Director: Geoffrey Wright
Writer: Ken Selden (Screenplay)
Starring: Brittany Murphy, Jay Mohr, Michael Biehn, Jesse Bradford, Candy Clark, Amanda Anka, Joe Inscoe, Gabriel Mann, Natalie Ramsey
Plot: In the small town of Cherry Falls a psychotic murderer is killing off the virgins of the local high school.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Slashers Guide to Film Making
Story: Cherry Falls starts by showing a couple of teenagers down at the proverbial loves lane but an uninvited guest turns up kills them. Move us to another couple of teenagers Jody Marken (Murphy) and Kenny (Mann) also fooling around in a car but about to break after it. Jody’s dad just happens to be the Sheriff (Biehn) meaning that Jody has to deal with stricter rules. Sheriff Marken gets a call at the curfew of his daughter and leaves to see what it is about but only makes it there when it is sunlight, just pointing out that surely he would have got there quicker.
The school is shaken by the murders and the kids are dealing with the loss in their own way. When the killer strikes again the FBI turn up and it becomes apparent the killer is after Virgins branding them after killing them. When the killer comes for his next victims, the killer crosses paths with Jody who manages to escape alive. The students come up with their own way to stay alive by arrange a party where all the kids can have sex but something from the Sheriff’s past could be key to what is happening.
Jody decides to do research on a girl from 27 years ago the same name that she heard her father mention. The truth brings out the story that the girl claims she was raped and the boys responsible got away with it, the town simply swept it under the rug before the girl disappeared. Who is the killer is the question left for us to work out and who will make it out alive?
Cherry Falls enters the slasher genre and much like the rest of the films from the 90s we get a much more human killer, we also enter heavily into the past for revenge like killing spree. These two factors make this a very standard horror slasher with generic cliché with main character being related to the sheriff. We have typical teenagers, well what people think of teenagers just being all horny which isn’t always the way. It would be fair to say the body count isn’t too high for the opportunity the idea offers up and the ones killed don’t seem to make sense to the final outcome. This comes off looking like a nice simple slasher but ends up confusing itself by the end. (5/10)
Actor Review
Brittany Murphy: Jody Marken is our typical high school student who is in a relationship but not ready to have sex yet. When the killer turns up she tries to buck the trend and find out who the killer is. Brittany does a good job in the leading role making for a good damsel in distress. (7/10)
Jay Mohr: Leonard Marliston over friendly teacher who tries to help the students through the problems they are facing with the killer on the loose. Jay does a solid job in this role as most of us as used to him on comedic roles. (6/10)
Michael Biehn: Sheriff Brent Marken father of Jody but it is his past that has been the catalyst for everything that is going on. Michael plays the standard sheriff but nothing more. (5/10)
Gabriel Mann: Kenny Ascott Jody’s boyfriend who is tired of waiting and plays the jealous game with her before being the protector against the killer. Gabriel does a solid job as the typical teenager. (6/10)
Support Cast: Cherry Falls has a large supporting cast as we do meet a lot of students all very generic though, this does give us something else because we are left wondering which ones are going to make it or not.
Director Review: Geoffrey Wright – Geoffrey does a solid job making a slasher horror when the genre was really on its last steps, it does what you need it to do. (6/10)
Horror: Cherry Falls, falls nicely into the slasher sub-genre of horror following the basic rules nicely. (7/10)
Mystery: Cherry Falls adds an air of mystery to the story as we have to figure out who the killer is. (7/10)
Thriller: Cherry Falls keeps us guessing by introducing plenty of teenagers leaving us with the problem of guessing who will be next. (7/10)
Settings: Cherry Falls uses the standard town for its settings not making any of them iconic for the film. (5/10)
Suggestion: Cherry Falls is one for the horror fans to try as it will be one that the slasher fans will enjoy. (Horror Fans Try)
Best Part: Shark attack.
Worst Part: Not very original.
Improve Ideas: I think to make this film better we should have seen the killer only go after the people responsible children not random.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Similar Too: Scream, I know what you did last summer.
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $14 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
Tagline: At Virgin High… it’s put out or die.
Overall: With the slasher genre really past its peak this tries to feed of the remaining seeds the sub-genre, but it does achieve that by becoming very solid to the genre.
Rating 
