New On Demand from Dark Sky Films!
Directed/Written by Andrew Mudge.
Check out the trailer here!!
A landscape architect named Ellie (Lucy Walters) and her troubled son Wyatt (Hudson West) accept a job to remove trees from a massive estate owned by the reclusive Arthur (Will Lyman). After taking the daunting task, Ellie realizes it is beyond her means, but needs the money, so she presses on. The exhaustion takes its toll on Ellie and the property’s dark history begins to seep into the psyche of Wyatt.
Reminiscent of THE ORPHANAGE, THE SHINING, and SESSION 9, THE ARBORIST is a slow burner with some vivid and disturbing imagery. While there is a lot of time spent following Ellie and Wyatt, the film eventually picks up steam once details of the property’s controversial history as a mental facility for children come to light. Some may nope out because of the leisurely pace, though.
THE ARBORIST feels like an old timey ghost story with the focus being on setting the fire mood first and then telling why it feels so gloomy later. Peppered in are visions only Wyatt can see, leaving the viewer in the dark as to whether this might be all in Wyatt’s head. These images are surreal and disturbing, such as a boy dressed as a crow slinking around the grounds and slipping silently into the lake. The film does a good job of highlighting feathered fears as Wyatt stabs a large feather through both cheeks in one twisted scene. This gruesome imagery compounds by the climax of THE ARBORIST.
The pace was a factor in me completely enjoying this one. The acting is superb by all three of the cast members, but Wyatt’s constant disobedience and tantrums did wear on me. It’s understandable that his mother would stick through these troubled times with Wyatt, but few others would.
So, THE ARBORIST proved to be a mixed bag for me. I really liked some of the imagery, but much of it came too little and too late for my complete investment. The film also seems to come to an understandable close but inexplicably decides for one or two more spooky sequences to go for good measure. I’ll mildly recommend this one. I like what it was trying to do, but it did it just a bit too late in the game for me. See this one for the twisted imagery and pitch-black history of the location, but your fast forward finger might get a little heavy with THE ARBORIST.
