Review: Arbor Demon





(imdb.com)

Camping can provide quite the adventure on its own, add in horror elements and traversing in the forest quickly becomes a nightmare. Movies like 2014's Backcountry and Preservation, or the classic Blair Witch Project, gave those looking for it, a startling look at what can go wrong when you go into the woods without proper preparation. Queue this year's Arbor Demon. Quietly released and lesser known, Arbor Demon leads audiences into a camping trip gone horribly wrong when a group of hunters unsettle a monster that invades their site.

Arbor Demon is a creature feature that no one asked for but any fans of the subgenre will be fine with. While poor in practical effects and makeup, the feat of placing the movie almost entirely in broad daylight is pretty daring, and for that it earns points. The film stars Fiona Dourif (Cure of Chucky) as Dana, the girlfriend who sets the whole trip up, Rob Bouton (Crackerjack) as her boyfriend, Howard, and Jake Busey (From Dusk Till Dawn) as one of the hunters, Sean.

First: the problems. While both Dourif and Bouton make worthwhile efforts to establish a relationship that seems believable, progress is consistently muddled by Busey.  Busey seems pulled from the street into this movie and both his acting and his character hobble Arbor Demon. Whereas a third party in a movie about a loving couple normally is used to build the storyline and provide outside insight, it feels like Busy's hunter inserts himself in too plain and obtuse ways, seeming less natural and more like commentary that you'd hear on a bonus disc, not the film itself. As previously said, it is also important to note how bad the monsters look in this movie. Like an episode of Face Off where multiple people are sent home, there is not a lot to please the eye in Arbor Demon. It's a great little movie with a lot of potential but, the big reveal is definitely offset by what looks like a Walmart mask.

Arbor Demon does offer its fair share of positives though. For a creature feature, it's surprisingly low-key and grounded. Its final moments are over the top, but throughout the movie, nothing really happens that makes you laugh unintentionally. In addition, its spin on horror- using daylight, rather than the cover of night, also lends a hand to the movie's desire to be different. Arbor Demon isn't particularly scary, but for what it lacks in scares, it certainly makes up for in aspiration.

Arbor Demon feels like an early 2000s SyFy channel movie. Between nostalgic fades and weirdly placed music interludes, it actually becomes a fun throwback. Sure the pacing and some of the scares aren't great, but there's something simple about Arbor Demon that makes it entertaining enough. I give the movie 5 out of 10 tents because that's where the majority of this movie takes place.