Cherry Falls
Short description
A serial killer is stalking the small town of Cherry Falls, Virginia, and the victims are all students at the local high school. Sheriff Brent Marken launches an investigation, but the pattern becomes clear only after further deaths: the killer targets teenagers who are still virgins. The sheriff has reason to worry about his own daughter Jody, whose profile fits, while the town's teenagers look for a way to protect themselves.
The students decide their safest course is to lose their virginity, and they organize a large party for that purpose, despite the killer still being at large. Geoffrey Wright directed the film, his second feature after Romper Stomper in 1992, from a screenplay by Ken Selden. Brittany Murphy plays Jody Marken, with Jay Mohr, Michael Biehn as the sheriff, Jesse Bradford, Candy Clark and Gabriel Mann among the cast.
Released in August 2000, the film runs 92 minutes and mixes horror with mystery and thriller elements. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.3 from around 16,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 5.4 from a much smaller base of 327 votes. A critics' rating of 6 out of 10 from 19 reviews places it somewhat above those audience scores, though all three measures point to a modest overall reception.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was reworked five times to obtain a rating that would allow for a wide release.
- Initially, Michael Biehn didn't want to star in this film – he read 15 pages of the script and decided it would be another slasher. However, his agent convinced the actor to read further, and Biehn soon realized he liked the satirical approach to the genre and agreed to film.
- Due to censorship issues raised by the American Film Association, the film was never released in US cinemas, premiering instead on television on the USA Network. As a result, 'Cherry Falls' became the most expensive television film in history, with a budget of around $14 million.
- Stephen Lang was considered for the role of the sheriff, but he was busy with other projects. He later admitted that he only wanted to star in the film because Brittany Murphy (1977-2009) was in it, and he wanted to work with her again.
- Producers from Millennium Studios received permission from the Richmond school district to film at Thomas Jefferson High School during spring break and the following week. However, at that time, Thomas Jefferson High School shared a building with a school for gifted students. The Richmond school district administration did not inform the film crew about this, nor that the two schools had different schedules. They also did not inform the administration of the school for gifted students about the upcoming filming. When filming began in the afternoon, it had to be interrupted an hour later because classes at the school for gifted students had ended and students were being released. To prevent them from wandering onto the set, the doors had to be locked, leaving students unable to go home. This was eventually resolved, and the filmmakers provided the administration of the school for gifted students with a plot summary and details of the time constraints for the school – along with details of their agreement with the Richmond school district. However, in conveying the necessary information, they somehow forgot to mention that it was all satire, and it appeared the film would be serious. As a result, parents of students began to complain to the Richmond school district administration, claiming that the administration was allowing the filming of pornographic films on school grounds.
- Director Jeffrey Wright had only 30 days for the entire production, but budget overruns and schedule delays began from the start of filming. As a result, many scenes from the original script could not be filmed, and many scenes were shot in haste, with only one take each (without retakes).
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