Cherry Tree

CHERRY TREE is an Irish horror yarn that comes to us courtesy of the team behind Hammer's WAKE WOOD. I didn't like WAKE WOOD much, finding it an uninspired copy of PET SEMATARY, and CHERRY TREE in turn is a somewhat weak retread of ROSEMARY'S BABY except done on a low budget and lacking that classic film's atmosphere of deceit and dread.

Saying that, this isn't a bad film at all. It's quite well made and I appreciate what the filmmakers were trying to do here. A young cast give performances that are pretty good for a genre flick, with lead actress Naomi Battrick very effective as a protagonist who must find reserves of inner strength in order to fight some very literal demons.

As a horror film, CHERRY TREE goes for the gross-out approach throughout, with some very gory moments included particularly towards the climax. KILL LIST is another film that this one appears to be indebted to. The director also has an obsession with centipedes, although they're included as random CGI nasties here rather than being truly disgusting as in an '80s Hong Kong horror flick like CENTIPEDE HORROR. Anna Walton (who played the elfin princess in HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY) is highly effective in a crucial role.

Filmed in Ireland but presumably set in England, judging by the actor's accents, this is a tale of witchcraft, teenagers & life & death. The leader of the coven is played by Anna Walton, surely one of the best looking witches ever to grace the screen. Sexy on the outside but ruthless, powerful & evil on the inside, it's down to a 16 year old school girl to put paid to her dark scheme of domination. It's a good, well made film (though not without a few goofs & gaffs), well acted & contains enough gore for most. Yes, Rosemary's Baby is an obvious influence & the end is rather comical, but it's well worth watch. Just don't confuse it with Cherry Tree Lane!

Strange to see that this flick has a low rating. Of course I can understand it because it's not a typical horror. It's all about witchcraft but it take a while before things go awry.

But for me it immediately got my attention from the start. And i agree, you have to wait until the end before the real horror comes in and in between it's a bit of a normal story, maybe the story itself isn't that strong but I still found it worth picking up. In Belgium and the Netherlands this flick is well promotes even as it is a Irish flick because it's been supported by Jan Doense well known in both countries for his addiction to horror. And naturally at film festivals it was programmed by him.

The story is simple, a girl her father is dying but she's been bullied aged 15 and still being a virgin. A new teacher at school watches her closely and brings her into witchcraft. If she gets pregnant then the witch promise her she will heal her father. But there's one thing she must agree, she has to give over the baby to the witch to be offered to the Devil.

For the geeks this will be indeed be a no go flick but if you are a newbie then just pick it up. If you are a geek and can stand horrors without to much horror just until the end, pick it up too.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 3/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

This is a pretty good movie with believable acting and a suspenseful storyline. The creators did a good job making it atmospheric and creepy, especially for people with a phobia of centipedes.

But the downside is there there is a serious lack of character development and elements that make no sense, for example the centipedes everywhere. Yes they certainly add to the creepiness factor but what's their purpose? And why centipedes and not some other creature? Anyway, there are plenty of unanswered and underdeveloped elements in this movie.

Overall, this is an interesting and entertaining movie, and it's flaws are easy to overlook.

The Wtching Tree meets Rosemary's Baby.

I don't understand why this film was made this way, an Irish film with an all English cast, no problem with an updated remaining of other films and stories but why they chose to confuse an audience with the depiction of location and the obvious misallocation of accents?

It's clearly low budget which in the old days of 70's and 80's horror was perfectly acceptable as they usually used shock factor to make up for the poor imigary and acting.

This is the opposite, the acting and imigary are acceptable for a modern audience but it has no shock facter which just makes it meh.

Passes the time I suppose.