Cherry Falls

3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Cherry Falls’: 1. An odd movie with very odd characters. Their actions and motives were all over the place. They weren’t written well at all. 2. Was this supposed to be a horror movie? It started as a _Scream_ knockoff, then veered off into absurdity. Setting this story in a town called Cherry Falls, in Virginia, already tells us that we shouldn’t take this film very seriously. There was no horror here. The creepiest parts about it were the dynamics between the adults and kids, especially Jody and her parents. Cringe city. 3. This is not a good film. And there’s not one redeemable character to root for. The entertainment value here lies solely within all the ridiculousness that ensues. The over-the-top one-liners. The toe sucking. It’s just all bonkers — and, while I wouldn’t recommend this _ever_, you kinda can’t help but wonder what silliness will happen next.

Tonally all over the place, at moments I feel like they're wanting to go straight slasher and others are attempting a social satire, but as far as late 90s/early 2000s teen horror go it's a pretty fun time. It's hilarious, occasionally creepy, with so much bizarre sexual tension. Though the killer is dead obvious and the kills are mostly off-screen, it is way smarter than I expected it to be. Bringing something unconventional to the slasher genre and delivers a story which carries themes that are still relevant to this day. Not quite a classic but it could have been one.