Arbor Demon (2016)

Very Cool!!!

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The first must-see film of the year.

I don't know what it is about the cover poster but because of it I was actually quite looking forward to this. Enclosure otherwise known as The Arbor Demon is yet another forest set horror movie which actually has an interesting plot, but is ruined by poor pacing and weak delivery.Starring the real spawn of Chucky (Fiona Dourif) and erm the spawn of the Gingerdead Man? (Jake Busey) it tells the story of a couple who go camping in the woods but witness the local rednecks come under attack from a mysterious creature and they may be next!It's all pretty cliched stuff that though it all comes together at the end, by that point it's all so very late.Nice ideas but ultimately the Arbor Demon is more than slightly on the boring side.The Good: Great coverDecent finaleThe Bad:Very dullPacing issuesPoorly madeThings I Learnt From This Movie:Ms Dourif does not have an ounce of the talent of her father

PROS: One of the coolest parts of this movie was the original idea. The whole premise of the movie was very new and very exciting. It sort of took on a completely different vibe than most other movies. The thing that really propelled the movie was the way that the story stayed creative from beginning to end. Although the ending wasn't perfect, it also was very conclusive to the message and the overall meaning of the film.CONS: The biggest issues weren't necessarily bad, but rather that they are very average when above average is needed. For example, the acting fell flat in many categories. The main couple in the film did a great job at showing romantic chemistry, but not chemistry with combined fear. That factor would've been the make it or brake it portion of the film, and it was the brake it portion. A lot falls on the acting, when acting isn't good you have a hard time following along with the build up in tension or the resolution. These factors all combined lead to an average attempt at a creative script.www.chorror.com

Arbor Demon (2016)It's not often the case that I am presented with a title to review that I know very little about in advance, especially in this age of media saturation, but with Arbor Demon I knew zilch. However, as I fancied a change from the wodge of zombie flicks I had been inflicted with of late, I took comfort in the presence of the word 'demon' in the title and stuck it on. Initially Arbor Demon played like yet ANOTHER in the other currently over-saturated sub-genre of found-footage but fortunately it was not to be, and whilst far from perfect Arbor Demon made for a refreshing change and was all the welcome for simply offering something different and being confident enough to successfully pull it off.Young couple Dana and Charles (Fiona Dourif and Kevin Ryan) go camping at his insistence that doing so would afford them the opportunity reconnect with each other. You wouldn't guess that any reconnecting was necessary from the set-up but apparently it is (I suppose there wouldn't be a camping trip otherwise and a rather short empty movie being the result). Dana is pregnant and keeping the news a secret from Charles, the reason? Charles has told her that they aren't the sort of couple that have children. As the film opened with a heavily pregnant woman being pursued through woodland, before something unseen closed in on her, it would appear that something similar may happen for Dana later in the woods, given that she too is expecting.After a bunch of rowdy bikers/hunters are wiped out by something unseen Dana and Charles find themselves trapped within the tight confines of their tent. They are soon joined by a wounded man Sean (Jake Busey), the only survivor of the bloody attack. During their conversation with the rather obnoxious Sean, our young couple learn more about what maybe lurking outside the flimsy trappings of their tent and fortunately for us it's as much a surprise for us as it is for the characters making Arbor Demon a superior creature feature.For a genre critic, who sometimes feels that he has seen it all before, Arbor Demon (originally entitled as Enclosure) made for a welcome relief from the norm. It reminded a little of 1990's The Guardian, not tonally or quality-wise fortunately, but more in the respect that it's a horror story tying into nature. Director Patrick Rea, along with co-writer Michelle Davidson, prove rather heavy-handed with the exposition and early nods as to what may come, but otherwise both have succeeded in delivering something unique in a marketplace afraid to deliver outside of the established comfort zone.

It starts out promising, with a bunch of graphic images of maggots and other insects during the opening credits, but in the actual movie, most of the actual action happens OFF screen, and there is a real LACK of interesting imagery to hold our attention. Our protagonists' backstories are shallow, the so-called 'secret' is stupid, and nothing really comes to light during their confinement in the tent except when the third-party gives some exposition about the monsters.Spoilers: the monsters are druids. They don't do anything particularly violent, at least not ON CAMERA, and the female lead just kind of kills the other actors off. Even the birth scene (yes there is one) is ridiculously short and happens entirely off camera. Utterly not-scary, nonsensical and invokes little else except apathy.