(aka Virgin Killer.)
Release Date: October 20th, 2000.
Country: USA.
Rating: R.
Written by: Ken Selden.
Directed by: Geoffrey Wright.
Starring: Brittany Murphy, Michael Biehn, Jay Mohr, Gabriel Mann, Candy Clark, and a bunch of cameos from future stars.
In 1996, Scream kicked-off a new trend of Teen Terror flicks that spawned movies like The Faculty; I Know What You Did Last Summer; Cry Wolf; Urban Legend; and Final Destination, among many others.
A lot of those movies were alright, but even the good ones felt like sanitized, by-the-numbers showcases for whichever really good looking young actor/actress was hot at the time. Take some good looking kids, have a killer bumping them off in clever ways, and then have some shocking reveal at the end which would set up a sequel. It was the new incarnation of the Slasher flick for the new millennium, and fans ate it up.
Cherry Falls was one of those flicks, and while it never got the chance to earn itself the popularity that many of its contemporaries did, it was certainly amongst the best of them. At least to us it was.
While a teenage couple is making out up at at Inspiration Point, a black-haired figure who kinda looks like Sadako from Ringu (or maybe Joey Ramone) shows up and stabs them to death. The small town of Cherry Falls is naturally shocked to see something so horrible happen to two of their own kids, especially since the killer carved the word Virgin into their corpses; those poor kids died without ever having been laid!
"BUT MAYBE A KISS BEFORE YOU GO..." |
DUDE, GET OFF OF HER! |
NOT IN THE BUTT SHE'S NOT. |
Heavily-edited murder and sex ensues.
THAT'S ONE ROUGH ORGY. |
Like many of its fellow Teen Terror flicks of the time, Cherry Falls utilizes pretty people, humor, and plenty of stalk-and-kill mechanics to tell its story, but it's really the way that it shakes all of those conventions up that makes it stand out. Usually, having sex in a Slasher flick means that you're fated to die; here though, having sex will actually keep you alive. I really would have like to have seen that concept brought to life in a totally unedited way as the director intended. It's still pretty cool as is though.
BRITTANY MURPHY GONNA HAVE TO SLAP A BITCH? |
As for the lovely, gone-too-soon Brittany Murphy, her performance here showcased everything that we loved about her, and that made her such a special talent: She's adorable, and sexy in an offbeat way, but her greatest quality is how she manages to come off as awkwardly sweet and believable in such a natural way. She starred in many great movies over the span of her career, but Cherry Falls will always be one of our sentimental faves of hers.
WHAT A HELL OF A FINAL GIRL SHE MADE. |
It's fine as is, but it could have been so much better had the kills been shown, and had the producers not had to cut the movie's racier elements to please the asshole MPAA. Man, what could have been...
THAT'S PRETTY MUCH HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THE MPAA. |
WE MISS YOU, GIRL. |
OH HEY, THE MPAA FORGOT TO CUT SOMETHING! |
THAT'S ABOUT AS NAKED AS THIS MOVIE GETS. |
The only problem I really have with this disc is the fact that it isn't the Director's Cut. Again, it's not Scream Factory's fault, as they tried to get their hands on the uncut material from the film, but the fact that whoever owns it won't give it up to allow it to be restored really sucks. It's a huge (and pointless) wasted opportunity.
We really dug the commentary track with director Geoffrey Wright, where he talks about the film (obviously), but specifically about its troubles with the MPAA, and the untimely passing of its star, Brittany Murphy.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with director Geoffrey Wright.
- Lose it or Die: The Untold Story of Cherry Falls- interviews with writer and Co-Executive Producer Ken Selden and producer Marshall Persinger.
- Cherry Falls Deputy Mina – an interview with Amanda Anka.
- Vintage Interviews with Brittany Murphy, Michael Biehn, Jay Mohr and director Geoffrey Wright.
- Behind-the-Scenes footage.
- Original Script.
- Theatrical Trailer.
THE "FALLS" IN CHERRY FALLS ACTUALLY TASTE LIKE CHERRY. TRUE STORY. |
If you have yet to discover this one, now is the time to give it a go.
B+
Cherry Falls is available now on Blu-ray.
Plenty of beautiful ladies inhabit Cherry Falls, chief amongst them, the immortal Brittany Murphy.
Any word on why it's still cut? There must be an original version out there somewhere, so it's kind of surprising Scream would release a hacked up one. Sucks, but I guess this is the best we'll ever have.....
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