Boys in the Trees (2016) User Reviews

A hidden gem

[Lugo1989 · 7/10 · 30 September 2017]

It's quite difficult to categorise this film, I found it quite special and original, something you don't come across every day. The idea itself is great and it really draws you in. The story develops slowly and it's not exactly straight forward, since it's a surreal journey it leaves you with linking a few things together on your own but it is not complex at all so don't get discouraged by it. Hats off to all the actors, a job very well done. The ending will not disappoint you either.

It got mixed reviews on this site so it's best just to see it and make up your own mind about it. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you are looking for something fresh, well-acted with a great soundtrack and something that leaves a lasting impression and requires a bit of thinking because, let's be honest, how many films actually do that nowadays.

Great little film

[omendata · 7/10 · 9 November 2017]

There aren't many films from Australia I haven't liked and this is definitely one of them.

Superb acting from virtually all the cast and well filmed, so well filmed I would never have guessed it was Australia.

I figured out what it was all about quite early on but the story was still fascinatingly surreal and drew you into its mystery and the characters themselves; the angst of youth and the tribulations we all had to go through when we were young and in that way it will probably appeal more to older folks,.

Its not for everyone but if you are looking for horror or lots of action and cgi then its not for you - if you want to have your brain tweaked and your senses stretched then its one for you.

Difficult to rate

[LittleLotti · 7/10 · 10 September 2018]

I went into this film knowing nothing about it, just expecting a mild horror movie with no substance. This movie is not horror at all, but that shouldn't deter you from watching it. It's unlike most films and I don't really know what you would classify this as, all I know is something about it really touched me. This movie has a lot going on at times, but it focuses a bit on being true to yourself and standing up for what is right. It's also about not losing sight of your dreams, and facing your past and the mistakes you've made, especially when they affect other people. It's a coming of age tale set in the late nineties on Halloween so it's oozing with nostalgia. This movie will definitely not be for everyone but I personally enjoyed it and the cast. Toby Wallace does an incredible job portraying his character and the broad emotions he experiences. The surreal element took me by surprise but it added a level of magic to the story that I quite enjoyed. It's hard to rate this because I don't think it's one of the greatest movies I've ever seen but I can't get it out of my mind either. It was a journey that left me in tears. You just have to watch it and decide for yourself.

Masterful...and hollow.

[tattoopig · 6/10 · 24 August 2017]

First allow me to say a few good things about this astonishing film - it is visually magnificent. The camera work is brilliant. The acting is superb. The segments of story are clever, entertaining and creepy as hell. The locations/sets are amazing. The concept is quite unique.

Unfortunately, it is probably the most boring film I have seen all year.

No matter how masterfully this film is crafted, it has no soul. There is nothing here to lure you in - I found I didn't care what happened to any of the characters, the good ones or the bad ones (that's simplifying things because there are no real good or bad here).

Watching this movie is like looking at a cake display through a window...it all looks so beautiful, but you can't smell or taste anything. Technically, this film scores a solid 8/10....as far as its entertainment value goes, I give it a 4/10.

But then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

Didn't work for me

[fairlesssam · 2/10 · 19 October 2017]

This film had all the right ingredients to be a good movie but it lacked solid substance. The cinematography, cast and characterisation was all excellent but the story wasn't strong enough, it was slow and didn't give enough information at any one time to be interesting. I think the idea was to allow the imagery, sound track and mood to carry the film but for me that just wasn't enough. For me it just became boring, I lost interest and gave up.

It's an Australian movie focusing on a kid who is not popular, he's pursued and bullied. An old friend of his is in the group who pursue and bully him and initially he doesn't do anything to help his old friend. On Halloween night they come together to review memories of the past.

A must watch!!

[victoriawilk · 7/10 · 22 September 2019]

This movie was actually really good. It took awhile to catch my attention at first but I ended up really enjoying it. I thought at first it was a horror movie but it's more in-depth than that, and you have to wait for the whole story to unfold. I thought I had the whole movie figured out but it has a surprising twist. You should definitely give it a watch!!

An ambitious Australian offering

[eddie_baggins · 4/10 · 3 September 2017]

If you were judging Boys in the Trees purely on ambition and the ability to dream big, debut Australian filmmaker Nicholas Verso would be receiving top marks.

