Cherry Falls (2000)

Director: Geoffrey Wright

Starring: Brittany Murphy, Jay Mohr, Michael Biehn

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

The film starts with two teenagers being brutally murdered, and from thereon it becomes a murder mystery in the vein of ‘Scream’ and ‘Urban Legend’.

It was very interesting to see how the story developed. The acting was good and the film dished up some nice nail-biting sequences, with exciting twists. Brittany Murphy stars as the film’s heroin, Jody, and Michael Biehn portrays her Dad, Sheriff Brent Marken, who investigates the murders.

The attack scenes are fast and brutal, yet the film’s clever editing never makes it too gory. The sound effects were very good. Although a horror, there are some funny moments and really funny dialogue, too, offering lighthearted moments to an otherwise serious horror film.

Also on the funny side, is the fact that the teens from the school where the murders take place, host a ‘Pop Your Cherry’ ball, which essentially is a “let’s have sex, virgins” event. Yup, exactly that. When it is discovered the killer only targets virgins, they decide to take away virginity and thereby removing them from the chopping list! “Like a flu shot!”, as a character exclaims. Ha-ha, now that’s funny!

The killer is revealed fairly early during the final act, and then followed by tense scenes keeping the viewer glued to the screen. If you haven’t seen ‘Cherry Falls’ yet, it is worth checking out. However, I must admit the similar themed ‘Scream’ is by far better.

Made on a $14 million budget, ‘Cherry Falls’ never received a theater release in the United States due to several issues. Instead, it became a TV movie – and to this day remains the most expensive TV movie ever made. Interesting…

Would I watch it again? Maybe.