One of the biggest cliches of the slasher genre is the virginal final girl. The promiscuous teens, the drink and dopers, were the first to go, leaving the chaste heroine to manage her own survival.
The cleverly-titled Cherry Falls turns that on its head.
Cherry Falls is a small town right here in Virginia (nudge nudge, wink wink). High school students are being killed, but here's the twist: The killer is targeting virgins.
Chaos naturally ensues as the local teenage population rush to have their first experience. They organize an illegal party called The Pop Your Cherry Ball.
It's intriguing, but Cherry Falls didn't exactly score.
Australian director Geoffrey Wright stirred up the international film community in 1992 with Romper Stomper, a violently torrid tale of Neo-Nazis in Melbourne. The movie introduced most audiences to Russell Crowe well before box office smashes like L.A. Confidential and Gladiator. Wright followed Romper Stomper with another controversial movie called Metal Skin.
Cherry Falls was to be Wright's triumphant Hollywood debut. Unfortunately the movie had numerous battles with the dreaded MPAA, and by the time the dust settled and the bodies were cold, Cherry Falls didn't get a theatrical release. It disgracefully had its premier on the USA Network.
It's a shame, because Cherry Falls isn't the pits. Poor Britany Murphy stars as the final virgin. She's good, and it sucks how she died at the age of thirty-two. According to online sources, Murphy died of complications from pneumonia, assorted cold medications (including some with codeine), and iron deficiency anemia.
Horror is always in fluctuation and Cherry Falls came out in a period of change. Hip, snarky slashers were on the way out. Scream 3 sucked and The Blair Witch Project tore up the box office. Hostel, Saw, The House of 1,000 Corpses were just ahead. Horror needed an infusion, and it got one with Torture Porn and New French Extreme movements. Considering things like A Serbian Film, The Human Centipede, and Zombie Strippers, the genre may have gotten more of one than it needed. For the record, I haven't seen any of those films.
Cherry Falls was ruthlessly cut in order to pacify the ratings board, and an uncut version has yet to see the light of day. Scream Factory did a nice Cherry Falls blu-ray, but they say they didn't have access to any complete cut. This may be a permanent case of a partially lost movie with a terminal case of blue balls.
It's worth a watch even if you have to settle for a neutered version. Remember kids, practice safe horror viewing.
Written by Mark Sieber
The cleverly-titled Cherry Falls turns that on its head.
Cherry Falls is a small town right here in Virginia (nudge nudge, wink wink). High school students are being killed, but here's the twist: The killer is targeting virgins.
Chaos naturally ensues as the local teenage population rush to have their first experience. They organize an illegal party called The Pop Your Cherry Ball.

It's intriguing, but Cherry Falls didn't exactly score.
Australian director Geoffrey Wright stirred up the international film community in 1992 with Romper Stomper, a violently torrid tale of Neo-Nazis in Melbourne. The movie introduced most audiences to Russell Crowe well before box office smashes like L.A. Confidential and Gladiator. Wright followed Romper Stomper with another controversial movie called Metal Skin.
Cherry Falls was to be Wright's triumphant Hollywood debut. Unfortunately the movie had numerous battles with the dreaded MPAA, and by the time the dust settled and the bodies were cold, Cherry Falls didn't get a theatrical release. It disgracefully had its premier on the USA Network.
It's a shame, because Cherry Falls isn't the pits. Poor Britany Murphy stars as the final virgin. She's good, and it sucks how she died at the age of thirty-two. According to online sources, Murphy died of complications from pneumonia, assorted cold medications (including some with codeine), and iron deficiency anemia.
Horror is always in fluctuation and Cherry Falls came out in a period of change. Hip, snarky slashers were on the way out. Scream 3 sucked and The Blair Witch Project tore up the box office. Hostel, Saw, The House of 1,000 Corpses were just ahead. Horror needed an infusion, and it got one with Torture Porn and New French Extreme movements. Considering things like A Serbian Film, The Human Centipede, and Zombie Strippers, the genre may have gotten more of one than it needed. For the record, I haven't seen any of those films.
Cherry Falls was ruthlessly cut in order to pacify the ratings board, and an uncut version has yet to see the light of day. Scream Factory did a nice Cherry Falls blu-ray, but they say they didn't have access to any complete cut. This may be a permanent case of a partially lost movie with a terminal case of blue balls.
It's worth a watch even if you have to settle for a neutered version. Remember kids, practice safe horror viewing.
Written by Mark Sieber
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