Cherry Falls
Director: Geoffrey Wright
Cast: Brittany Murphy, Jay Mohr, Michael Biehn
Shout Factory
March 29, 2016
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
Cherry Falls is a slasher from 2000 that came out and then vanished like a fart in a windstorm, and I don’t know why. No, it’s wasn’t oh-my-god amazing. It wasn’t genre-defining and didn’t change the game in any way. But it was a very fun, well above average fright flick that did do a few new things and did them well. I always liked it and yet for 16 years it’s been damn near impossible to find – at least here in the U.S. where it was made. That’s in spite of the fact that it was well received, for the most part, by horror fans and horror critics alike, and it had a more than recognizable cast with Jay Mohr, Michael Biehn, and the now late Brittany Murphy. So three cheers then to the horror lovers over at Scream Factory for finally giving this movie a release. But was it worth all the wait? Well grab a knife and some condoms (and you might need those more than the blade here), and let’s find out.
This film starts with the slasher tropes we all know: a high school full of horny teens all trying to “get some.” Then from out of nowhere a psycho with a knife starts carving up young people. The difference here is that this time, the killer is carving up people who are not having sex. Yes, this slayer is hunting virgins, carving the dreaded V-word into their flesh, and using a weird blade-switching knife to do their dirty work. So yeah, the title Cherry Falls refers to more than just the ironically name town where this all takes place.
Brittany Murphy does good work here playing the typical “good girl” who also just so happens to be the daughter of the sheriff. Usually she’d be the safest person in a slasher flick, but here she’s the prime target. Yes, that girl good status means she’s a virgin and therefore in the sights of this killer. There is also a mystery to uncover here, not only as to the slasher’s identity, but why they are targeting their rather unique victims. The kills are not overly gory, but there is some good stalk-and-slash tension, and the characters are well acted and fleshed out so they are more than cardboard cutouts waiting to get cut down. It might have helped that more than the typical never-to-be-seen slasher cast was in here, with a vet like the ever dependable Michael Biehn having a sizable role. In addition to the horror elements, there’s a lot of comedy and unlike most fright flicks that try to add the funny, here it works more often than not. That and the wonderfully non-PC idea of having all the high school students trying to set up an orgy to not only get their rocks off, but to actually save their lives. That’s a wonderful turn of events that is played up for all it’s worth. Finally the direction, while not mind-blowing, is more than solid and actually shows some style. Director Geoffrey Wright hasn’t done much after this movie, but I would be interested in seeing what he’s doing now.
On to the special features on this new Blu-ray from Scream Factory. There is an audio commentary with director Geoffrey Wright, a 24 minute interview with writer Ken Selden and producer Marshall Persinger. There is a nearly eight minute interview with actress Amanda Anka who played Deputy Mina in the film. There is a collection of short, vintage interviews with the late Brittany Murphy, Jay Mohr, Michael Biehn and director Wright that altogether run six and a half minutes. The ever present behind-the-scenes/on-set footage and trailer can also be found here, and the original script which you can read on your PC.
Cherry Falls is a fine modern slasher flick. It’s not meta as all hell like others that came out around this time, but the story does have some subversive elements and plays some things against type, so it isn’t the same old, same old. It’s not a classic, but it sure deserves to be out and readily available for fans of the genre, and it is a hell of a lot better than many masked maniac flicks. I like it a lot and give it a hearty recommendation. Check it out for yourself and see if it was worth the wait.
