The Arbors

source: The Arbors

Director Clayton Witmer delivers a heartwrenching delve into the human psyche, utilizing a spider-like monster as a symbol for the inner monstrosity of us all. Ethan Daunes is a man lost in time, working an isolating night job while reminiscing on the past when his younger brother idolized him. He feels bitterness, jealousy, and resentment towards the people in his life who have moved past him, while he seems caught in an endless cycle of monotony. These emotions are largely centered around his brother Shane, who lives a far more functional life with his wife and daughter. Ethan simultaneously craves the past and resents Shane and his loved ones for having the happy life that he cannot seem to achieve. These complex, poignant feelings are represented as a monster, whose horrifying presence is further elevated by the way the cinematography often occults it from our view. The monster brutally predates upon the people who Ethan perceives are hindering him from reclaiming his past, yet never eats them as one would expect. Although there is much debate as to whether or not the monster truly exists, two major moments strongly indicate that Ethan is actually the killer. The first instance is Ethan's lack of remorse at killing Brody, whose lonesome existence parallels Ethan's and who showed nothing but kindness toward him. The next is the reappearance of the chick that he purchased as bait for the monster at the beginning of the film. Ethan harbored none of the complex negative feelings toward the bird, thus giving him no reason to kill it, and since the monster is representative of Ethan's darkest inner thoughts, it has no need to eat the chick. This film subverts the tropes of a traditional monster film beautifully by having Ethan serve as a character we all can relate to in some level, rather than a purely evil monster. While most people wouldn't be inclined to murder their neighbors to regain a sense of normalcy, it is a profoundly human experience to fear and resent change and to cling to grandiose visions of the past. Aside from the plot, this film accomplishes a lot with its modest budget. While this film definitely isn't for everyone, I greatly enjoyed it, and I am excited to see Witmer's future projects.

Watching the movie bit by bit, you slowly manage to realise the connection between the creature and the main character. Each person that tends to put him or the creature in harm's way ends up brutally killed. Not eaten, but killed, supposedly by the creature. And it is not long before you realise there is actually no creature at all..

If it head to somewhere it's fine to be slow, the scary part just not to the point is main problem. I wonder no budget for those bloody scene? But in other perspective, the monster evolves due to the main lead dark side, I presume ? If something too hard to be accepted by audience, it won't get any applause in general. Haven't said that, still not that good objectively speaking.

I liked this film. If you don't enjoy slow films where the director prefers to show the story rather than have dialogue explain the story then don't watch it because you will absolutely not like it. The alien insect monster thing is really cool. It's not shown in very many scenes but the director does a great job of making you feel like it's always lurking around just out of view. It seems like the monster is not actually real, but instead a personification of Ethan's internal bitterness and hatred stemming from a steady decline in his relationship with his brother. I think his backstory is weak and don't feel like his childhood was traumatic enough to warrant him being as disturbed as he is. This theory that Ethan is actually the monster is backed up by the fact that all the victims are in someway connected to Ethan. Additionally, in one scene, Ethan asks one of the white hazmat suit people who are tracking the monster (it's never explained who they are) "What is it?" and the guy responds only by pointing at Ethan. The problem with this theory is there is a scene, which is pretty pivotal to the ending of the film, that just doesn't make sense if the monster is not actually real and it's only Ethan who is murdering people. I'm not sure if this is just an oversight by the writer/director but it's a pretty big plothole. The other possibility is that the monster is real and this is some sort of Lovecraftian story in which it can sense Ethan's feelings and kills the people that Ethan feels hatred or negative emotions for. This doesn't explain why the monster decides to camp out at Ethan's childhood home which is the starting point for his trauma as a child. The ending sucked honestly. The monster was really unique though and I enjoyed the film. It just feels like it could've been a much better film with some minor changes.

Thank God I don't judge a movie by Imdb ratings. This one's a solid 6 at least. I really felt sorry for the main character. Movie is really dark and bleak. Not sure if a lot of things actually happened or where in Ethan's head. But yeah, it's a bit too long.

The main character is not a likeable person and it takes too long for the story to unfold. People are being killed left and right and no one bothers to ask him why his hand is bandaged. The ending is lousy, too.

I'm all for strange independent cinema, but this one is somewhat cringe-worthy. The slowness of the actors and overall story are extremely painful to sit through. Honestly, this movie could've been wrapped up in an hour, but the slow moving parts really make it take for what feels like a decade! Also, what the hell was the Connie subplot all about? That being said, I did like the concept of the main plot. And the score was pretty decent. The acting was okay too. Give it a watch, but don't expect much.

I have no idea what anyone involved in this movie thought they we trying to accomplish. It certainly wasn't to be entertaining. The lead character was so affectless in was painful to watch, particularly since the entire focus on the movie was on him. The camera lingered on this witless oaf's face. I couldn't even make it through the entire thing. Luckily I didn't pay to see this is a theater.

The concept is ok and the story line is reasonable. But the main person the lock Smith seems to really know how to act. Maybe a different actor could of saved this movie. I stuck with it and to be honest I've seen worse.