CommentsXp Best movie ever!

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

beautifulplaces This film is about a home attack. A group of youths hold a couple of parents under siege while they wait for their son to return so they can "teach him a lesson".I can see from other reviews that people found the film boring and waste of time. I felt this film in some ways was too real, it made me feel very anxious all the way through. When the boy returned and the youths disappeared with the lad to what we assume was his bedroom, you could hear the noises that he was being attacked. For me it is worse then seeing it as your imagination can run wild. It is definitely an urban horror and left me feeling very disturbed. I will never watch it again.I gave it a 5/10 as I guess it did horrify me so done what it said on the tin.

richardmarkham42 It's hard to rate this one, because the film has notable positive and negative aspects to it and I can see why some reviewers love it and some hate it. On balance though, it is worth seeing if you enjoy suspense and a decent script, not if you are into torture porn. The story itself has been told before in many ways and there are some definite weaknesses in the acting, but the strength of the film is in the small stuff of the script. The sheer disinterest of the invading youths in their victims, their low horizons and the lack of thought they have put into how they will execute their plan are beautifully written in and ring absolutely true. Even more so the irritation they exhibit towards one another as they wait for their intended victim to appear. Having neither perpetrated nor suffered a home invasion, I thought that this is what it must actually be like, right down to the invaders' "fish out of water" approach to the unfamiliar environment. The very lack of consensus between the attackers on how they will deal with the situation racks up the tension still further and made me want to watch right up to the sudden and ambivalent ending, which I for one found very effective.

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.

HumanoidOfFlesh A middle-class couple Christine and Mike is abused by a trio of hoodies who use a supposed betrayal by their son.The father is savagely beaten and the mother is raped by knife-wielding black youth named Rian."Cherry Tree Lane" is not as intense and brutal as similarly themed "Kidnapped".I enjoyed it due to its remarkable acting and gritty social realism.The violence is mostly off-screen but the atmosphere is quite unsettling.The climax is abrupt and there are some implausible moments,but if you like terror cinema you can't go wrong with "Cherry Tree Lanes".It's a chilling little thriller in the vein of "Eden Lake" that will disturb you.Better think twice the next time you go to answer the door.8 hoodies out of 10.