A truly unique moulding together of 90's skateboarding culture, a fantastical imagining of an Australian landscape were Halloween is just as big as an event as it is in the USA and a confronting examination of growing up and evolving into an adult, Trees cares little that its budget is smaller than most films catering allowance and goes for broke, without sadly grabbing hold of what its striving to grasp.

As is the case with most directional debuts, clear components of Verso's film that needed fixing was a script polish and a tight edit, as this near 2 hour long film can at times drag as we become passengers to thoughtful teenager Corey's Halloween night spent with bullied youth and one time childhood friend Jonah, as the two reminisce and go on a curiously long walk around the neighbourhood before Verso's film finally clicks into another gear in the conclusive stages, but it's too little too late to save Trees from its inability to click in its drawn out middle section.

It's a real shame for the film and even as someone reviewing the work Verso has delivered as there is so much "could have" been in this film and Verso's hand behind the camera and work with his young cast showcases a real potential to become one of the nation's real filmmaking rising stars.

At its best (which is often in brief, fleeting circumstances) Tree's evokes works like Donnie Darko, Brick and even Netflix's breakout hit Stranger Things, all the while dealing with some extremely heavy topics that other films may tend to shy away from and the performances from young lead Toby Wallace and supports from Gulliver McGrath and Mitzi Ruhlmann are noteworthy in their above average handling of roles that would often be poorly played by local performers.

Final Say –

Saying to much about Boys in the Trees plot line, that unravels at an unfortunately misguided pace, would ruin a tale that will surely find an audience not only locally but abroad and despite Verso failing to maximise his original and ambitious idea, this coming of age experience suggests a bright future for all, even if this effort is a disappointment.

2 dead birds out of 5

A wonderful surprise!

[berencamlost · 9/10 · 18 August 2017]

Like some have written before me, I was ready for something in the vein of Lost Boys... Instead I was served an amazing coming-of-age story, a surreal depiction of how cruel kids can be - and what good they are capable of. Part memories, part imagination, add real life, myths, and a sprinkle of the paranormal - this is the recipe for a very good film.

A layered film that should have obligatory screenings at high-schools world wide. (I hope kids today get it)

Brilliant

[jmbwithcats · 7/10 · 2 October 2017]

I highly recommend the Netflix movie Boys in the Trees... it reminds me of being little, of adventure, of not being afraid... a beautiful, refreshing movie about Halloween and growing up. Check it out.

Such a heartfelt, perfect movie, I haven't seen such a innocent and meaningful horror film since Lady in White.

"A really boring thriller with a really bad plot"

[vishnu-dileep08 · 1/10 · 30 September 2017]

The movie happens at the year 1997 on Halloween where two teens remember their past in an eerie way.

The plot of this movie was completely senseless leading nowhere. When we feel something is going to happen nothing happens leaving us stranded midway thinking what just happened. Don't misunderstand this movie genre as horror as there is no horror they tried to make it thrilling but no its not. A big shout out to the boy who played Jonah he did a wonderful job but the rest a big no. there was a lot of promises throughout this movie but it all remained as promises and could not be made into something watchable.

NO I would not recommend this movie to anyone.

My Rating 0/10

The Aussie Halloween!

[Reno-Rangan · 6/10 · 24 January 2018]

Yes, Australians too make bad films. No, this is not a bad one. An average. Though I liked the concept. Especially how it had ended. So if the prior parts were excelled, it would have been one of the year's best. It was a one night tale. The story of a Halloween night, that followed two friends fooling around. Actually, they were best friends growing up, but the time pulled them apart. This is a special night to them, so they once again come together and recall their old experiences. As the narration takes the lots of turns, finally ends with a big emotional surprise.

I felt it had potential. I enjoyed it, but a little boring. They had the end part well planned, but initiation was not that par. Good characters, because of the nice performances. Since the whole film was shot in the dark time, for this kind of theme that looked so good. Seems predictable, maybe not the twist. They should have added more flavour to it before that fine twist. Although thematically slightly an awareness film. Told from the Aussie Halloween style. The film was a little too long, overall watchable one. Teenagers film, but for all ages.

7/10

An enjoyable but predictable watch

[xmnytyme · 7/10 · 4 July 2022]

It is definitely NOT The Lost Boys meets Donnie Darko, despite the creator's specious boast. It is basically Bridge to Terabithia (2007) adapted as a long form Goosebumps episode.

Not important to the review but just hitting the character quota... The main character looks like he is the son of Val Kilmer.

