Suffered through the first twenty minutes with my mom, came to the mutual conclusion that nothing was getting any better, and quit it to do something actually entertaining instead.

CHERRY TREE LANE is a British addition to the over-crowded sub-genre of the 'home invasion' thriller. Such films typically involve respectable middle-class families finding themselves under siege from sadistic criminals or thugs, as the plotting sees fit; these films have cat and mouse aspects to their narratives, as each side seeks to gain an upper hand. The sub-genre has been going since the 1970s, and shows no signs of slowing down just yet.This is a particularly boring addition to that genre, content to repel the viewer with endless, protracted scenes of characters shouting and swearing at each other while little happens to propel or indeed develop the narrative. A couple are attacked in their home and held hostage by a gang who are awaiting the return of the couple's son. The characters are moronic, devoid of intelligence and given over to brute violence, which makes for a gruelling viewing experience and not in a good way. There's no decent acting here, no characters to empathise with, just repellent material interspersed with a few scenes of brutal violence. It's a film almost entirely devoid of entertainment value.

Cherry Tree Lane is this year's Eden Lake, with an ending just as shocking and abrupt. The film is confronting and the most raw home invasion film I've seen in years. The film starts out pretty simplistically with a slow boil pace, with an older couple that is settling down in their home for the evening to eat dinner. In a moments time they hear their door bell ring and what any person would do they answer it. Thugs burst through and demand their son who isn't there, they then duck tape them and wait helplessly bounded. The film is such a nail biter because the viewer for most of the time doesn't know what's going to happen next and when it does it's off screen, but you hear the horror and that is even more disturbing. The film boils over into one harrowing conclusion; it makes you think how far would you go to protect your family? Just like such films as Eden Lake and Funny Games the performances are subtle yet powerful. The actors that play the troubled youths are a real standouts and you get to know a little about them and their flaws, than them just being figures of fear. All of the actors are pretty much unknown, which is a plus because you don't as high of expectations regarding their acting. Everything flowed in a tense, natural, gripping matter that made the viewing experience a mostly effective one.Director and writer, Paul Andrew Williams has already established a pretty promising career so far in this genre, with films like London to Brighton, which I really want to see now, and his other works such as the pretty decent but not great The Cottage and the very solid and chilling, killer kids flick The Children, which he wrote the story for. I'm pretty excited about what he is going to come up with next because every new film seems to be very different and slightly better than the last. He knows how to create suspense, confronting drama and how to meticulously build suspense and terror. He then mixes it together with a dab of dark humor to effecting results. Keep an eye on him! Overall, the film treads on a tired formula and doesn't have as much action, chaos or scares as some other more superior home invasion movies. The ending, though it kept me on the edge of my seat clutching the arms of my chair in anticipation of what's to come, left the viewer out cold of what the next move of the film will be. The conclusion bothered me because you don't really officially know the outcome. That being said Cherry Tree Lane is one of the most provocative British crime/thrillers I've seen in a while even though it's not that original.6.9 out of 10

Out of all the horror/thriller/realistic films that I have seen I have never ever thought that there would be a movie that would bring me to skip most scenes and still know what will be happening within the film. This movie is about the most out of control films that I have ever viewed. The use of language and verbal abuse was out of control and none of which suited the characters portrayed or maybe it was because the atmosphere was n't created. The movie dragged on and I even had to watch some scenes again to actually analyze some of the actors expressions. The camera angles were of many close-ups of the actors when they had no emotions showing at all. The plot was simple and realistic. The talk between the couple was long and boring and something should've happened within those minutes that should've brought my attention, but nothing. The gang was useless and when the girls came in with the little boy, it was a big WTF moment. How most of the film stayed within the living room bored me to death. I recommend NOT watching this film for anyone. Complete waste of my time.