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Cherry Falls
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Shout! Factory Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (29th May 2016). |
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The Film
 In a review for “Disturbing Behavior” (1998) I mention how many of the post-“Scream” horror films were derivative of the late Wes Craven’s seminal film. Some achieved a moderate level of success, although you’d be hard-pressed to find many horror fans that will champion them today. Does anyone remember “Urban Legend” (1998) fondly? One title that made a bit of noise around the turn of the millennium is “Cherry Falls” (2000), an unquestionable “Scream” clone that gained a bit of notoriety for inadvertently becoming the most expensive television movie ever made. This is because the MPAA had so many issues with the picture that it couldn’t get distribution, leading to a deal with the USA cable network to air the film in July 2000. Despite being butchered by censors and unceremoniously dumped onto cable, the reception was surprisingly warm, with horror fans championing it as a bright spot amongst the dead lands of the early aughts. Someone is killing teenagers in the picturesque town of Cherry Falls. First, a young couple is butchered as they make out near the waterfront, the boy killed semi-quickly while the girl is tortured for a while before being gutted and left hanging from a tree. Next, a girl home alone winds up dead, her parents arriving home to find her displayed body in the kitchen. The one trait the victims have in common: they were all virgins. Jodi (Brittany Murphy), daughter of the town sheriff, Brent (Michael Biehn), also happens to be a virgin. That isn’t likely to change soon, either, since she and her boyfriend Kenny (Gabriel Mann) just broke up. Sheriff Brent holds a meeting at the school with the local parents and fills them in on the killer’s m.o. much to their chagrin. Jodi spies on the secret parent meeting from a hallway up above when the killer appears and chases her down; she narrowly avoids being killed. Her best friend isn’t so lucky. The revelation of a “virgin killer” rightly freaks out the entire school class, so they decide the best way to combat this guy is to lose what he seeks: their virginity. To ensure everyone is safe the school (read: kids, not the administration) throws a massive “Pop Your Cherry” party wherein everyone is guaranteed to get laid. While the kids plan out where to stage a hundred-person orgy, Jodi and Kenny, now working together, try to uncover the mystery of a girl named Loralee Sherman (Tammy Ballance) who went missing twenty-five years ago. Her disappearance may be directly tied into the current murders (spoiler: it is) with the revelations from Jodi’s sleuthing having a direct impact on her family. Although this film feels too much like “Scream” frequently – for example, when the killer is chasing Jodi through the school it echoes Sidney facing the same problem – this movie is just about as subversive as Craven’s classic. It is perhaps not as sly as it aspires to be, dangerously toeing the line between lampooning rote slasher films and becoming one. The film’s unique voice comes from it’s clever hook – virgins are being killed so the local kids decide to lose their virginity – but sometimes that narrative takes a backseat to the boilerplate teenage horror gauntlet. Jodi jumps through plenty of expected hoops, with the end of the second act getting into heavy exposition territory before arriving at the also-expected ending. “Scream” handled these clichés with more of a sly wink than “Cherry Falls”. The satire and seriousness should be balanced more delicately - which is not an easy task - and this film dips into the latter more than it probably should. Of course, it’s possible some of these issues could be chalked up to the meddling minds of the MPAA. Despite having an R-rating the film often feels neutered, with cutaways during most of the kill scenes and a lack of any visceral impact. Today the movie could have gotten away with a PG-13, if not for the bits of nudity that are seen mostly during the climactic teen sex-a-thon. If there’s one constant that has consistently sucked in horror, it’s the irony of seeing slasher films cut to ribbons by their respective studios due to MPAA requests. Most of these films have the exact same plot, with few variations, leaving their FX work to do most of the talking. And, really, that’s a big part of what the fans want to see anyway – masked killers hacking away at nubile fodder. Jettisoning those close-ups and lingering shots and geysers of crimson goo ruins the impact and entertainment value an awful lot. Not to mention all of the hard work the respective FX teams did, only to find out it was unceremoniously removed. Director Geoffrey Wright assembled a fine cast here. Brittany Murphy works very well as Jodi, the mostly-innocent daughter of the town sheriff. She has just the right amount of girl-next-door charm mixed with confident sexuality, plus she’s super cute. Murphy carried this film just as capably as Neve Campbell in “Scream”, although here Murphy’s schoolyard chums aren’t as relevant to the story as Sidney’s, leaving Murphy to do most of the heavy lifting by herself. It’s too bad Michael Biehn doesn’t do big pictures anymore because the guy is one helluva solid actor when he wants to be. He plays Brent as a real cop’s cop, but he’s also a doting father; he doesn’t go with the “tough cop/tough father” approach usually seen from that type of character. And then there’s Jay Mohr, who is playing completely against type as an erudite educator who takes a vested interest in his students’ lives. It might not do a lot to elevate this style of horror, but “Cherry Falls” is a fun, easy watch with a sexually charged plot and some solid moments. The gender identity of the killer is easy enough to figure out early on, but I liked how the film keeps viewers guessing by throwing little clues into scenes without being overt about their appearance. The script could be a little wittier - maybe subvert those tried and true slasher tropes a touch more - but even in its current state this is one of the better teen horror entries to emerge from the post-90's crop of imitators.
