A giant lethal man-eating Great White Pine terrorizes the woods in the sleepy little hillbilly hamlet of Hazelville. This puts a major crimp in the town's annual Memorial Day celebration. After the tree attacks and devours a few folks, concerned, stalwart forest ranger Mark Cody (amiable Kevin McCauley), wimpy tree hugger bleeding heart liberal botanist Max Cooper (the equally affable Philip Gardiner), and crazed, obsessive macho redneck lumberjack Squint (deliciously played with mucho hammy aplomb by Peter Randazzo) join forces to track down and destroy the deadly rampaging plant. Writer/director/co-editor Michael Pleckaitis milks the silly premise of this enjoyably inane and practically scene-for-scene, shot-for-shot, line-for-line send-up homage to "Jaws" for all its worth, maintaining a constant quick pace throughout, deftly establishing a highly ingratiating mock-serious droll'n'deadpan tone ("The Blair Witch Project" throwaway joke is particularly amusing), sprinkling on a little cheesy gore (the blood looks just like red paint -- and probably was exactly that!), and coaxing winningly sincere performances from his enthusiastic no-name cast. Andrew Gernhard's rough, grainy, but fairly polished photography (the occasional use of wipes and the green-tinted killer tree on-the-prowl POV shots are pretty nifty) and Tom Destefano's ominously spooky'n'shuddery score are likewise on the money solid. A total hoot.
Review of Trees
