Often called Friedkin's worst movie but Deal of the Century is far worse, and I enjoyed it. It's silly, of course, a druid sacrificing babies to trees, and random rapists who appear in the forests to die, and you can tell Friedkin was going through a custody dispute with its emphasis on the father, the untrustworthy nanny, etc (though it's not as divorced dad a movie as Rampage). Still it works on a certain level.
I loved the way the movie was shot, there's effective scenes of the house at night with a late night DJ talking (playing Aussie songs from The Triffids and Not Drowning Waving), and the tree is creepy. Memorable sequence with that architect character tracking Seagrove in the forest and regretting it.
I think the movie should have been more about the mum, Carey Lowell - who is required to scream and look dumb too much (though she is allowed to fight at the end). Seagrove should've seduced the husband (played by someone caled Dwier Brown) who should've died.
Jenny Seagove has a high old time running around nude covered in much. The climax is a lot of fun with Brown chainsawing the tree and Seagrove duking it out with Carey Lowell.
Full of plot holes and places it needed to be tightened but I had a good time.
