Cherry Falls (1999) User Reviews

"Like a virgin, stabbed for the very first time...."

[rob-236 · 5/10 · 4 March 2002]

The success of the `Scream' series spawned many clones, this being a reasonable attempt. The makers of such scream clones were obviously faced with a dilemma, how not to stray too far from a winning formula – yet be original at the same time – therefore in this one they give the story a little twist. Here, the preposterous twist is that the killer only kills virgins! – sending the youths in the local village sex mad - in order to save their life, obviously!!.

As bad as it sounds, its not all bad, especially when the absolutely delicious Brittany Murphy is the lead role as the daughter of the local sheriff (Michael Biehn) who is investigating these grisly murders – and guess what, she's a virgin!!. The final twist is pretty good, although if you really think about, the killers motive for hating all virgins isn't really that convincing, Fun though if you take it for what it is, enjoyable rubbish!!

Severely edited, but still not bad

[jluis1984 · 6/10 · 17 May 2006]

At first sight, "Cherry Falls" is one of the many harmless teen slashers that came out in the late 90s and early 00s in what was called "the horror revival" started by "Scream" back in 1996. While the movie can't hide the trademarks of its generation and it is definitely not very original, it offers some new twists to traditional clichés of the genre and a higher quality than the rest of the slashers of its time. Also, it is fair to point out that the movie we know as "Cherry Falls" is not what its director, Geoffrey Wright, conceived originally. It suffered several cuts to attain an R-Rating losing most of its planned edginess.

The story is set in the small town of Cherry Falls, where suddenly, a mysterious figure begins to kill the virgins in town. Sheriff Brent Marken (Michael Biehn) is specially concerned about the case not only because he knows that his beloved daughter Jody (Brittany Murphy) is virgin, but also because the case brings back memories of a dark event in Cherry Falls past. Meanwhile, the local teenagers organize a huge party to have sex and stop being potential victims.

Written by Ken Selden, the story mixes dark comedy with the horror genre pretty much in the vein of Scream, using a clever twist to the genre cliché of the virginal survivors. The mystery of the killer's identity is very well handled and the story unfolds as Jody's investigation takes her to discover the town's past. Surprisingly, the movie never gets boring or tedious, and it serve sits purpose as a thrilling mystery/horror film.

However, the film promises too much and there is never a proper payoff. Director Wright conceived his film as a comedy/horror about sex and violence in the genre, but the severe cuts the movie received took away all the sex and violence the director intended to portray, leaving an incomplete product that is really unsatisfying. This severely hurts the film, particularly at the finale, which is sad because it is really a very well crafted set-piece of nudity and violence that is badly edited to please the prudish MPAA.

Geoffrey Wright follows a subtle style for the most part of the film, and according to the script, it was done that way because the killings were supposed to be gory. Again, with the edition of this it left the film incomplete with scenes that build up very good suspense without a payoff. The suspense is broken with badly edited cuts that lead to the belief that a lot was missing.

The main cast is very good, particularly Jay Mohr as a concerned teacher who is truly worried about his students. Brittany Murphy is very good in the lead role is quite believable as a common teen girl (something not all slashers can say). The rest of the cast do a very good job but nothing really outstanding outside the leads.

"Cherry Falls" is a sad testimony of what further edition to a completed job can do. It certainly turned a promising great movie into an slightly above average horror film. Hopefully, a Director's Cut will be available someday but by now, "Cherry Falls" remains as a movie that could had been a lot better if it had remained true to its director's vision. 6/10

Put The Cherry Down!

[killercharm · 6/10 · 10 May 2021]

Great fun both to see Brittany Murphy and to see this flick. It's like a comedy visual with a drama soundtrack. A serial slasher targets teen virgins in small town high school USA. In an attempt to thwart the killer all the kiddies have a deflowering fete which, I gotta say affords some of THE BEST stampede scenes.

