Cherry Tree is a 2015 Irish-Dutch supernatural horror film produced by Fantastic Films and House of Netherhorror, and directed by David Keating (Wake Wood) from a screenplay by Brendan McCarthy. The movie stars Anna Walton, Naomi Battrick and Sam Hazeldine.
Plot:
Faith’s world is turned upside down after she finds out that her beloved father is dying. When the mysteriously alluring Sissy Young becomes her field hockey coach, Faith finds a compassionate spirit and much-needed mother figure.
Little does she know that Sissy is the head of a centuries-old witches’ coven that uses the fruit of an ancient cherry tree in a secret ritual that restores life to the dead and dying.
Offering to cure her father in exchange for a child, Sissy strikes a bargain with Faith, who suddenly finds herself pregnant with a baby that’s growing at an alarming rate. But with the clock to the child’s birth ticking down and the true intention of Sissy’s plans for humanity becoming more apparent, Faith and her father must stand together in order to save both their lives…
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com
Reviews:
“But try as it might … there’s no camouflaging the obvious, namely that Brendan McCarthy’s script is a cliché stack, the heroine’s a blank and the villains are paper tigers.” The Ooh Tray
” …comes across as a hackneyed, hastily put together mess, devoid of all sense of dread and fear.” Ginger Nuts of Horror
“Some moments are just silly, others effective and some are truly brutal. I think my overall issue with the film is that it doesn’t deliver what it promises, because it sets everything up for a great movie, and then just kind of fizzles out.” Jason M.
Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk
“there is a superabundance of exposition (in introductory text, character-given commentary and even a class presentation) that undermines any uncanniness by trying to make too much sense of everything.” Screen Anarchy
“Cherry Tree takes some bizarre turns and showcases a small array of egregious plot holes, but once Faith and Sissy square off in a battle for the soul of a newborn baby, it’s coasting along at such an energetic clip that it’s hard to not have a little fun with all the crazy witch madness.” The Horror Show
“Walton, who has a welcome Barbara Steele-like presence, hams it up a treat, and the third act make-up and effects finally deliver the good stuff entirely lacking in the previous eighty minutes or so. But it’s still not enough to turn Cherry Tree into a ropey horror drama dotted with good bits.” Cine Vue
Filming locations:
Cork, Ireland
Teaser trailer:
