Cherry Tree (2015) (18)

Set in a town in England the horror film Cherry Tree drawers vaguely upon the lore of Witches to create a modern day tale of the birth of a Demon child. The lead Witch and physical education teacher, played by Anna Wallton, probably best known for Hellboy 2 (2008) and Vampire Diary (2006), jumps at the opportunity to coerce one of her hockey players into giving birth to this daemonic child.

The teenage victim, whose father is gravely ill and has been promised his salvation, is played by Naomi Battrick, who potentially may be successfully making the cross over from TV to Film. She plays the lead role of Faith calmly and in some way this emphasises the tension of the film. Her approach is not to be overdramatic, more cool and calculated which fits in with the minimal stylisation and cinematography of the production.

Cherry Tree [DVD] [2015]

There are scenes of gore, especially sacrificial acts, and sex, but it's not over played. The underlying content of the film is pagan in a modern context and this blend seems to work effectively. The female characters weald the power and the male characters are ultimately doomed to a worse fate. This ties in with this paganism theme and taps the fear of smart women that was prevalent in the dark ages the resulting Witch hunts being well documented.

Overall the film directed by the relatively inexperienced David Keating is seemingly well crafted for the obviously low-budget and none of the actors seemingly put in bad performances. What it lacks is a solid script and just a bit more content and excitement. But overall for what it is the Cherry Tree does fairly good job.

54/100

You can pick up a copy of this film here at Amazon Cherry Tree [DVD] [2015]