It's more funny than scary

[Gordon-11 · 15 October 2010]

This film is about a town plagued by a serial killer who kills teenage virgins.

I know it's a horror film, but I can't stop myself from being amused by the ridiculous plot that the serial killer killing virgins. How is the killer supposed to know who is a virgin and who is not? Anyway, this killing spree gives the high school student the perfect excuse to have sex with each other, which I also find darkly humorous. There is an attempt to put some emotional drama involving the main family, but it does not quite work. The film does not provide much tension or scare, but it does keep my interest because I want to know how it will end. I think "Cherry Falls" is the kind of horror film that people enjoy because it is actually more funny than scary.

OK, watch it if you have too.

[mjw2305 · 4/10 · 17 January 2005]

There's no single reason why this film is so bad. The basic idea seems OK, A Murderer is killing all the teenage virgins, so all the teenagers decide to have a virginity losing party (a bit stupid but could have been a good laugh) sadly it isn't, It takes itself far too seriously for a plot as ridiculous as this one.

The rear of the DVD Cover reviews it as American Pie Meets Scream, this could not be further from the truth, both the aforementioned movies are both Fresh and well made. Cherry Falls simply is neither and the twist at the end is telegraphed so obviously you would have to be dead to not see it coming.

There is a little entertainment value to this film, it is certainly not the worst movie of its kind, but if you want a good Teen Horror, go for Scream, I know what you did last Summer, Wrong turn, Jeepers Creepers or even Cabin Fever.

A Lame 4/10

SEX is all that matters !

[Coventry · 7/10 · 24 June 2003]

Maybe I should start by saying I'm not the biggest slasher fan around here. Sure I can appreciate the classics like Halloween and the original Friday the 13th but they were never top of my list. And the post-Scream era has blown it all. Since this movie, everybody thinks they can make a horror film. The only thing they need is a few good looking girls who can yell very loud and a stupid outfit to give to the killer. This is kinda also the big idea behind CHERRY FALLS but, compared to most others, there are several good aspects and twists in this one. The story for starters... The killer's targets are exclusively virgins. This of course give a lot of opportunities to insert all sorts of humor. (shy girls, computer geeks who never get laid, slutty girls) It's all pretty predictable but it works. For example, I laughed pretty loud when some character said about another : " She thinks Fellatio is a characters in a Shakespeare play" As most films in the genre, the film tries to be as violent as possible, I was one of the lucky ones who saw the uncut version. If you're planning to see it, try to get your hands on this version.

The story develops pretty well. The killer's background gets revealed bit by bit and it's scary enough to keep you interested. A few good twists too, I may say. Cherry Falls stars a few very decent actors. Michael Biehn ( always one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood, IMO ) is very convincing as the sheriff who discovers the truth behind the gore murders. His teenage ( virgin, of course ) daughter is played by Brittany Murphy. She gained fame and fortune lately by starring in that stupid Eminem film and a few others. She wasn't that famous yet when she did Cherry Falls, so I could enjoy her part. Her boyfriend ( named Kenny ) looks a lot like a young James Spader. So if they wanna do a remake of Secretary withing 15 years, they know who to cast... I also recognized a dumb looking DJ Qualls ( Road Trip, The New Guy, The Core) I think this guy is doomed to play the nerd for the rest of his life. Oh well... In general: Of the thousand stupid slashers who got released over the past 8 years, this certainly is one of the best. You'll forget about it pretty soon, but it'll sure give you 90 minutes of fun and violence.

awesome movie

[liqiudsaphire · 5/10 · 2 November 2005]

I really liked this movie. It had all the great aspects of a teen slasher movie and none of the stupid non discriminatory killing. It really used to bug me in like the Halloween Movies how the killer has no particular pattern they just kill for the hell of it. The systematic killing and marking of this killers victims is really a nice break from the insanity. The fact that the killer is targeting virgins is puzzeling, i cant figure out why only virgins. But as the story unfolds it becomes clearer. The VIRIGN NOT carved into the Principal's head is kinda telling. It is the killers one break in consistency, it shows hes finally getting to the point. ( OK bad pun)

