Geoffrey Wright directs Brittany Murphy, Jay Mohr and Michael Biehn in this slasher movie where an unknown killer is eviscerating teen virgins thus encouraging the high school population to lose it before they lose out.

Passed around various distributors in America after its original studio’s went up for sale and then Columbine, this was eventually released in an obviously heavily edited form as a TV movie. Frustratingly, this is also the version they dropped into British cinemas. You can still tell what a nasty little shocker Cherry Falls initially was before being censored. They might have taken out a fair chunk of sex and violence but the atmosphere of the thing is very 18 certificate. Closer to early Fincher in mood than most glossy Scream rip-offs. The whodunnit aspect works, there’s a nice quirky sense of humour to all the sexed-up atmosphere. Wright probably could have eked out the stalk sequences a titch more but the chaotic finale makes up for the stunted carnage in the first two acts. The recognisable members of the cast are pretty sweet, especially Murphy, and while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it spins on its sharpened edge effectively throughout. The seediest entry of its cycle.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Don’t Say A Word (2001)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and