A touching story about abandoning your childhood

[aronharde · 6/10 · 14 January 2024]

Boys in the Trees starts off with a couple of rebellious teenagers doing some shenanigans on Halloween night. At some point our protagonist Corey, played by Toby Wallace walks off on his own and walks into his childhood friend Jonah, played by Gulliver McGrath. Together they walk through the night while telling each other scary stories and remembering their childhood. During this surreal journey Corey realizes how much he has changed throughout the years. While him and his skate our friends have become rebellious teenagers that bully others, Jonah is still the young boy that just wants to have some fun. The acting by both leads is solid and you have some pretty great looking visuals and a good production value. The movie is not really about genuine scares or massive amounts of gore but rather thought provoking and sophisticated and has a heavy focus on character growth.

The only complaints I have is that the pacing is rather slow sometimes and the overall runtime of 113 minutes is way too long. The movie could have provided just as much with a runtime of 90 minutes and would have felt less dull at times.

And while it's not quite my type of movie I still enjoyed most of the time and especially the ending was really memorable. [5,8/10]

Aimless, awful, pointless

[moviefanatix · 1/10 · 10 November 2017]

I just want to take a second to tell the reviewer who compared this to stand by me to rewatch stand by me. His review is why i watched this atrocity. OK now thats over with, this movie was aimless. Going out of its way to confuse and annoy you, trying to be different and fails miserably. Did they want this to be a horror? Or fantasy drama? Either way it will NOT have you on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend skipping this movie and NOT comparing it to a steven king masterpiece. Not the worst movie but up there with terrible. Atmospheric yes, director was above average.. acting superb..movie awful. Want a mind trip? Watch butterfly effect

Boys in the Trees: Unexpectedly good

[Platypuschow · 8/10 · 15 February 2019]

A random pick and a mix movie I had no knowledge of the film going in I happily went in with no expectations and walked away remarkably pleased.

Boys in the Trees is an Australian feature movie that is quite frankly genre breaking. Horror? Drama? Thriller? It's so hard to pin it down to one, though I will say the cover art will have you making incorrect assumptions.

It's a coming of age movie about a young man who is part of the "Cool kids". One day on the skate park he witnesses his best friend bullying another boy not knowing that single event would change everything.

For a fair chunk of the movie I'll be honest I thought I wasn't going to like it. I didn't like many of the characters, I couldn't get behind the protagonist and deemed the plot a bit of a jumbled mess.

Now by the end they'd turned much of that around, though the plot is still very jumbled. Thankfully it does make up for that for the most part and when the credits rolled I was hit with a wave of emotions and very thankful that I had come across this film.

It only ended moments ago but I'm left feeling it's going to stay with me for a while. It's thought provoking, powerful and not even remotely shallow alike most films these days.

With an awesome soundtrack, competent performances and some great writing I can confidently recommend Boys in the Trees to anyone seeking something that little bit different.

The Good:

Awesome soundtrack

Very good visuals

Some great writing

Powerful stuff

The Bad:

Some character flaws

Certainly won't appeal to everyone

Before you watch it, read this:

[pcmbog · 5/10 · 16 June 2021]

I'm not here to say if the film is good or if its bad, I am merely here to warn you that it is ABSOLUTELY N O T A HORROR FILM Like, it doesn't even try to be... I really don't understand why its listed as one, but keep it in mind and dont go in specting to be a horror movie.

Also, in the "Reference" section here it says, and I quote: "Boys" title reference; Actor Toby Wallace who stars in the film has said of this movie that it is: "The Lost Boys meets Donnie Darko".

Aaaaammmm... ... ... nooope... it reeeally isn't, like... at all o__o.

It's an ok movie

[jgkelley-48797 · 7/10 · 18 July 2021]

I think what annoys people almost as much as anything when it comes to movies is Mis-categorization. Like don't put a movie like this in horror. You don't put the movie "Ghost" with Demi & the late great Swayze-MAN in the horror category. I guess something like this can be hard to categorize as it doesn't fit a specific genre on the nose. But when you say horror, I think fans get a false sense of gore, or fright, or whatever else they come to expect from said horror movies.

As far as movie, the ones who compare it to a "stand by me" aren't far off. But this movie is NOT on that movies level. At least to majority of people. It can still be enjoyable to a large number of people. They just better off understanding what they in for to a point instead of expecting what one usually tends to when they turn out the lights & watch a horror flick.

I turned it off after 20 minutes...