The millennium Sleepaway Camp

[gedikreverdi · 6/10 · 1 July 2021]

It turned out the English teacher who's seemingly a very good guy is the killer because his mother was raped by 4 guys two of whom are the school principle and the sheriff whose daughter is the final girl and she's a lookalike of Neve Campbell. He disguised as his mother and killed virgins in town. He dragged her father and possibly his own father too to his basement with Jody the final girl and strapped them both in his basement. He killed the sheriff there and the couple ran over to the house where pop your cherry ball was taking place. That's where it got really weird. He started randomly attacking couples losing their virginity side by side. And the final girl made him fall down from the balcony onto a piece of wood which got stuck in his stomach. The characters and dialogs were quite cheesy and lame and it got really awkward when the final girl made his lover suck on her toe and take her virginity because her father turned out to be a rapist. But still it was a different slasher and I like slashers.

Singularly devoid of suspense and terror

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 29 December 2015]

CHERRY FALLS is one of the many knuckleheaded slasher films to come out in the wake of Wes Craven's SCREAM, and it's a particularly pitiful effort for the genre. All of the old, tired clichés are dragged out here and treated as if they're fresh and exciting, even if they go through the same old routines time and again. There are stalk 'n' slash sequences, scenes of the heroine fighting off a vicious attacker, and more of the brain-dead high school speak than you can shake a stick at. The one difference about this film is that the killer targets virgins rather than those who are sexually active; in films such as the Friday THE 13TH series, it's usually the lascivious ones who die first. However, this twist makes not a jot of difference to the film itself and indeed its done away with by the time the climax rolls.

This film has one of those glossy looks that are manufactured to hide imperfections in the story. There is no real plot here, so to speak of, just one of those old 'past comes back to haunt' origins for the villain that used to be good in the likes of THE BURNING. The film's indebted to PSYCHO in a big way, but whereas Hitchcock's thriller was taut and superlative, this is just flat and lifeless. It feels like nothing more than a cast and crew going through the motions to pick up a pay cheque afterwards.

Brittany Murphy used to be one of the most irritating actresses in Hollywood, although she seemed to have mellowed by the time I saw her in SIN CITY. I hoped her turn here would be like the one in the latter film, but no: it's like the one in DRIVE instead, all throaty vocals and high-pitched squealing. It's really bad. Other than the unremarkable teenage cast, the only familiar face is Michael Biehn playing the town sheriff. This is the kind of role that anybody could have filled and there's nothing of the humanity that Biehn brought to the likes of Reese in THE TERMINATOR and Hicks in ALIENS here. CHERRY FALLS is a film singularly devoid of motive, intent, terror and suspense; in short, it's pants.

Not Bad

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 30 September 2013]

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

The cast was decent if not quite A-list: Jay Mohr as a teacher, a post-Clueless Brittany Murphy as the female lead (and sheriff's daughter), and genre favorite Michael Biehn.

AllMovie gave it a favorable review, writing, "Of all the teen slasher flicks that premiered after the wildly successful Scream series (Urban Legend, etc.), Cherry Falls will possibly go down as one of the most creative, but sadly unseen ones in the bunch."

Although reviews were generally mixed or negative, Entertainment Weekly gave a shockingly positive one (grading the film as A-). They have labeled the picture "the wittiest, most subversive teen thriller since 'Heathers'." While I am not a fan of "Heathers", this is still high praise.

I probably would have expected more from "Romper Stomper" director Geoffrey Wright, but I guess it is a different territory. The concept was good, and they more or less succeeded in carrying a one-joke film all the way through...

Worst Horror Film I have EVER seen

[davidmichelle2 · 1/10 · 7 July 2005]

I knew this film wouldn't be high art, but I was not prepared for an hour and a half of absolute rubbish.

