Not all families have healthy dynamics, and not all parents will be supportive of their children’s decisions. Preconceived notions and prejudice can bleed into how a person raises their offspring, regardless of the overall outcome. Burning of a Family Tree, a horror short film written and directed by Alison Mattingly, explores deep-rooted issues of bigotry, abuse, and trauma – all within a twelve minute timeframe.
Eden (Jack Haven) comes back to their familial home after the death of their father (Robert Lewis Stephenson), and is immediately confronted with past wounds. When we first meet Eden, they reunite with their brother, Paul (Jonathan von Mering), and within just a few seconds, we’re hit with plentiful and informative exposition.
It’s clear that Eden and Paul haven’t seen one another in a while. The terse nature between the two of them is strongly felt, while keeping the undertone of individuals who share memories together. All of this comes to a halt once the audience sees what’s before them – the masked, horrifying sight of their recently deceased father. His corpse is sitting upright in a chair, with a discrete, but grisly covering over his face. Their mother (Conn Barrett) isn’t doing much better, as she stumbles into view, clearly under the constraints of confusion, psychiatric conditions, and memory loss.
From there, we are taken on a brief look back on what life was like growing up for Eden. There are glimpses of Eden’s father brushing off, and denouncing, their declarations of their true self – with the father citing religious reasons. This eventually turns into an abusive, strained relationship between parent and child.
Once we circle back to the present day, and to the terrifying display of a family desperately attempting to keep the memory of (an admittedly horrible) person alive, that’s when the true horror story begins.
For such a short film, Burning of a Family Tree packs a punch in its storytelling. The viewer is given enough backstory to relate to all of the characters, then catapulted into the actual scary sequences, which are impressively executed. Though it succeeds in the small timeframe, it could serve to have a few additional minutes added on to accelerate the scarier scenes.
Haven does an excellent job of knowing how to pull back, and then ramp up their terror when the scene calls for it, throwing themselves into the sheer fright they are experiencing. At the same time, they know when to not go overboard and deliver subtle, heartbreaking portrayals of someone who just wants to be accepted for who they are. It’s clear that Haven will be able to continue on a path of success in delivering diverse and emotive roles.
From a production, cinematography, and writing standpoint, this short manages to give more depth than films that are much longer. This is a quick, creepy watch for anyone that enjoys a good, old fashioned scary story, with a sprinkling of modern touches.
