A middle-class Korean couple longs for a child and decides to adopt. Of course they pick the creepy kid, based on his Edvard Munch-ish drawings. Six-year-old Jin-sung is the oldest of the orphans, and his steely gaze hints at plenty of baggage. His weary and stoic demeanor is reminiscent of the haunted boys from The Sixth Sense and The Ring, so you know he’s got more trouble than spilled milk. Jin-sung is slow to warm up to his new family, but immediately gravitates to a withered acacia tree in the backyard. The little tree hugger worries his parents with his odd behavior, and Grandma keeps urging the couple to send him back. Soon Mom and Dad have another, biological son, whom their adopted Damien lashes out against in dangerous ways. After being scolded, Jin-sung runs away. Or does he? At the same time, the dead tree begins blooming, and people start meeting some unusual arbor-related deaths. Acacia has some nice David Lynch-like elements: a beautiful suburb blemished by an underlying unease, a droning and hissy score, lots of woodgrain, and characters uttering weird non-sequiturs. There is good commentary on the fallacy of the mythical Perfect Family, and the state of Korea’s adoption system. Unfortunately the pacing is kind of drawn out, and the plot a bit predictable. But any film that can make a cheerful bicycle horn and red yarn menacing is all right by me.

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