[yasr_overall_rating]
After two teenagers discover a missing girl in a tree house, they try to survive the night from her attackers and find help.
“Treehouse” starts out intense. Elizabeth (Dana Melanie) arrives home to find her brother missing and their house in disarray. She soon chases after a figure in the woods that may know where her brother is. After falling in the woods, we get the idea that something ominous is out there.
After the opening hook, we find ourselves meeting the protagonist of the film, Killian (J. Michael Trautmann), a young teen who’s a bit of a push over. The teen and his older brother/protector go into the woods one evening and come across a tree house. In the tree house they find Elizabeth, one of the girls that’s been missing, after a string of kidnappings in the town. The older brother goes for help while Killian stays behind with the girl. While there, they wait not knowing the fate of their brother, or what scary thing creeps outside taunting them. The film has some really intense moments.
Because of my film background, I tend to use a different barometer to measure “Indie flicks.” You can’t really compare them to the bigger budget Hollywood products. It’s better to measure them against other indie films. And with technology and film equipment being more accessible than ever, the quality of these indies keep getting better. From a technical stand point, “Treehouse” is superbly shot and edited, with glimpses of very good acting. They did a great job of setting an intense mood, but the problem I have with most Indie films is that too often they want to be deep. They want to make some message and be artsy, not following the basic Hollywood Screenplay paradigm. Because of that, these type of films tend to have one note, with very few subplots. They are kind of a one trick pony. With indie films, that trick is normally revealed way too late … the end. Most of this film you have no clue what’s going on and that’s not a good thing. It makes you wonder if you should even care.
THE NEGATIVE
The background actors often seem in a vacuum. It doesn’t feel like they are doing stuff before the camera is on them. The writing and exposition early on is too on the nose and obvious. Too often the background actors are just standing around explaining stuff instead of showing it. The dialogue doesn’t always seem natural. It’s a little forced, and the young characters sound like older adults are trying to write their dialogue. The words seem like they would have been good on paper, but are a little distracting. It takes away from the intensity when their emotions are always peeking. As the film progresses, their acting seems to have a better rhythm, and is more nuanced.
THE POSITIVE
There’s really nice cinematography, editing and sound score. There are some nicely composed shots and scenes. The feel and mood is creepy and tense. The filmmaker did a good job of setting the mood. The sets and background were great. The make up effects were pretty cool. The musical score is decent, though sometimes is too intense and doesn’t always transition well. The two main actors, Dana Melanie who plays Elizabeth, and J. Michael Trautmann who plays Killian, have some great moments. Sometime they play it too extreme. It would have been nice to see them play certain scenes more subtle.
OVERALL
“Treehouse” to me seems like two different films. The beginning is very different from the end. I don’t feel like they cohesively go together. Both have really nice elements. You see the filmmakers intentions. They don’t always work, but it’s a great effort. I think the biggest down side of the film was the story. Much of it felt forced and contrived. For an indie film, not bad. Just took a little while to get the point.
