‘Arbor Demon’ (review)

Produced by Grant Fitch,
Warren Ostergard, Marcel Sarmiento
Written by Michelle Davidson, Patrick Rea
Directed by Patrick Rea
Starring Rob Bouton, Kevin Ryan,
Jake Busey, Fiona Dourif,
Michelle Mills, Bruce Williamson

When couple Dana and Charles head into the woods for a relationship rebuilding camping trip they unfortunately miss a couple of ominous signs that indicate that this may not be a peaceful and tranquil place. It seems that this is a plot of land that few return from.

After something decimates a group of hunters, Dana and Charles hide one of the surviving hunters in their tent.

Over the course of the next few hours they learn the truth about what is in the woods and why they are all there.

Arbor Demon is a creative and effective indie horror film by a director who should be getting more attention. Director Patrick Rea has long been known in horror fandom circles for his great work on short films but doesn’t often treat into features, which is a shame.

In Arbor Demon we are treated to a simple but strong premise with grounded and believable characters. The acting from all three of the leads is wonderful with Fiona Dourif standing out as someone to keep an eye out for, especially after watching this and recently seeing her in the BBC America series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

Arbor Demon’s story and acting are greatly complimented by the overall look and mood of the film. The cinematography beautifully captures the remote feeling of these woods while the all-encompassing sense of dread that the film’s eerie atmosphere provides works well to up the creep factor. On top of all that Arbor Demon provides the viewer with a creative and memorable antagonist, which was realized with some fantastic practical effects and art direction.

Arbor Demon is definitely worth checking out, a fantastic woodland set survival horror with a well thought out premise and good characters seems hard to find these days.

Arbor Demon is available On Demand starting February 3rd.