Leofwine_draca CHERRY TREE LANE is a British addition to the over-crowded sub-genre of the 'home invasion' thriller. Such films typically involve respectable middle-class families finding themselves under siege from sadistic criminals or thugs, as the plotting sees fit; these films have cat and mouse aspects to their narratives, as each side seeks to gain an upper hand. The sub-genre has been going since the 1970s, and shows no signs of slowing down just yet.This is a particularly boring addition to that genre, content to repel the viewer with endless, protracted scenes of characters shouting and swearing at each other while little happens to propel or indeed develop the narrative. A couple are attacked in their home and held hostage by a gang who are awaiting the return of the couple's son. The characters are moronic, devoid of intelligence and given over to brute violence, which makes for a gruelling viewing experience and not in a good way. There's no decent acting here, no characters to empathise with, just repellent material interspersed with a few scenes of brutal violence. It's a film almost entirely devoid of entertainment value.

BA_Harrison Like hoodie-horror Eden Lake before it, Cherry Tree Lane attempts to scare the viewer by tapping into their innate fear of the yob generation, depicting a law-abiding, middle-class, suburban couple at the mercy of a vicious gang of 'yoofs' (before the tables are eventually turned for a brief but satisfying slice of retribution).Writer/director Paul Andrew Williams handles the material confidently enough (certainly better than the dreadful black comedy of his previous film The Cottage) and commands solid performances from his cast, young and old, but while I cannot deny that the film packs a powerful emotional wallop, largely thanks to its unsettling sense of realism, I do feel that the extremely thin plot isn't quite strong enough to sustain an entire feature film. Even at a scant 74 minutes (according to my DVD), there's a fair amount of padding; the movie would have been more successful had Williams added a bit more 'meat' to his narrative, or if the whole thing had just been a bit shorter.

bobbybits This is a stupidly, awful, tedious film ultimately trying to unmask the inner workings of a mind of a crackhead. Can you see the problem here it is brainless. If anybody can make films, then with this film anybody has.Why didn't they kill the father and mother to begin with effectively ending the pointless film at the start. Only as attackers to wait in their home and talking to them the entire film? Why would you give the victim a drink? Who brings a little kid into the house that is being attacked despite the bulls..t plot? Why if after raping the wrinkled mother are you going to call your girlfriend round to that same house, without killing the victim? Why did we need the endless dialogue from idiots, who are stupid to think? Telling their victims more and more details about themselves only to be identified later. Why was their reasoning with telling them that they would be let free because it was only their son they had any beef? Who can't break through gaff-tape with their nails? Why would you need an ashtray at the home your attacking? So many times said don't look at my face victim, you doughnut he watched you enter, attack him. Not wearing a mask, of course he seen your stupid face 100 times, he could close his eyes and still see your face.That above list goes on and on almost never ending in its stupidity. If this film is classed as suspense then undoubtedly you are a moron who likes a lesson in boredom and retardism. Right after the film I flicked on the news to watch the headlines former Mircosoft executive plans a trillion dollar industry of importing cannabis into the United States via the president of Mexico and legally distributing his product to net a cool trillion. He had red-eye and was stoned it really is no wonder he got the sack. This film was complete bullsh.. Acting was awful, Plot was awful, Dailogue was awful, Camera-work any crackhead can use a mobile phone this what these kids use1 out 10. Whoever makes these films should be drawn and quartered. Did this film promote awareness, don't trust youths you don't know banging on your door, Gad that is just so clever

ersinkdotcom Filmmakers love to exploit people's worst fears. Think about all the films made over the years about plane disasters, natural disasters, zombie outbreaks, airborne pathogens, serial killers, and any and everything else released in theaters or on DVD weekly. For some reason, we're all drawn to seeing what might happen in any of these situations and experience them from the outside looking in. "Cherry Tree Lane" gives us a "glass house" view of what many people would consider one of the most frightening horrors they could experience: the home invasion.An ordinary middle-class couple named Christine (Rachel Blake) and Mike (Tom Butcher) arrive at home and settle in for an evening together. Their son, Sebastian (Tom Kane), hasn't arrived yet. You can tell the two have issues between them through awkward talk at the dinner table.The evening takes a turn for the worse when Christine answers a knock at the door and returns to the dining area held captive by a thug with a knife to her throat. The couple soon find themselves bound, gagged, and beaten as their captors await their son's arrival. It seems Sebastian is running with a rough crowd and turned in one of the young delinquent's brothers."Cherry Tree Lane" is a slow-burning and tense movie that does its best to explore every aspect of a home invasion. However, instead of showing you everything, it leaves much to your imagination. It's not worse than seeing horrific actions on screen, but creates a more stressful viewing experience.Director / writer Paul Andrew Williams definitely knows how to pace a good suspense yarn. This has been referred to as a real-time thriller by some people. Let's just say a lot can happen in 77-minutes. "Cherry Tree Lane" shows audiences that it doesn't take too much time for lives to be destroyed and bad decisions to change the course of one's future forever.Williams does a great job showing how messed up these thugs are throughout the film. One calls their parents and argues with them about a TV show they want recorded. Another one invites their girlfriend over to the scene of the crime to hang out. She brings her friend and a young boy with her. To them, this is just business as usual. It reminded me of how Alex and his droogs acted after a night of ultra-violence in "A Clockwork Orange."Another way of looking at "Cherry Tree Lane" is as a cautionary tale. You never know how your actions are going to affect others. Sebastian's actions caused his parents to come to harm. He not only set himself up to be oppressed, but got others involved as well.Although the movie is Unrated, it features violence, partial nudity, and a whole lot of bad language. This is definitely not for the squeamish. It's also not something you probably want your teenager or young children watching."Cherry Tree Lane" only comes in a regular format DVD edition. There are no special features included in the packaging. It would've been nice to see a "Making of" featurette and get a little background on the project from director / writer Paul Andrew Williams.At first, I felt "Cherry Tree Lane" was a bit slow-moving for my taste. After reflecting on it, I realized that it's actually a well-paced little film that explores an invasion of our privacy and humanity without being too exploitative. Don't get me wrong. It's disturbing and unnerving, but never steps over the line into "torture-porn" territory where a lot of movies like this tend to go.