THE ARBORIST is a supernatural horror movie that starts really well but loses a lot of momentum in its second half. Maybe even too much?! I’m surprisingly torn about how to view this movie as a whole. So much is done right that I feel I have to honor that, while also pointing out the flaws. Read our full The Arborist movie review here!
THE ARBORIST is a horror movie dealing with the very familiar subject of grief. Yes, we are once again getting a horror movie about loss and trauma, and it is also personified via a supernatural element. However, there is more to this story. The question is whether there is almost too much, as I found myself getting a little lost.
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The runtime is 100 minutes, which is too long for the core story. And here, the word “core” is key, because we end up getting two stories that are connected but maybe shouldn’t have been in the same movie. For me, it meant the pace was off, and we were somehow forced to focus on a secondary story.
Continue reading our The Arborist movie review below, and follow me on my journey to figuring out how I will ultimately rate this supernatural horror-thriller. Find it on Digital from February 6, 2026.
A story born of tragedy
As we’ve witnessed in many horror movies (or horror-thrillers) about grief, the story in The Arborist begins with a heartbreaking tragedy. We first meet the arborist, Ellie (Lucy Walters), and her son, Wyatt (Hudson West), as tragedy strikes their family. A devastating loss of a family member leaves them heartbroken, so they are grief-stricken when the story continues one year later.
At this time, they are still picking up the pieces of their life and are welcoming an escape from home. A huge and mysterious estate has hired Ellie to start felling trees in the vast park-like garden. The job will take some time, so Ellie and her son move into a guest house on the grounds.
The trees are strong and healthy, so Ellie really doesn’t want to just cut them down, but that’s the job. If only this were the worst part of the assignment, she would be fine. And so would her son, Wyatt.
One story too many
However, it appears there’s something the owner of the estate, Arthur Randolph (Will Lyman), hasn’t told them. So, when the work on cutting down trees begins, a strange haunting appears to take hold of the entire area. This supernatural power takes a special liking to Wyatt, who starts changing his behavior in ways his mother doesn’t recognize.
As the supernatural events intensify, Ellie is feeling the pressure and wants to leave, but this isn’t as easy as you’d think. Especially as Arthur Randolph reveals the tragedy connected to the strange haunting and how it connects to his hiring Ellie and getting them both to live on the estate.
To me, the opening tragedy and the tragedy connected to the estate both work. They are interesting and kept me guessing. However, it feels like we’re almost getting a third story to connect the first two stories, and that results in one story too many.
If it wasn’t for the three main actors – Lucy Walters (Here Alone), Hudson West (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels), and Will Lyman (Mother/Android) – working so incredibly well in their respective roles, it would have failed completely. As it stands, it manages to keep afloat, but it was dangerously close to drowning itself along the way.
Watch The Arborist on Digital
Andrew Mudge is the writer and director of The Arborist, and I applaud this movie for everything it does right. That’s why I was so sad (or annoyed, even) that it didn’t evolve into the great horror story I felt it was going to be.
So, do you honor a filmmaker for creating an intriguing supernatural horror story in a niche that is slowly turning into a horror trope? Or do you punish them for the errors made?! Well, when The Arborist began, I found myself thinking this would get a 3 out of 5 stars. And yet, it could become a 4. Then, in the final half, it slowed down and changed its nature in a way that made me go towards 2 out of 5 stars.
As a result, this movie is effectively at a 2½ out of 5. As we don’t do half ratings here at Heaven of Horror, I must make a choice.
With The Arborist, I can’t fault it for dealing with grief and trauma, even if it is an almost overused premise currently. I mean, we all encounter grief, and that is the real horror in life for many of us. You wouldn’t fault a romantic comedy for being funny or romantic.
WANT MORE GRIEF HORROR?
If you want a powerful grief-fueled horror movie, then check out this one >
I can, however, applaud that The Arborist avoids further tropes such as crazy amounts of weird special effects. Something other grief or trauma horror movies tend to lean into. The use of practical effects will almost always win for me – even though I am not against CGI.
In the end, The Arborist isn’t a rotten movie, and so I have to pull it up to 3. Otherwise, I would have to mark it as rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, and I can’t do that. Also, I do think there’s a good story in this movie. What challenges me is the fact that the secondary movie took up too much space. If you’re okay with a strong beginning, a weak middle, but an ending that ultimately delivers, then do check it out.
The Arborist is out on Digital from February 6, 2026.
📺 Watch trailer
Plot
A grief-stricken arborist and her son awaken a haunting when they begin felling trees at the estate of a mysterious recluse.
Details
Director: Andrew Mudge
Writer: Andrew Mudge
Cast: Lucy Walters, Hudson West, Will Lyman
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