When Grief Takes Root, It Doesn’t Let Go

Read Time:5 Minute, 19 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
The Arborist
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Genre: Horror, Thriller
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director(s): Andrew Mudge
Writer(s): Andrew Mudge
Cast: Lucy Walters, Hudson West, Will Lyman
Where to Watch: available on Digital Platforms on February 6, 2026

RAVING REVIEW: How long can grief sit inside a person before it starts shaping everything around them? THE ARBORIST builds its entire identity around that question, using folk horror not as a gimmick but as a framework for emotional decay. This isn’t a film interested in jump scares or cheap provocation. Instead, it settles into the dirt below you and waits, allowing unease to accumulate, as rot does, slowly and invisibly, until it becomes impossible to ignore.

Written and directed by Andrew Mudge, THE ARBORIST operates in a familiar genre space, but with a level of restraint that both helps and hinders it. The setup is simple and deliberately subdued. Ellie, an arborist struggling with personal loss, takes a job at a remote estate owned by a reclusive figure. She brings her son with her, hoping distance and routine might offer some form of reset. From the outset, the film makes it clear that this is less about what happens in the woods than about what the characters carry into it.

Lucy Walters offers a performance that feels emotionally exhausted without ever tipping into melodrama. Her portrayal of Ellie is defined by silent decisions, half-finished thoughts, and the kind of fatigue that doesn’t let itself be known. The film relies heavily on her ability to sell conflict without exposition, and for the most part, she succeeds. Walters gives Ellie a believable mix of competence and fragility, which helps ground a story that could easily drift into abstraction.

Hudson West, as Ellie’s son Wyatt, delivers a performance that walks a careful line between vulnerability and volatility. The film asks a lot of him, not in terms of dialogue, but in physical and emotional presence. His character becomes the lens through which the film explores how trauma echoes across generations, and West handles that responsibility with surprising control. Even when the narrative leans heavily into metaphor, his performance keeps things tethered to something recognizably human.

Will Lyman’s presence as the estate’s owner adds a layer of authority to the film. His role is less about menace and more about atmosphere, contributing to the sense that the land itself carries memory and intent. Lyman’s voice and demeanor lend gravity to scenes that might otherwise feel underwritten, reinforcing the film’s commitment to mood over explanation.

The natural environments are photographed with care, emphasizing stillness rather than spectacle. Trees are framed not as looming threats but as silent witnesses, their presence constant and indifferent. Night sequences, in particular, are handled with restraint, relying on shadow and suggestion rather than aggressive lighting. The film understands that what’s unseen often lingers longer than what’s shown.

Where the film begins to strain is in its relationship with familiar horror metaphors. Grief as a haunting is well-trodden ground, and while THE ARBORIST approaches it with sincerity, it doesn’t always find new ways to articulate that idea. There are moments where the symbolism feels overly deliberate, as if the film is worried the audience might miss its point.

The film is confident enough to sit in silence and repetition, which will appeal to viewers who favor atmosphere-driven horror. Others may find themselves waiting for an escalation that arrives more subtly than expected. THE ARBORIST isn’t uninterested in payoff, but it prioritizes emotional resolution over narrative fireworks. There are no jarring shifts into shock-for-shock’s-sake territory, and no attempts to reinvent itself. From beginning to end, it knows exactly what kind of story it’s telling, even when that story feels all too familiar. The final act leans into gothic vibes without abandoning the grounded emotion, aiming for melancholy rather than catharsis.

It’s also worth noting how deliberately the film avoids overexplaining its mythology. Answers are present, but they’re not handed over with ease. This ambiguity will frustrate some viewers, but it aligns with the film’s themes. Grief rarely comes with clear explanations, and THE ARBORIST mirrors that reality by leaving certain questions unresolved.

In the congested landscape of horror, THE ARBORIST doesn’t radically redefine anything, but it offers a thoughtful, competently crafted entry that values emotion over novelty. It’s a film that asks its audience to sit with discomfort rather than rush toward resolution, and while that approach isn’t always rewarding, it is consistent.

THE ARBORIST works best when viewed not as a reinvention of folk horror, but as a careful, somber meditation on loss and legacy. Its strongest moments come from performance and atmosphere rather than plot, and while it may not linger in the memory as vividly as some of the films it's influenced by, it leaves behind a quiet unease that feels earned. This is horror that doesn’t shout for attention. It waits, patient and still, trusting that what grows slowly can cut just as deep.

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[photo courtesy of DARK SKY FILMS]

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