# Cherry Falls (2000)

### reviewed by
Dustin Putman

    Cherry Falls
    2000 - 92 minutes - Rated R
    DVD Released March 20, 2001
    Review by Dustin Putman

"Cherry Falls," directed by Geoffrey Wright (1992's "Romper Stomper"), was filmed in 1999 in Richmond, Virginia, with a healthy budget, support from USA Films, and a top-notch cast that included Brittany Murphy (1995's "Clueless"), Jay Mohr (1999's "Go"), Jesse Bradford (2000's "Bring It On"), Michael Biehn (2000's "The Art of War"), and even a then-unknown D.J. Qualls (the skinny, nerdy boy in 2000's "Road Trip"). Originally scheduled for theatrical release in the summer of 2000, followed by a date change to September, the MPAA got in the way, threatening the picture with an NC-17. Recut five times before receiving an R rating, the movie ultimately premiered in the U.S. on the USA television network, even while it was doing healthy theatrical business overseas. The unfair, unjust censorship of America may have destroyed the chances of "Cherry Falls" being financially successful stateside, but now that it is out on DVD (in a double feature format that also includes the direct-to-video John Ritter thriller, "Terror Tract"), it would be foolish to pass up what is essentially the scariest, smartest slasher movie since 1996's "Scream."

In the small, idyllic Virginia town of Cherry Falls, teenage students of Thomas Jefferson High School have begun falling victim to a long-haired, fingernail-polish/high-heel-wearing killer who seems to be targeting virgins. When the town sheriff (Michael Biehn) suspects this pattern, he begins fearing for his own 16-year-old daughter, Jody (Brittany Murphy). With the school abuzz about innocence leading to death, a mass orgy party is planned where the slasher predictably makes a special appearance.

Stylish, suspenseful, and unusually intelligent for a genre movie, "Cherry Falls" is an excellent example of how to make a horror movie, in the vein of John Carpenter's 1978 classic, "Halloween," right. There is generous bloodshed to be had, and occasional violence, but the film is also equipped with emotional truths and realistic, believable characters. In the Jamie Lee Curtis role, the ever-talented Brittany Murphy places at least ten notches above the rest of the recent horror movie heroines. Murphy paints Jody with several different shades, and turns her into a three-dimensional individual. Jay Mohr also stands out as a much-liked teacher at school, as does Candy Clark (1985's "Cat's Eye") as Jody's loving, but confused, mother.

    DVD Review

How Does It Look? Presented in a 1:77:1 aspect ratio widescreen transfer, the picture on "Cherry Falls" sparkles with surprising detail for a relatively low-budget feature, and does absolute justice to the beautiful, atmospheric cinematography by Anthony B. Richmond. Black levels are very good, and the color of red, which is an ongoing theme, bursts off the screen. There is slight grain in several of the darker moments, but it is brief and remains undistractive. A highly impressive transfer.

How Does It Sound? In the opening scene, the sound, in English 2.0, concerned me. The dialogue was difficult to understand with precision, and sounded muffled. Luckily, it was very likely the way the characters were speaking, because this problem cleared up immediately afterwards. While not overly dynamic (much of the movie is intentionally quiet, save for the action and suspense scenes), the music and dialogue play well off one another, neither ever overpowering the other.

Special Features? Unfortunately, "Cherry Falls" offers no special features (unless you call "scene selections" bonus material). There isn't even a trailer, which is unfortunate, although there are production notes on the inside booklet that comes with the disc. An audio commentary would have been highly appreciated, but this movie's DVD treatment, much like its theatrical one, was obviously not taken as seriously as it should have been.

The Lowdown While the special features are non-existent, "Cherry Falls" is such a good, overlooked movie that it is able to stand on its own. With it being offered as two movies for the price of one, with the full-length picture, "Terror Tract," and selling for only $24.99, the DVD is one that is recommended for all horror fans. In "Cherry Falls," you will find a slasher opus that does not disappoint.

    Ratings
    Film: * * * (out of * * * * )
    Picture: * * * 1/2 (out of * * * * )
    Sound: * * * (out of * * * * )
    Features: * (out of * * * * )

    Overall : * * * (out of * * * * ) .... Recommended

The review above was posted to the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due to ASCII to HTML conversion.

Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews