Saturday, April 04, 2015
Michael Allen
Cast: Sarah Rose Denton, Lucy Clarvis and Lawrence Weller.
Curse of the Witching Tree is an indie production. Shot in the United Kingdom and set in Kent, this title brings a spirit to a remote farm. Here, a couple of seance scenes offer some tension, but several, other scenes feel stretched. The pacing is consistently up-tempo. However, this viewer's attention started to drift, with the appearance of cheap scares and burlap sack-headed antagonists. Curse of the Witching Tree will release in the UK, shortly and only the most die-hard of indie horror fans will want to take notice.
The story begins with a desperate family. The head of the family, the father, is waylaid in bed and in a coma. A mother, sister and brother are tasked with running a farm, which is inhabited by the dead; this is no easy task. Security cameras create a few bumps in the night. Or, undeveloped hallucinations attempt to drum up some screams. But, this viewer merely laughed as a strangely masked villain stalked characters in a home. James Crow's first feature film is missing something - tension.
Some scenes are unnecessary and some are stretched. The director has a background in short films. But, James Crow's transition into feature length features is slightly unsteady. Scenes are shot competently enough. Though, the camera is too static. Sometimes, the camera can enhance a scene, rather than just recording events. As well, there are a few too many scenes of the father lying in bed. He is in a coma, after all and he has little too offer, to viewers - until late in the film. And, a shot of a fence and a string of burlap is held for too long and is also unnecessary. Also, several scenes are disconnected and do not transition well together. Crow is still experimenting with story and style in his debut.
Some late scenes finally offer some thrills and tension. A seance scene is appropriately dark and moody. Candlelight is the only source of illumination. Shadows flicker just away from the table and a spirit tries to shake up the unity of the circle. This scene, which occurs in the final act, is one of only a couple of tense sequences. A following scene also offers more believability. The family finally says their good-byes to another family member. The actors' reactions and interactions appear real and the scene is emotive. However, these two scenes stand-out amongst a number of duller, less compelling ones.
Finally, the spiritual versus physical storyline is a difficult one to put to screen. The spiritual cannot easily transition into the physical plane, except through possession. So, conflict between the supernatural and the physical cannot be realized, outside of a few contrivances. A scene, involving possession, does occur late in the picture. But, by this time, the conflict has been minimized to a few peekaboo scares. More conflict was needed in earlier scenes.
Curse of the Witching Tree is a smallish feature, which will satisfy a few. Yet, this critic was not drawn into the film, through Acts I and II. By Act III, events are moving towards a believable climax. However, this late clash is not enough to save the film. Curse of the Witching Tree is only slightly above average, compared to other horror films in the indie genre, unfortunately. Good for a few burlap inspired laughs, the scares only come out in a darkened scene or two and that is not enough to create true terror.
Overall: 6.25 out of 10 (good use of exterior and interior shooting, night shooting as well, some scenes are too static, some conflicts come across as false or overdone).
*the film will release in the UK on May 18, 2015, on DVD.
A preview of the film is available here:
A Preview (Stills) for Curse of the Witching Tree is Available Here
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Posted in: 2015,ghost,ghost story,horror movie review,independent,indie,indie horror movie review,movie review,release date,supernatural,supernatural movie review,united kingdom
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