The Birch

it impress. for cinematography, for performances, for landscape, for the clash between boys. but, more important, for splendid story. because the story reminds small significant facts who easy are ignored. first, obvious, bulling . second - the need of protection for vulnerable people solved by the return to nature forces. not the last, for me the essential detail, the strong link between grandmother and nephew . and the tradition as fundamental legacy for the right way of life. at first sigh - an admirable horror. at the second - a fairy tale. in fact - simple remind. about the force of pure heart.

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This British made Crypt TV short horror is an interesting creature, in that it reminded me of Pans Labyrinth (2006) Standing at less than 4 minutes there isn't much of a story as there really couldn't be but the creators manage to grip the viewer and deliver a visually interesting and very memorable finale.

The trouble is for me it's one of those shorts that didn't work for that reason, the reason being that it didn't have time to develop and was practically a "Vine".

All the respect in the world for creating a tantalising tease of a story and fantastic visual effects but this should have been something a tad longer.

The Good:

Creature looked stunning

Real potential for something more substantial

The Bad:

Far too short for that level of content

Things I Learnt From This Short:

Why does that kid get a tree protector woman thingy? I want a tree protector woman thingy!

A quiet young man with an ill grandmother (?) is tormented by bully. The guy is brutal. What he doesn't know is that there is a protector in the woods that can unleash incredible terror and destruction. Apparently, what happens has happened before. But we are sort of left in the lurch because the tale ends abruptly.

A desperate bullied boy who is chased into the nearby town woods one day by his vicious tormentor, summons up the lethal forest protector who's legend was entrusted to him by his ailing grandmother to rid him of his problem, and that's pretty much it! I do agree that as a horror short this is a little thin...but that's something that can be said of the majority of the macabre shorts that appear on the cool Crypt TV Youtube channel, and most of the time it can't really be avoided when something's only four minutes long, plus who really cares when you have a monster that's as well-presented and awesome looking as the Birch! Tons of the Crypt TV shorts feature really terrifically done practical makeup effect monsters as the punchline, and the dreaded eerily regal Birch is one of the most impressive ones. It's so richly detailed and looks frightening but kind of benevolent at the same time, like the harsh and beautiful face of nature itself in corporeal form who ruthlessly protects the sanctity of the wild, or an innocent... The creature did make think of Guillermo Del Toro right away too, specifically the Dark Angel from Hellboy 2, but to me it feels more like a light homage than a ripoff, I think Del Toro would be impressed with the design. I really love to see something physical like that these days when everything of the big fantasy of horror movies is all overblown cgi, it's refreshing to see that much craftsmanship put into something, we need to see a little more of that again. So I personally liked this short for its titular monster and not too much else, not that there was anything wrong with the acting or whatever.. It's just that everything seemed a little bland in comparison, but it is good and well worth a look if you enjoy the odd horror fantasy short about deadly ancient primeval spirits of the deep dark woods! Good stuff, it's bite is better than its bark(!) x