From the outset it is blatantly obvious who the killer is, even though I was hoping (praying even) that it wouldn't be that person and there would be a clever twist somewhere. Needless to say I was wrong.

I look at actors and actresses like Michael Biehn and Brittany Murphy and it staggers me why they accepted to do films like this considering they are capable of so much more. Gabriel Mann who plays the dopey, horny boyfriend will probably have a career acting this type of role (the likeness to James Spader is incredible), but I doubt he will ever rise beyond it.

The concept of killing virgins and then a quest to lose their virginity was a good premise, but not developed here. When the background story of the killer is revealed it makes even less sense. Why would you avenge your mother's rape by killing innocent teen virgins who had absolutely nothing to do with it??

The fact is this type of film has been done before, and a lot better, so why bother?

Poptastic!

[Cedric_Catsuits · 9/10 · 24 April 2006]

What can I say about Brittany Murphy? Without her this would be a very different film. She is one of those actors that indelibly stamps every movie she appears in. Sometimes she irritates me, but at other times - and this is one - I absolutely adore her.

That aside, this is a much better movie than you might expect, given the absolutely dreadful plot. The cast is excellent, the film is beautifully shot, and it all moves along at a nice pace. I was never quite sure if I was watching a comedy or a slasher, or more specifically if the funny bits were actually meant to be funny. Having watched it again, I now realise it was done with tongue very firmly in cheek. That said, it still has some genuinely scary moments but they're just icing, rather than cake.

There is a certain genre (teen/shock/comedy) that Hollywood seems to do really well at recently, and this is another example. A fine cast, good balance of comedy and thrills, just enough gore to keep you satisfied. It's a formula that works well, and a tribute to the artists that freshness is maintained.

My advice is ignore the plot, and revel in the humour and artistry. This was never intended to be a cult horror film. It is a fun movie, and should be judged according to entertainment value. It's a film to easily amuse when you don't have the energy or enthusiasm for life's drudgery. And if you're a Murphy fan, don't miss it.

UPDATE: Following the sad passing of the young lady who since I wrote the above, went on to become my favourite actress ever, I urge you to watch this movie if you haven't already. Brittany Murphy is simply irreplaceable as a person and as an actress. She never got the credits she deserved in life, so I hope Heaven treats her well. There will never be another like her.

Slightly better Slasher with a decent plot.

[insomniac_rod · 6/10 · 5 August 2006]

Slightly better Slasher flick than most of the ones coming out in 2000. This movie has an interesting dark plot which leads to a series of investigations that are interesting as well.

The character development is pretty good and all the characters are likable. Special mention for Brittany Murphy who demonstrates that she can carry a film and also look pretty hot. Jay Mohr (which isn't an actor that I like) delivers a fine performance as the two face teacher.

The death scenes are actually very good and have some decent gore. The ending is also nice but not that "shocking" as some might think.

"Cherry Falls" follows the "Scream" style but with more character development and best situations. The direction is very good also.

I recommend you to watch this movie if it airs on cable or t.v. I wouldn't mind buying it but surely it deserves a watch.

Very Disappointing

[Theo Robertson · 2/10 · 20 October 2003]

I`m not much of a fan of horror movies but I looked forward to seeing CHERRY FALLS simply because the director Geoffry Wright is the man who brought us ROMPER STOMPER , a movie that brings a whole new meaning to violent realism. Alas CHERRY FALLS is a major disappointment . I don`t know what it is about gifted non American directors but as soon as they land at LA airport they seem to leave their talent behind at the arrival lounge , Wolfgang Petersen being the best example . I`m not sure if the director is having an off day or if the cast are , but Wright is unable to get anything more than mediocre performances from the cast . Check the scene where the sheriff walks into class after the first two murders have been commited , it`s difficult to believe the usually competent Michael Biehn has ever had an acting lesson in his life as he delivers his lines with the passion of a speak your weight machine . As the rest of the direction in the movie it`s very flat .

