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.

In the small town of Cherry Falls, horny teens are being murdered by a mysterious killer. Jody Marken (Brittany Murphy) makes out with her boyfriend Kenny but he dumps her when she wouldn't put out. It doesn't help that she's the daughter of the strict local sheriff (Michael Biehn). Leonard Marliston (Jay Mohr) is the English teacher. Clues indicate that the killer is targeting virgins. The kids organize a sex party.

It's a cheesy premise with a cheesy title to match. Some may see this as calling out a standard horror trope. At its core, there is a passable horror. It is never good enough to be scary nor smart enough to be biting. It's not funny or at least not intentionally funny. The best friend is a bit of a dud. As a logical construct, there is a shocking lack of parental guidance out at the party considering a serial killer is on the loose. On the plus side, Brittany Murphy is a solid scream queen. The bar is raised higher by the obvious pun in the premise and title. The movie fails to clear that higher bar.

No pun with the summary line btw. considering the "plot twist", which is a bit sexual. But it's a one trick pony as some would say. If that applies of course. I'd say, that the movie has a really good strong idea to back it up, but never really makes anything out of it. It almost seems to pull it's punches and goes for the weak and cliché (who'd have thought?) thrills and kills.

And as mentioned with my summary line, it is predictable to anyone who has ever seen a slasher movie. Trying to make fun of some clichés does unfortunately not work. Not to mention that you know quite a few things (even during the beginning credits),you know ... you just know. But as with other slasher movies, you enjoy the blood and some of the jokes (that I just couldn't, because I thought they were lame).