Konterr Brilliant and touching

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

AidanManchester Nine films out of ten I find unwatchable. I don't usually appreciate horror, violence or bad language, I find most of the stuff I see clichéd, unrealistic and have to switch off. Cherry Tree Lane was different, I was drawn in very quickly. The scenario is simple as it would be in real life. It aroused feelings of hate and a desire for revenge, which was fulfilled at the end. There was sophisticated use of camera and editing and yet at the same time it's very raw like a student film. I like the way it plays out in real time, that's also realistic. Though the violence happens off camera, it is still very violent. All in all powerful and disturbing. It's a shame we have to live in a world like this but this film reflects it. Okay, that's enough of that, now back to Bambi!

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.

gavin6942 A couple is terrorized by a gang who is hunting their son.Whether this film succeeds or fails depends on whether you focus on the exploitation aspects or the realism. Certainly, it has a good deal of exploitation -- senseless, amoral violence that might call to mind "Funny Games" or perhaps "Straw Dogs". If you like physical and sexual violence in your films, you might find something to like here (and you also have a disturbing taste in film).Now, that criticism aside, if you are going to make a film about home invasion, you may as well make it real. And this film succeeds on that, I think. The intruders are not superhuman or pure evil, the victims are not extremely clever. What you see here could, in fact, happen in a real home. And that is why you might want to lock your doors.The film also raised a question of race, whether or not it intended to. Two of the three intruders are black whereas the homeowners are white. I do not see this as racist in and of itself, as it makes sense that lower-class people (many of whom are black) would invade a middle or upper-class home (many of which are owned by whites). But I thought to myself: what if the film showed white kids invading a black family's home? Particularly the sexual aspect. Would that raise the issue of race? But even bringing this up probably puts more credit into the film than there deserves to be. Ultimately, it is a gritty, dirty exploitation film, and one that will probably not leave you feeling good about yourself.

FlashCallahan Prosperous professional couple Mike and Christine are settling in for a standard evening of wine, TV and low-level marital hostility when a ring on their doorbell changes everything.Their son Sebastian is in a little trouble with some local boys, who are quite prepared to camp out and wait for him to get home.The resulting culture-clash is raw, revealing and nerve-split-tingly tense......Be warned viewers, this is a grim and depressing movie, one not to be viewed with someone you have not known long.The claustrophobic setting only mounts to the tension, and the feeling of dread right from the moment we see the boiling broccoli, stays with you right until the last reel.There are some predictable moments in the film, The two main gang members are like good cop, bad cop. One having complex/complexion issues, the other being apologetic when the other isn't there.The acting is good, and the camera-work and set is haunting and sometimes quite visceral.There is no way out for anyone in this movie, and even the innocent are doubted in this, many will ask about the final frame 'did he have the knife/axe' or 'was he scared'.The film doesn't let up for the duration, and there were many times i had to heavy sigh, as it was very uncomfortable to watch.But coming from the director of 'from London to Brighton' and 'The cottage', I had a good idea it wasn't going to be a happy experience.Be warned though, if you do want to see this piece, it is good, but you won't feel very good after watching it.