The script by Ken Selden is both dumb and unoriginal . A lot of people on this site have compared it to SCREAM but I doubt if the two are comparable . CHERRY FALLS lacks the post modernist humour , wit and originality of SCREAM and I`m not even sure if it`s meant to be a darkly comic movie . The script shows signs of underdevelopment and contains several major plot holes . For example after the first murders the pathologist examines the bodies and realises the female is a virgin but it`s never explained why the authorities conclude the murders were carried out because the victims were virgins . Perhaps the biggest plot hole is this : How on earth would the killer know his victims were virgins ? Go back to your own teenage years and you`ll realise there`s nothing more unrealiable than school gossip especially if it involves the sexual habits of school mates .

Never listen to gossip and don`t watch CHERRY FALLS unless you`re addicted to teenagers getting stalked and killed by a knife wielding looney

You gotta see it!

[brainspoon · 27 May 2002]

This movie rocks. I loved every second of it. Very scary and funny, with some great performances and a clever script. The killer is a great addition to the scream psycho pantheon. Britany Murphy is very good in this, as is Jay More and Candy Clarke. The movie is well paced and never boring. There is gore for the hounds, sex for the horns, and some cool twists along the way. The story is much more interesting then typical slasher fare, and would have played well to a theatrical audience. They should have sent it out instead of dumping it on video.

I highly recommend this as the best in the post Scream neo slashers of the 1990's.

Average horror with some nice twists

[Enchorde · 5/10 · 16 January 2005]

** HERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS **

Life is complicated when you're in high school, but it becomes even worse when a killer seems to target high school kids. Jody (Murphy) is the daughter of the towns sheriff Brent Marken (Biehn). She also has some problem with her boyfriend that wants to "do more" than she wants. The sheriff together with the school principal (Inscoe) tries to keep the situation in control, and Jody turns to her parents and teacher (Mohr) for support. But then the rumor reaches the youth that the killer targets virgins only, and then there is only one way to protect oneself. A huge party is set up, and boys and girls start to pair up. But there are dark secrets about...

Not the best movie ever made but sufficient to entertain for a night. A little suspense, a lot of blood and a mix of sex violence and betrayal. There are some nice ideas, twists and turns in the plot mixed up with some more implausible parts. Put together the movie never gets stale, but some scenes one can watch with only one eye. Good but not stellar actor performances but some nice characters. Well... that about sums my comment up I think...

5/10

Compellingly stupid

[RNMorton · 6/10 · 20 October 2003]

There must be something about the way they executed this stupid and so-tired plot - nut case stalks high school virgins, sparking consideration of "protective measures" - because there was no other reason for me to periodically check in on this trash. I don't know, maybe there's a certain quiet campiness to the acting. Otherwise, from the tacky title to the plot and dialogue to the actual (in)action there's really nothing here.

Cherry Bombs or Lemon Falls

[sovcolor-2 · 1/10 · 3 September 2000]

Cherry Falls is unsubtle, badly directed flick that doesn't deliver as a horror and fails miserably as a comedy. The most horrible thing in it is its length. It just drags on and on! It's a truly excruciating experience to sit through this confused shocker. Unfortunately the great cast can't save this picture. They are all wasted. It feels like the makers were either too young or too old to make this genre film. How can anyone get it so wrong?! Awful.

If You're A Virgin, you die

[acidburn-10 · 7/10 · 1 June 2007]

The Plot In the small town of Cherry Falls a psycho killer is killing virgin teenagers and when the high school students find this out they decide to go all out and have an orgy but will that save them.

A slasher movie with an interesting but stupid twist instead of the virgins being the safe one the killer is offing them instead. Coming out in the trend of the slasher come back of the late nineties through to the naughty's, Cherry Falls follows in that vibe showing at that of the start of a new millennium the year 2000 the makers takes a twist on all of those clichéd slasher movies and offers something slightly different.

