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[Review] ‘Treehouse’ Is An Intense Backwoods Horror Tale
I wasn’t the biggest fan of Michael Bartlett’s last film, Paranormal Diaries: Clophill. With his latest, the British filmmaker leaves found footage behind to deliver a brooding, atmospheric thriller that works on a lot of levels. Treehouse feels like a huge leap forward for Bartlett, who has relocated to rural Missouri where the film was shot. He seems more self-assured and manages to balance the elements of backwoods horror with a coming-of-age film. The result is a nail-biting (though sometimes uneven) experience.
A series of kidnappings is plaguing the small town where brothers Killian (J. Michael Trautmann) and Crawford (Daniel Fredrick) live. The latest victims are Little Bob and Elizabeth (Dana Melanie), who we see in the opening desperately looking for her younger brother before getting snatched up herself. It’s a helluva opening scene and dims the tone down to some serious dark material. Days later, Killian and Crawford head into the woods for a night of debauchery. They stumble upon the titular treehouse, where they find Elizabeth, alive but shaken to her core. Shadows descend on the three kids and the mysterious kidnappers come a knocking.
The actual scene that takes place in the treehouse is a lengthy one packed to the brim with suspense. There’s a bit with a walkie-talkie that made my skin crawl. Once they leave the treehouse behind, the film shifts gears and begins to lag a bit. Thankfully the cast of young actors is impressive, particularly Trautmann. His has a wonderfully expressive face that you can clearly see transform throughout the film. By the end he’s not the same kid he was at the start. It’s thoroughly badass.
Bartlett manages to maintain a tight grip on the suspense for its third act. We don’t know who the kidnappers are until close to the end and my only problem with the reveal is that I’d’ve liked to see more characterization for the antagonists. Why are they doing this? It’s a minor complaint though and the baddies still made me cringe.
Treehouse utilizes its backwoods setting in a refreshing way. These folks are rednecks, but not the typical toothless shitkickers in overalls with Confederate flags on their pickups. They feel like real people with real problems. That’s another reason the film works: I believe in these characters and actually give a damn whether they survive the night or not. Imagine that!
Treehouse is in select theaters and on VOD Feb. 20.
It was almost one year ago that Warner Bros. brought the entire original A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise to 4K in one massive 7-movie collection, with the limited edition SteelBook version of the set quickly selling out and becoming highly sought after. But we’re happy to report tonight that the SteelBook set is currently back in stock over on Amazon!
While supplies last, grab the Elm Street SteelBook collection for $154.99 right now!!
Orders placed for this re-release are scheduled to begin shipping out September 15, 2026.
[Related] Freddy’s Back: New ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ Movie in the Works at Paramount
From New Line Cinema, the collection includes the original seven films – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) – along with the uncut versions of A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Dream Child.
Two BRAND NEW SPECIAL FEATURES for this set include:
- Boiler Room Confessional: The king of slashers, Robert Englund, takes us on a journey through the dream world, sharing what inspired Freddy Krueger, his rise as a cultural icon, and the legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street, plus his favorite kills, scenes, and more.
- Freddy’s Footnotes: Robert Englund and original A Nightmare on Elm Street filmmakers revisit iconic scenes, revealing the movie magic and chaos behind our favorite nightmares. Pull back the curtain and relive epic moments through the eyes of those who made them.
Here’s the full breakdown of included Special Features for each movie…
A Nightmare on Elm Street
· Ready Freddy Focus Points
· Commentary with Wes Craven, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Ronee Blakley, Robert Shaye, and Sara Risher
· Commentary with Wes Craven, Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, and Jacques Haitkin
· Alternate Endings – Scary Ending, Happy Ending, Freddy Ending
· The House that Freddy Built: The Legacy of New Line Horror
· Never Sleep Again: The Making of A Nightmare on Elm Street
· Night Terrors: The Origins of Wes Craven’s Nightmares
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
· Freddy on 8th Street
· Heroes and Villains
· The Male Witch
· Psychosexual Circus
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
· Behind the Story: Burnout
· Behind the Story: Fan Mail
· Behind the Story: The House that Freddy Built
· Behind the Story: Onward Christian Soldiers
· Behind the Story: Snakes and Ladders
· Behind the Story: That’s Showbiz
· Behind the Story: Trading 8’s
· Dokken Dream Warriors Music Video
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
· The Finnish Line
· Krueger, Freddy Krueger
· Hopeless Chest
· Let’s Makeup
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
· Behind the Story: Womb Raiders
· Behind the Story: The Sticky Floor
· Behind the Story: Take the Stairs
· Behind the Story: Hopkins Directs
· Behind the Story: A Slight Miscalculation
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
· 86’D
· Hellraiser
· Rachel’s Dream
· 3D Demise
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
· Commentary with Wes Craven
· NEW – Boiler Room Confessional
· NEW – Freddy’s Footnotes
· Becoming a Filmmaker
· Filmmaker
· An Insane Troupe
· The Problem with Sequels
· Two Worlds
· Welcome to Prime Time: It Really Happened
· Welcome to Prime Time: A Childhood Memory
· Welcome to Prime Time: Sometime in the Early 80s
· Welcome to Prime Time: So It Began
· Welcome to Prime Time: Beauty and the Beast
· Welcome to Prime Time: Making the Glove
· Welcome to Prime Time: Shapeshifter
· Welcome to Prime Time: The Shoot
· Welcome to Prime Time: The Revolving Room
· Welcome to Prime Time: All’s Well that Ends Well
· Welcome to Prime Time: Talalay’s Tally
· Welcome to Prime Time: It Couldn’t Have Happened
· Welcome to Prime Time: Alternate Ending Version
· Conclusion: Where Gothic Plots Come From
· Conclusion: Why We Like Gothic
· Conclusion: Sadomasochism
· Conclusion: Freddy vs. Pinhead
· Conclusion: Freddy’s Manic Energy
· Conclusion: Creating Lasting Characters in Horror
· Conclusion: No More Magic Tricks
· Conclusion: Monster with Personality
· Conclusion: Freddy as Sex Machine
· Conclusion: Campfire Stories
The Elm Street collection is available in this collectible SteelBook packaging (exclusive to Amazon) and as a standard 4K collection that’s also available now over on Amazon.
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