Video
Framed at 1.85:1, with a 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image, “Cherry Falls” makes its Blu-ray debut with a dated, though far from poor, transfer. Universal has long been reviled by home video aficionados for their handling of film transfers and seeing as how this film never even went theatrical it isn’t hard to see why they’ve put minimal effort into preserving this cult classic. To be fair, this is not a bad image by any means; it’s just that it could look more polished by 2016 standards. Detail is evident and the overall definition is fairly sharp, though it’s clear some artificial sharpening has been done here, too. Film grain is smooth and fine. Colors look pleasing, and black levels are pretty solid. The image has a tendency to get a bit murky at times. Scream Factory can’t be faulted for using a master that’s “good enough” for most of the viewing audience. There may be clear room for improvement but this is a clear step up from every previously available release.
Audio
There’s a lot of life in the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track (48kHz/24-bit) – or the English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo offering, if you prefer – with many punctual moments ratcheting up the tension. Dialogue comes through clean and clear, balanced well within the mix. The score is typical, hardly memorable, but it works for this film. Rears get minimal use but do add some decent ambiance sporadically. Subtitles are available in English.
Extras
Almost all of the bonus material here has been newly produced, save for a vintage featurette. Expect to find an audio commentary, featurettes, interviews, and more. Director Geoffrey Wright recorded a new audio commentary track for this release. The Aussie has plenty to say about his first American feature, discussing the many issues the film had on the road to release along with the usual shooting information, casting choices, cut scenes and more. “Lose It or Die: The Untold Story of Cherry Falls” (1080p) is a featurette that runs for 24 minutes and 30 seconds. Writer and Co-Executive Producer Ken Selden and Producer Marshall Persinger deliver a candid interview that touches upon the film’s many changes, scripting decisions, studio shakeups, cuts and more. This is a very good piece because it moves past the usual glad-handing most of these interviews wind up becoming. “Cherry Falls Deputy: Amanda Anka” (1080p) is an interview featurette that runs for 7 minutes and 40 seconds. Typical of these brief interviews, the actress discusses her career and how she got her part in this film. “Vintage Interviews with Brittany Murphy, Michael Biehn, Jay Mohr, and Geoffrey Wright” (1080p) interview featurette runs for 6 minutes and 26 seconds. This is your standard EPK type stuff, with the cast & crew discussing what they’re doing on the film. “Behind the Scenes Footage” (1080p) is a featurette that runs for 4 minutes and 32 seconds. See some on-set footage of the film being made. If you happen to have a BD-ROM drive, pop this disc in to read the original shooting script. A theatrical trailer (1080p) runs for 1 minute and 47 seconds.
Packaging
The single disc comes housed in a standard Blu-ray keep case.
Overall
If you’re a fan of “Scream” and want to watch something similar, but not a watered down clone, then “Cherry Falls” should fit the bill. It might not even come close to reinventing the wheel but it provides a fun hook and a good time.
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