I loved the small town vibe with its odd characters and its skeletons in the closet. Something off's in this town. also loved the mystery element centering around the Sheriff and the high school head master. But sadly this is just the same as all the other slasher movies and the whodunit storyline wasn't that hard to figure out and the death scenes were mostly offscreen which was such a slap in the face but despite these flaws Cherry Falls in an OK above average slasher.

The acting, Brittany Murphy looks and feels like a real teenager with charisma to boot, It's always a pleasure to see Michael Biehn (Brent) in a good movie, I love the man and hope he keeps on taking good roles like this one, Biehn is fantastic ages like a fine wine, Gabriel Mann (Kenny)? looks old and can't act, Jay Mohr (Leonard) does fine in his small role as the likable and understanding hip teacher, Candy Clark (Mandy) gives an odd but very interesting performance and Jesse Bradford a great actor as always and he should be on the a-list by now and get better movie parts than victim #1, he should have had a bigger role he would have been better as the boyfriend part.

All in all Cherry Falls is an OK entry to the Slasher genre with a modern twist story line helped along with slick acting. 6/10

very cheap film and a big disappointment

[thanatonaute · 1/10 · 27 July 2001]

Before watching this movie I didn't really know what I should expect. I mean when I first heard the German title which would be 'Sex or die' I thought 'Well, what's that about? Sounds funny, doesn't it?', then after having read the synopsis I thought 'Oh, just another scream copy.' and finally after having seen the director's name (i.e. Geoffrey Wright) I thought 'What? Geoffrey Wright, writer/director of Romper Stomper? Ok that movie must be great!'

Then I went watching it. Oh, what a bad movie! Really; the plot is predictable, the acting except Jay Mohr and Michael Biehn is wooden, and then there are plenty of mistakes made by no less than Geoffrey Wright.

The movie has difficulties to decide which sort of film it should be. There are parts that are a bit scary, there are parts that are a bit funny (except one dialogue that really is funny; a officer says 'Sorry kids, I must hold my position, I can't split' and then comes the maniac and splits him in the first sense of the word), there are parts that tend to be somehow erotic and finally there are parts that tend to show blood. But the one who watches it because he wants to be frightened, doesn't get what he wants, nor the one who wants to laugh nor the one who wants to see hot scenes nor the one who wants to see gore gets what he wants.

So nobody gets what he wants and everybody will come out of the theaters still 'hungry'.

And then there are many scenes that really look cheap, and it certainly isn't a question of budget.

I hope Geoffrey Wright's next movie proves that 'Cherry Falls' was only a wrong step of his and not that 'Romper Stomper' was a lucky achievement.

A difficult one

[ansell-72879 · 6/10 · 9 October 2020]

Cherry Falls is a difficult film to review. It is not the movie that Geoffrey Wright made. We have a really clever idea, the norm for slasher films is that the naughty girls get slashed and the nice girls survive. As the title none too subtly suggests, survival in this film is dependent on the various 'cherries' on campus falling i.e. the dissolute girls flourish but the unsullied fall victim to the slashers enormous knife. This is a definite plus.

Where the movie falls down is that there is no slashing of virtuous or promiscuous girls. Not that I necessarily want to see girls get hurt but slashing is sort of a convention of slasher films.

Unfortunately for Wright, and more unfortunately for the 15 killed, requiescat in pace, and the many more injured, the film was made against the background of the Columbine Massacre. Various Government agency took to the film to expunge terror and violence for good of the vulnerable. One can completely understand this decision but it has significantly reduced the impact of the movie.

The various production companies involved claim that the edited film has been lost. Wright however is adamant that here is no such thing as lost film in Hollywood. The plethora of films re-released as directors cut or containing original but lost footage is extraordinary. There are four versions of Blade Runner for instance, each containing just a little more footage. I'm confident that a complete version of Cherry Falls could be released if there was energy for it.

