In amongst this, and after a Halloween trick is taken a little too far, two friends Corey and Jonah (Toby Wallace and Gulliver McGrath) reconnect across a nervously reconstructed childhood. Their journey back to a simpler, fantasy-inflected relationship gives Verso a wide and visually-rich scope to investigate adolescent masculinity - of running with the pack and running from it.
Verso's lens is very specifically placed though. The impact of American horror cinema of that same period and the rampant Americanisation of Australian culture, which kicked off in earnest around that time, is more than evident. The film's focus on Halloween is the most contentious expression of this, and it is still one of the most ardent criticisms of the film (as if that same parochial culture debate hasn't hinged on this encroachment for decades).
There is, perhaps, a lack of consistency that prompts many to pick fault. Verso's mix of pop culture, horror tropes and more indigenous elements is often uneasy, leading to a sometimes opportunistic appropriation of imagery - everything from Mexican Day of the Dead events, to a Boo Radley knockoff and an Aboriginal kadaitcha man inexplicably dressed in riverboat garb. It makes for a heady Halloween, though, and Verso's eye for an arresting image (more often than not paired to a rock solid music track) means Boys in the Trees remains engaging.
The film suffers similar issues from a narrative perspective. Corey and Jonah's journey towards self-knowledge is overstuffed with personal development tropes spanning toxic masculinity, coping mechanisms and general loss of childhood magic. Verso makes multiple micro-points and quickly moves on, which lends an unfocussed air to the film. The film's impressive close doesn't necessarily give purpose to everything that has gone before, so much is left to be read as thematic padding. Still, even if the journey is a meandering one, the destination is impressively resonant.
★★★
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