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| Sissy (Anna Walton) likes blood in David Keating's Cherry Tree (2015) |
Wow.
Cherry Tree (2015) is a hot mess swimming in a mighty sea of WTF! I give David Keating's new film props for provoking that description, as much I appreciate its absolute defiance of any attempts at logic, sense, or narrative structure. Very little information was given about this film prior to its world premiere at the 2015 Fantasia Film Festival, and now I know why. The audience all got a heads-up on what we were in for when the lovely Tony Timpone announced to the crowd that there MIGHT be a Q & A after the film, even though the director and writer/producer were present. I got the sense that they were off to get hammered at the Irish Embassy, and honestly, heavy drinking might be required for this film. No need for hallucinogens, though. This film is a TRIP.
The film opens with some titles about a coven that existed in Orchard, Ireland, but then was destroyed by an overly ambitious witch named Eleanor Young, who got too friendly with the devil (also known as the Lord of the Underworld). Oh, the coven got its power from the roots, and fruits of a cherry tree. I so appreciated some of the CGI tree visuals, that I missed the date when all these events occurred.
Fast forward to present day, and Brian (Patrick Gibson) is giving a presentation on the very same witch in his folklore class, where Faith (Naomi Battrick) and her friend Amy (Elva Trill) giggle and make sexual innuendos. They think he's cute. I still missed the date, even though the film provided this exposition twice. Maybe I was distracted by all the scenes of girls playing field hockey and running in slow motion--over, and over again. Turns out Sissy Young (Anna Walton), who is obviously related to Eleanor Young, is the new field hockey coach, and she has her eye on Faith--for the senior team and much, much more.
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| Sissy wants to become "Queen of the Underworld" |
Anna Walton is really great as Sissy Young. She carries the film with just the right amount of nutso menace, and coneys a ton of charisma in just one of her brooding stares. She takes her role as defacto coven leader and future "Queen of the Underworld" very seriously, and when sh** hits the fan over, and over, and over again, she somehow pulls it off. She's miles beyond the milquetoast Faith, whose father is seriously ill, and decides to make a bargain for his life that she comes to regret. I found it so hard to care for this bland, bland girl.
By far, the most horrifying aspect of this film are the familiars that Sissy uses to do her dirty work--giant venomous
centipedes. While I thought the bugs in
Goodnight Mommy were beyond nasty, they were positively cute compared to these poisonous, burrowing creatures. I didn't know that I had Chilopodophobia (fear of centipedes) before this film, so thanks for that. The ICK factor in this film is through the roof, and I'm not even bringing up all the blood. This film has some really startling SFX scenes--possessed demon sex, bloody human sacrifices, the fastest gestation period ever, skinless coven members, and Sissy transformed into something so indescribable, you might just want to see the film in order to see her final form. Unfortunately, though, you have to sit through countless shots of Faith in field hockey garb, walking, running, and playing in SLOW MOTION. And the ending is just plain silly.
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| Super-cool poster though |
After Tony suggested that the Q & A might not happen, when it actually DID, much of the theater was on its way out, and the rest of us were just kind of struck dumb by the whole thing. The filmmakers didn't seem to take the Q & A seriously either, so things just kind of fizzled out. I felt bad for the writer/producer Brendan McCarthy because he seemed pretty disappointed when I bumped into him outside the theater. I think that one of the problems with the film was tone. Emotional scenes were more hyperbolic than moving, so the film often came off as hysterical, and not intentionally so. Sometimes a bat-sh** crazy film is fun because it rides the campy line. Unfortunately,
Cherry Tree doesn't fit into the "so bad it's good" category. Nor the "so good it's good" one either. Still, some of the visual moments really do stick with you. And Anna Walton rocks.