Any way, Cherry Falls, even in its present format, is worth a watch but it is not the film it could have been.

Absolutely brutal

[cousinmatt · 1/10 · 18 March 2005]

Thank God that this movie was on cable last night and I didn't waste money renting it. The plot was weak and the cast weaker still. When the star of the film is a no-talent hack like Brittany Murphy and a washed up comedian(Mohr) you know there has to be something wrong. The only thing I found remotely amusing was when Mohr dresses as a woman, finally acknowledging the fact that he is one in real life. I beg of anyone reading this who has not seen Cherry Falls, DON'T! Honestly I found this movie so bad I actually wasted a few minutes actually posting a message here so take heed.

I actually found this film (if this approbation can even be called a film) worse than other craptacular slasher movies Jeepers Creepers and the sequel. As I said this was on cable and the only reason I didn't change the channel was because I actually thought it would get better because it certainly could not get any worse.

* this movie is only second to the bottom of my list of BAD MOVIES, next only to Solaris (which literally made me vomit).

Innocence is deadly!

[Nightman85 · 9/10 · 2 October 2005]

Shamefully neglected horror thriller is probably the best slasher film to follow in the footsteps of Scream (1996), too bad it ended up being a television movie!

In the seemingly innocent town of Cherry Falls, Virginia, someone is murdering high school students who just happen to be virgins!

Clever premise, being a twist on the classic slasher convention of sex=death, pays off in this dark and splendidly suspenseful shocker. The direction of Wright is solid with the occasional touch of stylishness. He makes good use of the Virginia filming locations and adds some spooky elements, like the rather creepy looking killer. Ken Seldon takes what could have been a lousy concept and makes a wonderfully twisted and entertaining story. There's also the occasional touch of comic relief (like the have sex or die party) and a dark sense of humor about the story. The murder sequences are gory and shocking despite the limitations of TV censors, which caused some of the film to be edited.

The cast is pretty good. Young Brittany Murphy is appealing and likable as a rather unconventional leading girl. Michael Biehn is great as Murphy's father who's also the local sheriff. Jay Mohr is excellent as the rather timid school teacher who fears for his students safety. The supporting cast is also good, most notably Candy Clark as Murphy's slightly odd mother.

Cherry Falls is a film that really got the shaft on its releasing, as it's far superior to a number of the theatrically released slasher-by-the-numbers flicks that where out around the time. Horror fans, before you bother with the likes of Urban Legend (1998), the lousy Valentine (2001) or any sequel, give this one a turn! You just might find it to be one of the best!

*** 1/2 out of ****

R.I.P. Brittany Murphy

[masonallen-68559 · 7/10 · 11 July 2020]

Brittany Murphy gives another great performance as Jodie, the heroine of Cherry Falls, but the film isn't really sure if it wants to be a dark comedy along the lines of Heathers or a straight forward "serial killer returns to avenge the sins of the town's past" slasher flick. Sometimes, they work together well and, other times, it gets awkward.

The lack of gore doesn't help, but I heard there were censorship issues throughout the production, so you can't really blame the filmmakers for that. There are still enough fun moments throughout to give this one a recommendation.

Cherry Popping Daddies

[Hartgirl286 · 1/10 · 31 October 2005]

The premise was quite good and the plot had potential, but it failed to make a successful horror movie. I have to say, it would have made for better porn. Great looking cast, cheesy plot, desperation for sex, etc. The serial killer hunts virgins, so of course, every teen in town is going to be engaging in wild and promiscuous sex. They were really onto something.

Humorous script and great young talent, but weak execution. It relied on shocks and clichés, but lacked the substance to make for a truly engaging horror movie.

If you enjoy watching terrible flicks, then add this to your "worst movies of all time" movie night. I can't help but question my devotion to the sci-fi channel after they aired this on Halloween. They could have done far better.