[chelseatayla · 3/10 · 10 April 2020]

The soundtrack and cinematography pulled me in, but I found the acting horrendous, or maybe it was the script? Felt like they were trying to be witty, edgy and poetic but it came across very cringeworthy. Maybe it got better but the only horror elements I witnessed was teen angst.

A perfect film in hiding

[Maximiliansmith_ · 7/10 · 6 April 2021]

Over the past 2 days I've watched and re-watched this film. It was only on the second viewing I found a new found love for what this film accomplishes. With incredible leading performances, and stunning visuals, this film will be in my mind forever. It's only fault is it's advertising. This film is not a horror film. It's a beautiful coming of age story, focusing on regret, and the struggle of reconciling with your mistakes from the past. It makes you wish you were a kid again. As someone about to turn 19, it makes me wonder why I was so keen to grow up so fast, only now for me wishing I just gave myself more time to live. Truely an underrated film.

Boring as hell

[lizduran-07188 · 1/10 · 7 July 2021]

I watched this last night hopping to see a horror movie, but instead I saw this never ending story of pointless dialogs and teenagers bulling the odd kid. Couldn't watch the whole thing. Had to fast-forwarded 20 minutes and since nothing had changed I stopped watching. Not sure what people mean with this "coming of age" concept, but it was boring as hell in my view.

Saying farewell to childhood

[thekarmicnomad · 8/10 · 3 October 2017]

It is Halloween and a bunch of mean boys are going out to have some fun. One of them is starting to out-grow the group, especially when they pick on another boy he knows from when they were kids. The bullied kid black mails his old friend to spend the evening with him.

This is a coming of age film with a heavy under lying sense of menace, the horror element is very slight indeed.

The film has a slight surreal feel about it, all the adults leave the kids to run amok across town and everyone bumps into each other in the most unlikely of places.

There is a certain inevitability about this film that could be seen as predictability but I quite liked it.

The dynamics of the gang are portrayed with great zeal and shows how strong personalities can cloud the better judgement of others.

Well filmed, produced and acted. Some of the kids look a little bit old but their acting skills make up for it.

You will see the ending coming a mile off and there isn't much meat to the story but this was a very enjoyable Netflix watch.

Drama movie. No horror

[muscillopanella1622 · 5/10 · 24 April 2021]

It's a drama and suspense with a dense of mistery, but if you want to see a terror tape this one is not for you. But still good drama. For me, it's not necesary the duration almost 2 hours.

Unclassifiable, but very enjoyable.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 29 March 2019]

I was made to believe this was a horror, and despite having horror elements, it can't be classes as such, indeed I don't think you'd be able to classify this under any particular category, and that I think is where the strength is.

It's moving, engaging, sad, and utterly surprising, it takes you on a totally unexpected journey, taking you to places you won't be expecting.

The scene I enjoyed most of all, was the one in the library, where Corey sees life through Jonah's eyes, being the bulleyed, instead of the bully.

The acting is excellent, they all impressed, but most of all, it was the writing that I enjoyed most, such genuine originality.

Very satisfying. 8/10

Forgettable! I hope I don't accidentally watch it again.

[gahagansue · 2/10 · 10 October 2017]

This is one of those moves that seems like it will be good. Because the cinematography, staging, etc is very good I THOUGHT this movie would eventually real me in. And because I, in general, have a thing about seeing a movie or book thru, I stayed with this movie to the end. But it did neither. The plot was pointless; it was as if the writer(s) had a basket full of potentially good ideas and just randomly sewed some of them together for a movie. A good movie just never panned out.

In the end, "Boys in the Trees" is very forgettable. So forgettable, in fact, that I could envision myself forgetting I've already seen it and watch it again. I need to red flag this one!

So Pointless

[gavin6942 · 4/10 · 8 October 2017]

On Halloween 1997, two estranged teen skaters embark on a surreal journey through their memories, dreams and fears. At least, that is supposed to be the plot. Really, kids just sit around and do nothing for two hours.

I have only one question: did they spend the entire budget spent on music? Although the budget seems modest, they have just about very major alternative rock hit of the late 1990s in here. How the heck did they pull that one off? Although this film serves no purpose, is rather boring and just does not work as a thriller or horror film, it does have one small consolation: it is a very early role for Gulliver McGrath, who went on to appear in "Lincoln" and "Dark Shadows", and may yet become a bigger name.