Cherry Falls

At first sight, "Cherry Falls" is one of the many harmless teen slashers that came out in the late 90s and early 00s in what was called "the horror revival" started by "Scream" back in 1996. While the movie can't hide the trademarks of its generation and it is definitely not very original, it offers some new twists to traditional clichés of the genre and a higher quality than the rest of the slashers of its time. Also, it is fair to point out that the movie we know as "Cherry Falls" is not what its director, Geoffrey Wright, conceived originally. It suffered several cuts to attain an R-Rating losing most of its planned edginess.

The story is set in the small town of Cherry Falls, where suddenly, a mysterious figure begins to kill the virgins in town. Sheriff Brent Marken (Michael Biehn) is specially concerned about the case not only because he knows that his beloved daughter Jody (Brittany Murphy) is virgin, but also because the case brings back memories of a dark event in Cherry Falls past. Meanwhile, the local teenagers organize a huge party to have sex and stop being potential victims.

Written by Ken Selden, the story mixes dark comedy with the horror genre pretty much in the vein of Scream, using a clever twist to the genre cliché of the virginal survivors. The mystery of the killer's identity is very well handled and the story unfolds as Jody's investigation takes her to discover the town's past. Surprisingly, the movie never gets boring or tedious, and it serve sits purpose as a thrilling mystery/horror film.

However, the film promises too much and there is never a proper payoff. Director Wright conceived his film as a comedy/horror about sex and violence in the genre, but the severe cuts the movie received took away all the sex and violence the director intended to portray, leaving an incomplete product that is really unsatisfying. This severely hurts the film, particularly at the finale, which is sad because it is really a very well crafted set-piece of nudity and violence that is badly edited to please the prudish MPAA.

Geoffrey Wright follows a subtle style for the most part of the film, and according to the script, it was done that way because the killings were supposed to be gory. Again, with the edition of this it left the film incomplete with scenes that build up very good suspense without a payoff. The suspense is broken with badly edited cuts that lead to the belief that a lot was missing.

The main cast is very good, particularly Jay Mohr as a concerned teacher who is truly worried about his students. Brittany Murphy is very good in the lead role is quite believable as a common teen girl (something not all slashers can say). The rest of the cast do a very good job but nothing really outstanding outside the leads.

"Cherry Falls" is a sad testimony of what further edition to a completed job can do. It certainly turned a promising great movie into an slightly above average horror film. Hopefully, a Director's Cut will be available someday but by now, "Cherry Falls" remains as a movie that could had been a lot better if it had remained true to its director's vision. 6/10

In the small town of Cherry Falls a masked murderer is killing off the virgins of the local high school.

The cast was decent if not quite A-list: Jay Mohr as a teacher, a post-Clueless Brittany Murphy as the female lead (and sheriff's daughter), and genre favorite Michael Biehn.

AllMovie gave it a favorable review, writing, "Of all the teen slasher flicks that premiered after the wildly successful Scream series (Urban Legend, etc.), Cherry Falls will possibly go down as one of the most creative, but sadly unseen ones in the bunch."

Although reviews were generally mixed or negative, Entertainment Weekly gave a shockingly positive one (grading the film as A-). They have labeled the picture "the wittiest, most subversive teen thriller since 'Heathers'." While I am not a fan of "Heathers", this is still high praise.

I probably would have expected more from "Romper Stomper" director Geoffrey Wright, but I guess it is a different territory. The concept was good, and they more or less succeeded in carrying a one-joke film all the way through...

This movie is great, and quite underrated. I am a huge horror fan and also a fan of the recent "teen slasher movies" and Cherry Falls deserves to be up there with the Screams of this world. The whole "killing virgins" thing is totally original in this genre, as the great Randy Meeks said "sex equals death" so Cherry Falls goes totally against the rules. All in all I would give this a 9 rating because the acting is fresh and the script is sharp. Long live the Teen Slasher Flick!!!!!

The success of the `Scream' series spawned many clones, this being a reasonable attempt. The makers of such scream clones were obviously faced with a dilemma, how not to stray too far from a winning formula – yet be original at the same time – therefore in this one they give the story a little twist. Here, the preposterous twist is that the killer only kills virgins! – sending the youths in the local village sex mad - in order to save their life, obviously!!.

As bad as it sounds, its not all bad, especially when the absolutely delicious Brittany Murphy is the lead role as the daughter of the local sheriff (Michael Biehn) who is investigating these grisly murders – and guess what, she's a virgin!!. The final twist is pretty good, although if you really think about, the killers motive for hating all virgins isn't really that convincing, Fun though if you take it for what it is, enjoyable rubbish!!

I have been waiting for quite a while for this movie to be released in Canada, and after skipping a theatrical release, it finally lands on video today. Since I work for a video chain, I was able to get my hands on it early and I am so glad. I watched it twice. Having read other people's reviews, I can see their point-of-view. Due to reviews I had read, I too knew who the killer was before I even popped the tape into my VCR, but if I had not known anything about the movie, I probably wouldn't have figured it out that quick.

Of all the reviews here, not one person mentions Gabriel Mann. Who is he? He plays Kenny Ascott (the boyfriend) in Cherry Falls, and within the year he will probably be a household name. Having previously appeared in films such as I Shot Andy Warhol, High Art, Great Expectations and Outside Providence, he will be featured in Summer Catch, Josie and the Pussycats and Buffalo Soldiers in this year alone. His charm and acting ability are the qualities that put this movie over the top into something I would actually buy and watch over and over again. If you haven't seen any of his movies, I urge you to check them out because he just rocks!

I am still curious to see the DVD for this movie however, because from some of the reviews I read, I thought this movie was going to be a lot more graphic (in both sex and horror) than it actually was. Running at a mere 92 minutes, I am led to believe that there is more to this movie (hmmm maybe we'll get to see more Gabriel??). In any event, I am counting the days until it is released on DVD.