Akasia

ACACIA is a solid chiller about an adopted boy, his new family, and the dead acacia tree in their backyard. All seems well until mum gets pregnant, and bad things start happening.

On one level this is a story of loneliness, jealousy, and extreme guilt. It's also about insanity, revenge, and death. The psychological and supernatural elements merge into a well-told, subtle, yet emotionally charged ghost story. Watch it and allow it to creep up on you...

About an adopted child in a family who when the parents get a child naturally, gets ignored. He then makes a close connection to an acacia tree in the garden.

This is built up like most other Asian horror films, that is slow moving, using good cinematographers and focusing on creating atmosphere rather than just shocks. Somehow it manages to fail completely. When it tries to build up tension, the over the top editing takes it quickly away. The editing tries to make the film clever, instead it makes me not take it seriously at all. About the drama; how can they ignore their adopted son so soon? This looks like a cash-in on the horror boom and should be avoided.

Trees can be very scary, this is not.

While Acacia won't really wow anyone, it is a nice little film that is a bit surprising. Almost immediately there is a good establishment of creepiness, most of which comes from the excellent camera work and music. Then there is the little boy who was an excellent pick for the movie. The story is different from typical horror, but conforms to the typical Asian horror style of taking something average and making it into a nightmarish object of hell, in this case an Acacia tree in the backyard of a family.

The story tells about a young couple who wish to have a child. Since they have been unsuccessful in making one, they decide to adopt. They take into their home a 10 year old boy with an obsession for trees. Once home, he immediately comes to love their dying Acacia tree in the backyard. However, almost immediately after he is brought home, strange things start to happen. And when the family does have a child of their own, it only gets worse.

Yes, the movie is a bit slow, but there are enough familiar elements, and the story is interesting enough to warrant a complete viewing. Both the camera-work and the acting is excellent, as well as the direction. Some of the shots are noteworthy and the sense of horror here is both subdued and in the cheese arena. You might find yourself giggling at some of the scenes, but the by the end, you should find yourself with something that you have enjoyed. One other positive note is that this film isn't complicated. There may be a bit of confusion throughout, but by the end, it is a pretty clear story, something that seems to be a bit rare in Asian cinema. So, if you don't mind your Asian horror straight up, then you might wanna give this a try.

From the acclaim it got I was expecting more from a Korean horror if it's going to be viewed in the same caliber as A Tale of Two Sisters, as some other reviews have stated. This movie isn't in the same caliber except in budget spent on special effects. Think Amytiville horror. With a tree and sparse dialogue.

If you're going to have a movie with limited dialogue, the plot line and characters have to carry the film. This film could have been told quite well in a 30 minute short film concept, 2 hours with a lot of staring at trees and terror scenes that make you not only not scared, but detract in a "What the..." sort of way does not a good horror movie make.

Those people who are stating that this film gave them lasting impressions must literally have heart attacks when decent horror films lay it in.

this movie was terrible!!! what a complete waste of time and money, not only for me but for the people involved in shooting this film. The movie is like watching a preview for an hour and a half. Absolutley disgusted with the attempt at film making. Editing is at its worst ever and the main focus of the movie is the wife thinking. Just showing 100 different angles of a person thinking does not make it very interesting! I am speechless...quite possibly this production will be the laughing stock of all intl. films, if any one even notices it. This review is purely fair and reasonable, not being harsh in anyway. The movie was the absolute rock bottom of the movie world. I enjoyed the previews 100x more.