Treevenge
Treevenge
| 07 July 2008 (USA)
Treevenge Trailers

Treevenge details the experiences and horrifying reality of the lives of Christmas trees. Clearly, for trees, Christmas isn’t the exciting “peace on earth” that is experienced by most. After being hacked down, and shipped away from their homes, they quickly become strung up, screwed into an upright position for all to see, exposed in a humiliation of garish decorations. But this Christmas will be different, this Christmas the trees have had enough, this Christmas the trees will fight back. Treevenge could be a short film about the end of days for Christmas trees, or perhaps, the end of humanity?

Reviews
Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.
Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.
Mischa Redfern I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
TerenceAaron *Originally written for Screened.com*Have you ever thought how does it feels being chopped, sliced and decorated as Christmas tree? No? Well, neither do I. This movie how ever centers around a bunch of trees that somehow gained consciousness. We see from their perspective how horrible Christmas is to them and how the "things" (humans) treat them cruelly.The trees then dissatisfied and in agony, decide to strike revenge onto us puny humans, sending the movie into a plethora of gore and madness, ensuring you the most brutal Christmas Tree related movie ever. This is definitely Grindhouse material. It's ridiculous, silly and it's self aware of it. Beware as this movie is not for the squeamish.The acting is totally over the top and suits the cheesy-ness of the film and it is done perfectly. We never know the names of the humans as they considered animals by these trees so not much development comes from them. What's interesting is that we feel the agony of the trees while watching. The high pitch alien-esque voices of the trees actually is well played and we can actually sympathize them while laughing at the same time.I will never see Christmas trees the same anymore. Maybe this movie is an allegory (see what I did?) for the destruction of nature did by man kind or how badly man kind has taken little things for granted. Maybe it's just a fun film full of gory fun but what ever message you find here, you will start pitying the trees after this and think twice of chopping down a tree.
Theo Robertson TREEVENGE is a short horror spoof by Jason Eisener set at Christmas time where conifer trees decide they're enjoying Christmas as much as turkeys do and decide to strike back at the human race and one can't help thinking if Eisener has been influenced by The Christmas Invasion episode of DOCTOR WHO which also involved a Christmas tree taking on a life of its own ? Certainly there's much to indicate the influence of THE EVIL DEAD films where eyeballs pop out and other over the top blood splattered deaths take place but this seems slightly at odds with a scene set in a van transporting the trees which makes clear allusions to Jews being sent on trains to Nazi death camps There's a constant feel of high camp running throughout this short which is probably to its detriment , especially where the human characters are concerned . Of course the whole premise of trees having a revolt is pure nonsense but one can't help thinking the director doesn't want to upset the audience too much seeing as both a baby and a family cat are cruelly butchered by the trees and therefore takes away any accusation of bad taste by turning up the camp factor , but I would have preferred a slightly more menacing tone to TREEVENGE
MisterWhiplash Sit back, relax, and enjoy Treevenge for all its bloody goodness. It's a "they fight back" saga that one hasn't really seen before, unless perhaps one is so well versed in Troma knowledge that they could dig up an example and look like the smarty-pants of the room. But for the moment, I can't think of another example of photosynthetic comeuppance aside from this, where trees cut in the forest are cut down for Christmas, and fight back against their 'owners'. It's got subtitled tree dialog. It's got dumb-s*** humans in the sticks and trailer parks and homes. It's got so much blood you'd think that the blood coordinator from Dead-Alive stopped by to pitch in on the fun. And it's so much fun, on both an intellectual level and on that visceral bloody-fun level that only the best in Troma can bring out (or just creative comedy horror in general) can bring out. It also reveals that Jason Eisner, the director and also the force behind the little-seen Grindhouse trailer (only shown in Canada with the Rodriguez/Tarantino film but also infamous online), has a real potential career ahead of him. What Treevenge exactly spells of it I can't say with the best crystal ball. But there will be something, with blood perhaps.
Paul Andrews Treevenge is set during the restive season of Christmas as gangs of men armed with axes & chainsaws chop down innocent trees to satisfy the public demand for floral festive decorations. However this year the trees are fighting back, they don't want to be chopped down, taken from their home, covered in tinsel & stared at. This year they want some revenge...This Canadian production was co-written & directed by Jason Eisener & is a 16 ish minute short horror comedy spoof with an amusing plot that just about works. Treevenge is an absurd film played for laughs with an amusing plot that sets the story up by showing the suffering the common tree goes through at Christmas as it is chopped down, stuck the back of a van, sold & finally decorated. The trees here are alive & speak to each other (visualised on screen with subtitles) & while I found it impossible to sympathise with a tree the makers do their best to paint the trees as scared victims, cut down, kidnapped & abused! Then of course the much used narrative where someone has the tables turned on them in a gruesome way is used here as the trees take their revenge against humanity. Treevenge is obviously not a film to be taken seriously, it's short but is memorable & has a decent story that is fairly amusing in itself. Treevenge isn't brilliant, it's not deep or meaningful & there's not much to it but for what it is it's a neat little film. Certainly worth watching if your in the mood for something a little silly but also gory & short.The makers are obviously horror fans themselves as there are numerous homages & references to the genre including a Cannibal Holocaust (1980) style opening, some City of the Living Dead (1980) bleeding eyes & even a Zombi 2 (1979) style eye piercing. The production values are quite high & it looks decent enough, the special make-up & gore effects are good with chopped off legs, poked out eyes, a babies head is crushed (an unnecessary scene not in keeping with the comical tone of the rest of the film), impaled necks, dead cats & lots of blood splatter.I believe that Treevenge is available online at various sites for free, well at least that's how I saw it anyway so if you are on your lunch-break with twenty minutes to spare then check this out. Although make sure the volume on your computer is turned down as there's a fair bit of profanity in it. A fun short worth a quarter of an hour of anyones time, worth watching.