"The Lost Tree" throws together a large pile of clichés from the horror film genre, and the overall look and sound of the film is amateurish. It was as if this were a film school exercise, as opposed to a final, polished feature film.
In the film's opening scene, Emma catches her husband Noah flirting with a co-worker named Jenna. After the emotionally distraught Emma races out of the office, she is struck and killed by a car. Noah feels enough guilt and remorse to take time off from work to go to a cabin outside of L.A.
Even after Noah leaves town, there is an ongoing flirtation with Noah and Jenna, with Jenna closing her texts to him with "Love." Noah makes a faint-hearted attempt to reject Jenna's overtures, yet does not do so with a profound sense of bereavement. The cabin turns out to be haunted. Noah recognizes that the place is spooked, yet chooses to remain, against the advice of both Jenna and his dad.
It was a bad decision to stay, Noah.
The film suggests a paranormal encounter with Noah and Emma, who seems to be present at the haunted cabin and around the supernatural oak tree on the premises. The filmmakers string out the paranormal world of the cabin for too long. There is not enough suspense while Noah is wandering through the cabin talking to himself and not enough payoff at the end.
The use of flashbacks and the labored pacing of the film were major drawbacks. The score consisted of canned music and added nothing to the suspense and tension. The special effects were cheesy, once again reeking of film school experiments.
One of the key props was the necklace worn by Noah that includes Emma's ring. The necklace, which at one point is stolen, figures in Noah's desperate attempts to "attack" the tree to try to recover the ring. But the prop of the necklace was poorly handled throughout the film. So, when it finally figures prominently at the end, the audience really doesn't care.
At one point, a frustrated Noah asks the following question about the cabin and the tree: "What the hell is with this place?!!!" The question could be slightly revised for the audience to ask, "What the hell is with this turkey of a movie?!!!"
In the film's opening scene, Emma catches her husband Noah flirting with a co-worker named Jenna. After the emotionally distraught Emma races out of the office, she is struck and killed by a car. Noah feels enough guilt and remorse to take time off from work to go to a cabin outside of L.A.
Even after Noah leaves town, there is an ongoing flirtation with Noah and Jenna, with Jenna closing her texts to him with "Love." Noah makes a faint-hearted attempt to reject Jenna's overtures, yet does not do so with a profound sense of bereavement. The cabin turns out to be haunted. Noah recognizes that the place is spooked, yet chooses to remain, against the advice of both Jenna and his dad.
It was a bad decision to stay, Noah.
The film suggests a paranormal encounter with Noah and Emma, who seems to be present at the haunted cabin and around the supernatural oak tree on the premises. The filmmakers string out the paranormal world of the cabin for too long. There is not enough suspense while Noah is wandering through the cabin talking to himself and not enough payoff at the end.
The use of flashbacks and the labored pacing of the film were major drawbacks. The score consisted of canned music and added nothing to the suspense and tension. The special effects were cheesy, once again reeking of film school experiments.
One of the key props was the necklace worn by Noah that includes Emma's ring. The necklace, which at one point is stolen, figures in Noah's desperate attempts to "attack" the tree to try to recover the ring. But the prop of the necklace was poorly handled throughout the film. So, when it finally figures prominently at the end, the audience really doesn't care.
At one point, a frustrated Noah asks the following question about the cabin and the tree: "What the hell is with this place?!!!" The question could be slightly revised for the audience to ask, "What the hell is with this turkey of a movie?!!!"