Haunted Forest (2007)

Director:

Mauro Borrelli

Release Date:

26 June 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

The Indian descendent Sean comes to a forest with his friends Josh and Flipp trying to find the track...

Plot Keywords:

Nightmare | Evil Spirit | Deranged Man | Gagged And Bound | Hung By Wrists

Cast

Sevy Di Cione	...	Sean / Nodin
Adam Green	...	Josh
Mark Hengst	...	McCane
Edoardo Beghi	...	Flipp (as Edo Beghi on End Credits)
Naomi Ueno	...	Kiyomi
Jennifer Luree	...	Jennifer
Hans Uder	...	Tourist
Kiralee Hayashi	...	Satinka (as Kira Hayashi)
Vito di Natolo	...	Victim #1
Aldo Antonelli	...	Victim #3 (as Al Antonelli)
Luigi Campanile	...	Victim #2 (as Gigi Campanile)
Mauro Borrelli	...	Victim #4
Agim Kaba	...	J.R.
Justin Klosky	...	Skinny (Cowboy)
Clifford Neil	...	Cal (Cowboy)

Also Known As:

Satinka (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

USA:81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Fotocomics Productions

Reasonable Premise, Poor and Flawed Execution

The Indian descendant Sean comes to a forest with his friends Josh and Flipp trying to find the track to a mysterious cursed tree and a secret burial ground. His grandfather wrote a journal about the love of the Indian Satinka and the son of the medicine man of their tribe one hundred and twenty years ago, and how Satinka was trapped in a tree by an evil spirit. Meanwhile, the girlfriends Jennifer and Kiyomi are searching for flowers in the same woods. When Flipp and Kiyomi vanish, their friends meet each other and stay together while a deranged hunter chases new victims for the vengeful spirit of the tree.

"Haunted Tree" has a reasonable premise, but a very poor and flawed execution. There are many low budget horror movies that work, usually based on solid screenplays and great performances. Unfortunately this flick has a terrible and messed screenplay, and the story begins without any previous development of the characters, probably because of the restraint in the budget. Therefore, the viewer sees Sean, Josh, Flipp, Jennifer and Kiyomi, and even the forest, without any reference or explanations about their motives for being in the dark and distant place. When Josh shots his gun, surprisingly neither Jennifer nor Kiyomi listen to the noise. The girls lose their car (is it possible?) and there is no explanation why they have come to such a distant place without tent or appropriate outfits. Nobody eats in this film, and the day is extremely short. Satinka is a rip-off of typical ghosts of Asian movies, and recalls Sadako of "Ringu" franchise. There are so many flaws that I could extent my review, but I believe this is enough to give a hint about this film. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): Not Available