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.

What if you moved The Wicker Man to Ireland?

Cherry Tree

The film is a blatant rip off of both The Wicker Man and another recent British film called Wake Wood, its a tale of selling souls to a larger more sinister force. A bit of witchcraft a bit of devil worship and it's all tied together in a neat little bow.

The story is simplistic and a nice view of Irish life, it's a little predictable and a little uncaring but on the whole it's good stuff.

Cherry Tree seems to get a lot of flack, but it's really not that bad, it's a quirky way to end a day, a different way. It's nothing you've not Sen before, but it's also very much something we've not seen in a while.

Good effort Ireland.

I see other reviews calling this a rip off of other film ideas, but is that not simply a genre? Is every vampire film a rip off of Nosferatu? Every werewolf film a rip off of The Wolf man? You get the idea. It's an OK film, seen far worse.

The one thing that got me is why every cast member had an English accent when it was clearly filmed in Ireland?

There is nothing wrong copying a classic (at least that's how I feel, I know some people think this is sacrilege). There is something wrong if you don't do it right though. I'm still being nice considering how bad the acting and the script for this is. It's not that the actors in this try to be bad, but sometimes the script is not helping you do your work either.

There is nudity and blood though, so if you are into exploitation sort of, you may find things that are at least a bit exciting. So this is more graphic than Rosemarys baby for example, because it can. It doesn't elevate it or bring it close enough to even make it a contender. If you like filth, go ahead watch, but don't forget: you've been warned

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.