Cherry Tree review: Has the ingredients for a compelling tale, but is let down slightly by its execution.
Cherry Tree review
Director: David Keating
Cast: Naomi Battrick, Anna Walton, Sam Hazeldine, Patrick Gibson
Certificate: 18
Running Time: 85 minutes
Synopsis: Teenager Faith (Battrick) makes a deal with a local witch (Walton) in an attempt to save her dying father.
Witches on film is a tough thing to get right, and whilst there are a handful that nail it (read our best movie witches feature), most manage to be mediocre and more than a little lacklustre. Considering that witches have been around for centuries it’s sad that films that feature the ‘monster’ tend to be overly nice and focus way more on the Bewitched / Sabrina the Teenage Witch whimsical fun part of magic, rather than the dark occult origins of the historical records. Cherry Tree attempts to correct this by giving a dark and bloody representation.
A modern take on the classic Grimm style fairy tale. Faith, is a fifteen – almost sixteen – year old school girl who lies at home with her single parent father. Everything is great until her dad becomes fatally ill when his Leukaemia returns. Desperate to save him at any cost, Faith finds herself making a deal with her new hockey coach Sissy who moonlights as a witch. In exchange for saving her father, Sissy wants one small thing from Faith, a child.
The attempt at reinvigorating witches on screen is valiant but sadly doesn’t quite manage to hit the mark as well as one would hope. The aesthetics work well, especially the set design of the titular tree, but something within the story gets lost in translation. Maybe it’s because it’s a tale that has been told too many times before – innocent, virginal young girl gets tricked by a manipulative, wicked witch. Disney have been telling that story for years and some of their witches are far scarier than Sissy.
Cherry Tree review
Sissy is a villainess who is rather enigmatic; whilst that is great in some situations, Cherry Tree would benefit from not necessarily showing more of her, but simply giving her more to do. For instance she has conduits deliver threatening messages and information to Faith, the story might play better if she delivered more of them in person. Also she all too quickly reveals her treacherous nature which demands the question of why does Faith go along with anything she is asked?
Frightfest’s opening film offers a new take on the classic witch tale. Filled with bloodshed, sacrifice and cherries by the boatload, Cherry Tree has the ingredients for a compelling tale, but is let down slightly by its execution.
Cherry Tree review, Kat Hughes, August 2015.
Cherry Tree opens this year’s Frightfest at 6:15pm on Thursday 27th August.
