Image Credit: USA Films / Rogue Pictures
Introduction and Plot Setup of Cherry Falls
Tell me about Laura Sherman. Tell me. That was 25 years ago. Do you think she goes all the way? Doubt it. You got to come. Come on. This is my post. I can't just split. Cherry Falls. Don't you want your first time to be something beautiful, something romantic? So, in the small town of Cherry Falls, a psychotic murderer is killing off the virgins of the local high school.
Censorship Issues and Theatrical Release Challenges
Somewhat due to censorship issues with the MPAA, the film did not receive a theatrical release in the United States and ended up on the USA network on television Friday at 98 central on USA, which is exactly where I saw it back in the day. And I remember thinking, "Wow, this is a really expensive looking TV movie." Because even in the late '90s, I had become aware of the difference between a TV movie, a movie straight for video, or a theatrical movie. And since it is technically a TV movie, it is one of the most expensive ever produced at around $14 million. That being said, it was made for the big screen. And this movie came out at a really bad time for any type of teen horror, any film that had teenage characters or a school setting and violence because of a recent tragedy. So, the movie was heavily cut down as a result, and it lost some of its edge. That being said, Cherry Falls
Nostalgic Television Memories and High School Tropes
is a movie that I have always felt very nostalgic about because I did see it on TV for the very first time because part of me was like, "Oh, it's on TV. It'll be edited. I can watch it. I'm allowed to see this, right?" And I just like didn't tell my parents. I just watched it. I had come to this period in my life where I realized if I didn't tell them about stuff, I maybe could get away with stuff. I know I was like 11. I realized that super late, but I was a very sheltered and innocent kid. One of my favorite aspects about this movie is the high school setting, though. I really have a soft spot for 90s or early 2000s high school set movies. 10 Things I Hate About You, Scream, The Faculty. These movies are really fun for me, and it feels like I kind of understand that world. Even though I wasn't in high school yet at the time, I feel it. I understand it. It all makes sense to me. It's a world that I vibe with because I was basically there. This also feels like a pretty accurate description of what high school was like at the time, including crushing on people that really did not deserve your attention at all. I also love Britney Murphy in this. I really miss seeing her in movies, and I wish that she was still with us. She was great and so real. She always brought a sense of authenticity to her roles. Because of the issues with censorship, this film, unfortunately, skimps on a lot of
Subverting the Slasher Rules and the Virgin List Party
the kills. This isn't necessarily the fault of the filmmakers. their hand was forced. But this still does get a lot right about a teen slasher, especially one of that era. It feels satirical enough. It feels just about scary enough and it feels a little dangerous. Let's talk about the best part of Cherry Falls. This concept for a very long time, there was this idea in slasher movies that if you had sex, you were one of the first people to die. And the people who were very pure and innocent and didn't do anything their parents may have considered wrong were the ones who survived. This mentality was clearly brought about by filmmakers who had their own ideologies and ideas about how young people should act. And this movie was like, "What if we just flipped that around and made it so you're safe if you have sex?" And everybody in the high school realizes this and has a huge party to take themselves off the virgin list. This is a really unique and super fun concept, like an instantly sellable concept.
The Sellable Concept and Father-Daughter Dynamics
That's what everyone is looking for always. A concept that you can say in like one sentence where everyone understands what it means for the movie, why it would be great, but also what it means for the horror genre or in this case subgenre of slashers and why it feels like an evolution of what we've already seen before. Something I really want to talk about when it comes to Cherry Falls is the father-daughter relationship between Michael Bean's character and Britney Murphy's character. Is it just me or is it a little weird? There's this early sequence where she's like I guess sleepwalking and she just like calls out to her dad. Daddy and then there's this part. All right, here I come. Take five, Jim. Okay. Yeah, I don't think that's normal. And we're going to get into spoilers here. If you've never seen Cherry Falls, that's your warning. All that stuff is even weirder once his
The Dark Backstory and Tragic Revelations
stuff is even weirder once his tragic backstory is revealed. It's one of the darkest aspects of this film and by far one of the most intense and brutal backstories for any teen slasher ever. Basically, a bunch of [__] in this town back in the day attacked a woman. And I say attacked because again, demonetization, but you guys know what I mean. And it's awful and brutal. And we find out that this guy played by Michael Bean, our lead character's father, was involved as well. And even though for years he pretended like he didn't know what he was doing because he was drunk, he admits that he did know what he was doing. And it's a really powerful scene. It's heart-wrenching actually. And that creates the motivation for this killer that's going around in town and targeting people that were not only involved with that, but also the purity of some of their children and the children of this town because he believes that that innocence was stolen from his mother, who was the woman in the past who was attacked. and we find out that this guy, Michael Bean, is actually his dad. It's this whole gigantic like Empire Strikes Back level reveal. It's actually really, really cool. All of that feels very relevant.
Character Choices and Modern Perspective on Gender Tropes
What doesn't unfortunately feel as relevant is that Britney Murphy's character continues the tradition of silence at the end of the movie. Even though her father is killed, she chooses not to reveal his involvement in this terrible crime. And I thought that was not great. Also, there's another aspect with this killer, who is revealed to be her teacher, played by Jay Moore. Obviously, watching this today, some of the gender stuff around the killer has aged a little awkwardly. The movie is trying to be pretty progressive about sex and flip the usual slasher morality on its head, but then it also uses the killer's feminine presentation and the reveal of them dressed in women's clothing as part of what's supposed to make them disturbing. That's a trope that lands differently now than it did in 99 or 2000. I don't think it sinks what the movie is doing, but it's definitely something you notice watching it through a modern lens. Even though this doesn't wrap up entirely how I would prefer for today, 26 years ago, this was fairly revoly actually for an idea. And I also love the fact that it's also about kids who are finding out that their parents aren't perfect. Every single kid at some point goes from viewing their parents as these flawless protectors to realizing they're human and they've made a lot of mistakes, too. Again, not an idea commonly explored in teen slashers. The film also has a surprisingly thought-provoking final image of the Cherry Falls themselves running red. It's actually asking you to think a little bit, which is interesting.
Final Verdict and Acknowledgment to Killer Video
Is that suggesting that she's made the wrong choice in continuing this tradition of silence and that the blood is on this town's hands? Or is it just suggesting that a lot of people have died there? Or is it just a provocative image? I don't know. It's interesting to me. And I love that this movie has the guts to ask some actual questions while still trying to be an entertaining teen slasher. It doesn't do everything perfect, but I think the film deserves more respect than it often gets. But I also want to thank Killer Video. This is an amazing museum in Akron, Ohio that is basically a gigantic video rental store. They loaned me their incredibly awesome and very hard to find VHS of Cherry Falls for the intro to this video. So definitely check them out. They are an amazing place and they deserve your support. Guys, thank you so much for continuing to watch the 14th annual Halloween special. And if you like this, you can click right here and get stuckmanized. [music]