Cherry Falls (2000) [Blu-Ray] 
Director: Geoffrey Wright
Cast: Brittany Murphy, Jay Mohr, Michael Biehn
Release Date: Now Available on Blu-ray
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Disc Rating: 8/10
Synopsis:
A serial killer is stalking the peaceful town of Cherry Falls. At first, it seems that he is just targeting teenagers, but after the third killing it becomes clear that all the victims have been virgins. When the town’s students hear about this, they realize that there is only one way to protect themselves and begin planning a “Pop Your Cherry” party where they will all lose their virginities together. Meanwhile, Jodi (Brittany Murphy, Clueless, Sin City), the virtuous daughter of the town’s sheriff (Michael Biehn, Aliens, Grindhouse), decides to take matters into her own hands and trap the killer herself.
The largely underappreciated slasher gem ‘Cherry Falls’ arrives on Blu-ray at long last courtesy of Scream Factory. For those who may be unfamiliar with the 2000 film, it tells the story of a quiet town which is rattled to its core when a string of brutal murders begin occurring, a serial killer who seems intent on killing young virgins. Panicked and doing what kids do best, the events naturally result in the teenage occupancy within the town organizing a sex party to lose their virginity before it costs them their lives. When the teenage daughter of the town Sheriff seemingly becomes a primary target of the mysterious killer, she starts seeking information as to the killer’s motive and before long buried secrets from the past begin to rise to the surface hinting at a connection to the towns past and the current murders.
‘Cherry Falls’ is a clever, original and well done twist on the slasher genre that came at a time where the majority of studio genre films were following the success of ‘Scream’ and as a result falling into an often painful funk (similar in many ways to found footage in today’s market) yet ‘Cherry Falls’ dared to poke fun at the formula and the result was a wonderfully fresh, smart and enjoyable horror film. Sadly the film saw its world premiere on the USA network in a heavily censored version, although fortunately the movie was also subsequently released in its original uncut form (which is of course the version provided on Scream Factory’s Blu-ray release). While its initial release may have been relatively disappointing, the movie most certainly is not, nor is this Blu-ray release and those who may be unfamiliar with ‘Cherry Falls’ or simply never cared to check it out may want to reconsider, I can’t imagine a better way to experience it for the first time than with this solid Blu-ray release.
Fellow fans of this wonderfully smart and largely overlooked horror film will definitely want to make certain to pick up a copy of Scream Factory’s Blu-ray release of ‘Cherry Falls’ to add to their collection, also marking the first time it has ever been released on Blu-ray. It delivers fantastic high definition video and audio presentations in addition to some great supplemental material both new and old such as a new ‘Audio Commentary with Director Geoffrey Wright’, ‘Vintage Interviews’ and more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below) likely to make this release a definite must own for the fans who weren’t already in the process of ordering their copies.
Overall, fellow fans of ‘Cherry Falls’ should be thrilled to see the film arrive home on Blu-ray and will likely want to pick up a copy for their own collection. The release delivers solid high definition video and audio presentations along with some notable extras including a number created specifically for this release. Genre fans who may not have previously had the pleasure of this incredibly fun slasher satire may want to give it a shot if you find the opportunity to do so; it’s an incredibly smart twist on the genre that you likely won’t want to miss out on.
VIDEO:
The Blu-ray release of ‘Cherry Falls’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks great as a whole, delivering a sharp and detailed presentation throughout that’s complimented by a more than substantial bitrate and suffering no notable faults, holding up impressively even during the numerous darkly lit and/or fast moving sequences in the film and never resulting in anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a fairly impressive high definition video presentation that will likely thrill fellow fans of this underappreciated gem.
AUDIO:
The Blu-ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This lossless multichannel soundtrack delivers in every way, providing a consistently crisp, clean and often notably aggressive audio presentation. Utilizing all five available channels to surround the viewer with the music, along with crowd activity and some action-related auditory elements among more, while never causing any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, this is a more than capable 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtrack that shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Blu-ray release of ‘Cherry Falls’ includes a number of worthwhile extras. Included on the release is a new ‘Audio Commentary with Director Geoffrey Wright’, along with ‘Lose It Or Die: The Untold Story of Cherry Falls’ (running approximately 25 minutes in length) which includes interviews with Writer Ken Selden and Producer Marshall Persinger. We are also treated to ‘Cherry Falls Deputy: Amanda Anka’ (running approximately 8 minutes), ‘Vintage Interviews with Brittany Murphy, Michael Biehn Jay Mohr and Director Geoffrey Wright (approximately 6 minutes altogether), and ‘Behind the Scenes Footage’ (5 minutes). The ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (2 minutes) is also included, as is the ‘Original Script’ for the film, although accessible only via BD-Rom.
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.
Disc Rating: 8/10
‘Cherry Falls’ is Now Available to own On Blu-ray from Scream Factory.
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