Written and directed by Kerry McArthur, co-directed by Mark Wolfe, a young man with a troubled past inherits his grandfather’s orchard. After a pruning accident, his affinity for the painkillers takes him back into drug abuse – and what appears to be the orchard’s dark history. Starring: Lucas Szuch, Kate Webb, Hubert Brandys, Ashley Burns, Tracy Chan-Letondre, Gary Deatherage and Anna Garleff. The Orchard sparked the birth of a new world of horror-thriller features from Skimmerhorn Productions and filmmaking duo McArthur and Wolfe, expanded with Exophoria which is soon to be joined by its sequels Dysphoria and Hexe.
Making a strong first impression is always a vital part of cinema, but especially when it comes to indie film, and possibly even more so with genres like horror where so much of the experience relies on the atmosphere, and The Orchard kicks things off on excellent footing. That opening sequence is dark, ominous, curious, it’s well edited, it doesn’t give much away, and Kerry McArthur and Mark Wolfe then make that classic horror transition from darkness to light. Skipping away from the nefarious activities to the happy family, it’s a staple of horror cinema.
Those choices begin this family affair with a great note of foreboding, another key staple of the genre, providing it with that air of doom, while the characters go on about their daily lives in the meantime. Of course, also adding in some nice red flags from the locals along the way. The Orchard then progresses well throughout, particularly in how McArthur unravels the mental health and grip on reality of her protagonist, Lucas (Lucas Szuch). It has a nicely natural flow to it, he doesn’t just suddenly go off the deep end, he wades in gradually.
Something that’s of course reflected in the performance from Lucas Szuch. He leads The Orchard well, he nicely captures Lucas’ growingly unhinged edge, he has a note of unpredictability and he’s not generically likable, there’s an arrogance to him which was a great choice to help the evolution of his character. Whereas the arc for his wife, Kate (Kate Webb) feels like a bit more of a jump, her frustration is completely understandable, but she switches to aggression too quickly, and loses some sympathy which throws things a little off balance.
There’s a solid supporting cast, particularly Hubert Brandys, playing Hubert, who brings an unexpected note of sincerity and awareness to his character. He feels like one of the few who understands what’s going on and simply goes with it, which is interesting. Jack Wright is another good addition as Hubert’s brother Jack, the two of them have a great chemistry and banter, making for easily convincing siblings.
A couple of surprising additions are Tracy Chan-Letondre and Anna Garleff, with the former as a very grumpy orchardist and the latter as a German local. Chan-Letondre brings a nicely gruff personality to the table, her lack of patience for Lucas’ lack of knowledge is entertaining. While Garleff adds a slyly sinister note, seemingly helpful but there’s an undefined quality to her character which would have been fun to explore further.
However, one element it would have really been great to see The Orchard delve into deeper is the backstory of the orchard itself and Lucas’ grandfather. The details we do get set a precedent for something cult-esque, with ritualistic notes but it feels underexplored. The story works as it stands, and the pacing and progression are clearly well thought out but that thread opens up a lot of questions and while they don’t necessarily need to be answered, it might have elevated the film further to do so, and potentially added a stronger intensity.
The Orchard is an entertaining descent into madness, it’s not often a downward spiral is begun by a cherry tree, except maybe with unstable neighbours, but Kerry McArthur and Mark Wolfe connect those dots well. It’s a nicely controlled nosedive into unhinged territory, it could be a touch bloodier, and it would have been really great to see it open up the backstory more to really embrace the ritualistic side of things but it’s well constructed story. It has a simple but effective directorial style, they chose great locations, and it has a really solid ensemble.
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