Children of the Pines (2023) Review

Children of the Pines is a cerebral dramatic horror that was recently screened at the Gasparilla International Film Festival in Tampa, Florida. It also won the “Focus on Florida” audience choice award, making Children of the Pines an impressive debut feature for writer and director Joshua Morgan.

The film follows a family’s last-ditch efforts to mend their relationship after years of trauma. Reily (Kelly Tappan) is visiting home after distancing herself from her parents and in her absence they have taken their own, non-traditional, path to redemption. This slow burn is a well-balanced mix of psychological and supernatural horror that induces feelings of anxiety while not being too frightening. It’s great for a casual, creepy evening.

The film opens with Reily’s mother, Kathy (Danielle J. Bowman), approaching a cult-like group dedicated to healing broken relationships. The practice is led by Leon (David Raizor) and Lorelei (Donna Rae Allen), two uncanny and somewhat intimidating characters who are hiding a malicious secret as they approach their own spiritual breakthrough. After this retreat, Kathy and her husband John (Richard Cohn-Le), begin the journey of healing themselves in hopes of bringing their daughter back.

The context of a child growing up and trying to break negative cycles while still trying to maintain a relationship with the people perpetuating those same cycles is a complicated one to tackle. Tappan, Bowman, and Cohn-Le portray the tension and pain of this dynamic in a startlingly authentic way. Watching them interact makes your shoulders tighten to the point where the state of their family is more horrifying than their impending devastation. Morgan’s gradual and layered approach to storytelling ensures that this heavy topic comes in small pieces that click together to form the odd puzzle of this family’s fate.

Reily’s arrival to her home town is met with a very real nightmare, running into an ex-partner. Gordon (Vas Provatakis) and Reily’s brief reconnection is awkward at first and becomes more stressful as it is revealed that Gordon has become closer to her parents. This scene kickstarts the fight or flight response that only ramps up until the end of the film.

When Reily finally makes it home, the strange twist to this film begins to rear its head. As her parents misguided work is explained, Reily begins to shatter and rebuild into a stronger, impassioned women. Although some of the symbolism here was very on the nose, like literally healing your “inner child,” it was interesting to see the methodology of the mysterious cult finally revealed.

The cult’s subplot that is scattered through the film was fiery and contributed some highly theatrical moments but remained a little too unexplained. Their mystery seemed to lead nowhere by the end of the main plot. More context was needed here to get the full impact of the groups’ actions throughout the film. The final chapter of Reily’s family lands on a stronger note that feels like a fever-dream and ends on ambiguous terms that symbolize the aftermath of relationships that have been completely shattered.

Children of the Pines is reminiscent of early Stephen King television adaptations, the nostalgic ones often viewed while home sick from school. It relies on narration to lay major themes down throughout and has a soft, dreamy aesthetic that creates a great contrast to the high strangeness the characters are subject to. It’s also relatable to anyone who has faced familial conflict or generational trauma. Morgan approaches complex themes and emotions head-on and that confidence translates to every actor on screen. This is a poetic horror film with an innovative twist that inspires curiosity and dread.
With this under his belt already, it will be exciting to watch Florida-based writer/director Joshua Morgan evolve with upcoming projects.

Movie Rating:

Children of the Pines scene