted potential and with good photography, decent actors and location, the film sufferes fatally from lack of direction and plot. They should kill the director and screenwriter at the end of this film, not the actors. If you want to see another independent film on the Civil War that had the same low budget, but is 1,000 times better? Watch "Pharoah's Army" with Chris Cooper instead. Don't waste your money on this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Civil War Movie
Review: This movie hits it right on the head. Great Acting and great Cinema. The battle scenes are some of the most realistic battle scenes filmed. These scenes are done realisticly. Not over dramatized like big production films but what it would have been really like in the midst of battle. The Story is a much needed view of the common civil war soldier. This movie does not hype the generals and all the big names in the war but the little guy in the fight. I have seen comments that people could not tell what sides the characters were on. Well I did not have a problem at all with that. Check the flags out behind the battle scenes.
Some folks that viewed the movie state that these 6 men sitting around a campfire could not tell that they were infact sitting with the enemy. I did not see it in that view at all..I felt the
characters new all along who they were sitting with but in the midst of war, lost from thier regiments in the middle of the night were looking more for company and looking out for one another just for that night. When morning came a differnt Idea snapped into the one Rebs head and thats when it all broke loose.
I commend the film and all the people responsible for making it.
Very well done, very realistic and very believable. Best film I have seen for a low production budget. Gods and Generals was a high budget film and dissapointing to say the least. This one is a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Civil War Film!
Review: This movie is very good with great performances from the two lead actors, Brian J. Merrick & DJ Perry. The battle scenes are some of the most realistic I've ever seen, and the music is wonderful! I love how the first 10 minutes have no dialogue, because as you'll see, the opening scenes are more meaningful without words. This movie is similar to "A Midnight Clear", but I think it's even better! This movie is great for anyone with an appreciation for history.
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Civil War Film!
Review: This movie is very good with great performances from the two lead actors, Brian J. Merrick & DJ Perry. The battle scenes are some of the most realistic I've ever seen, and the music is wonderful! I love how the first 10 minutes have no dialogue, because as you'll see, the opening scenes are more meaningful without words. This movie is similar to "A Midnight Clear", but I think it's even better! This movie is great for anyone with an appreciation for history.
Rating:
Summary: A Night Among Friends
Review: To be honest, the first time I watched this movie I was dissapointed. However, all movies deserve a second chance and this one was worth the second look. If you put yourself into the position these soldiers found themselves then the movie becomes more real. Lost in the Wilderness at night, separated from your regiment, anyone close by suddenly becomes a lifeline, a friend. These soldiers reach out and camp together only to find out the truth about one another in the morning. The two main characters paint a pretty accurate picture of what the times back then were really like. After all the killing and bloodshed, the reality of war sets in and one sees it for what it really is. These soldiers get caught up in an airpocket separated from the war. Caught in the middle they have time to talk and become friends and see more than just North and South. The ending however is unfortunate, but the war itself was like that. It was reality. The movie actually brings you a little closer to the Civil War soldier, puts you in his shoes and lets you get a closer look at his thoughts and really see who he was. It was definately worth the second look.
Rating:
Summary: A reality check
Review: Very rarely can you find a film that honors silence and true pace. Movie-goers have been spoiled in recent years with films that spell it all out. "Wicked Spring" causes you to sit back and relish what time was really like during the Civil War era. Very unique to this film is the first ten minutes. These first ten minutes have caused a great deal of conversation. But what viewers do not realize is that without saying a word, Mr. Hershberger eases the viewer into the past...into an era that was slow and contemplative. The imagery is magnificent. The war is harsh and realistic. At the heart of Wicked Spring beats the issue of the human condition. Six men meet and transform because of war, because of circumstance, because of survival. I believe this movie is a "must see". The soundtrack is beautiful as well. To the director...Congratulations on making a beautiful movie on your own terms.
Rating:
Summary: A gem of a little movie
Review: Wicked Spring portrays war through the eyes of the common man who fights it. The story follows the path of two groups of infantrymen who get lost from their armies and meet each other in the middle of the night, unaware that they are from different sides. The main characters are family men first and soldiers second. We learn of their common problems and beliefs as they aid each other during the night. This came as a very innovative idea to me. My main influences that caused me to join the military were the classic war movies where the main characters were invincible gung-ho supermen, and the enemy soldiers were evil cannon fodder, where even the death of the main hero is dramatized. Wicked Spring doesn't romanticize war; the director relies on creative camera work, not gallons of blood, to make the battle scenes chaotic and unnerving. I enjoyed this movie because the characters were real people, we get to know them not through brave and stupendous deeds but as they reveal themselves as men with a life outside the war. I recommend this movie to anyone, the violence is not graphic and the story is very captivating.
Rating:
Summary: Something rare and special...
Review: Writer-director Kevin Hershberger has done something special with Wicked Spring which other directors, with much bigger budgets, have failed to do: created a period piece which transcends the period. Wicked Spring is not just about a War; it's about the people fighting the war. Just as the soldiers from both sides of the conflict laid aside their weapons and shared a campfire, the Director laid aside the politics of the War and brought into the light the predicament men in war find themselves in: they want love, but are asked to kill. That's harder to swallow than tack.
The battle scenes were nicely wrought, and these are where Hershberger's vision came out the most: because of the evocative mood, tone, and depth of the camera shots, the battle scenes were some of the best I've seen in Civil War movies. Hershberger should also be given kudos for casting natural actors with the look and integrity to carry this picture. Hershberger obviously saw that the two lead actors had presence, and, when the scene boils down to just the two of them talking about life, love, and war, Wicked Spring is at its best.
Nevertheless, I'd recommend this movie. Especially to Civil War buffs, but really to anybody interested in what goes on in a soldier's heart.
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