[Film Review] Cherry Tree (2015)

Cherry Tree (2015) tells the story of Faith, a girl whose father is dying of cancer. Desperate to save him, she makes a pact with a coven of witches, led by her hockey teacher Sissy, who need blood sacrifices to nourish the cursed roots of the eponymous cherry tree. 

Films that focus on witches will always be on my ‘to watch’ list but unfortunately, Cherry Tree is so obviously dominated by the male gaze, with pointless nudity including a cringe worthy shower scene, and heavy emphasis on Faith as a “fifteen year old virgin" who needs to sacrifice her body to save her father’s life. There are also plenty of slow motion shots of schoolgirls running around in PE kits, and upskirt shots as they play hockey. To be blunt, the emphasis on Faith as a virgin feels pretty creepy and not entirely necessary to tell the story.

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There are also no characters to feel invested in. Faith is horrible, deliberately choosing the chump her friend likes as the person she sleeps with, as though there aren't a million other teenage boys around. Her father only appears briefly to collapse and be taken to hospital. The coven of witches are like pantomime villains, and you never find out what their motivation is, apart from some vague notion of supreme power from Satan, so you can’t even root for the bad guys. 

It’s clear that Cherry Tree has been heavily influenced by similar films, with comparisons to Rosemary’s Baby (1968), Carrie (1976) and The Wicker Man (1973). Where Cherry Tree falls short is in the lack of narrative development beyond the basic tent poles of ‘evil women’, ‘innocence defiled’ and ‘spawn of Satan’. There is no creeping horror as Faith watches her body being overtaken and no sense of dread that builds as the coven members are revealed.

We are not left shaken by the actions of the coven because, by the end, a fantasy element has overtaken the narrative. What makes The Wicker Man so frightening is the banality, and ordinary nature, of the evils enacted. Here we quickly lose this and descend into more grandiose visions of witchcraft. There is a lack of development of Faith’s character that means we don’t understand her motivations, leaving the ending of the film feeling forced and contrived. 

One of the positives of this film is the use of excellent effects, particularly in the third act. There are some interesting body horror elements that add an extra level of grotesque.There is also a clear commitment to a strong theme, with the titular tree’s blood soaked fruit making frequent appearances, alongside a whole lot of centipedes. These add a welcome slither to the proceedings, but we never learn of the significance of these creepy crawlies, in a further missed opportunity to add depth to the story. 

Give Cherry Tree a go if you like films about evil women that don’t explore motive. Sure, there's more ham on the screen than in the Billy Bear factory, but it’s a passable film with some interesting effects that will give body horror fans something to squirm over. 

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