After introducing the world to Russell Crowe with his indelible skinhead drama ROMPER STOMPER, Australian director Geoffrey Wright did what many foreign filmmakers do: he went to Hollywood. Wright’s first American movie was CHERRY FALLS, a deliciously nasty thriller starring Brittany Murphy as a high schooler trying to figure out the identity of a serial killer who only kills teenage virgins. Jay Mohr, Michael Biehn, DJ Qualls, Jesse Bradford and Candy Clark round out the no-less-iconic supporting ensemble.
While CHERRY FALLS was intended to ride the same post-SCREAM wave as I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and URBAN LEGEND, the finished version scandalized Universal Pictures, especially after the MPAA rejected multiple cuts in objection to Wright’s depictions of unsparing violence and teenage sex. It played a few more tolerant festivals in Europe before the studio gave up on the idea of a wide release and offloaded it to USA Films for telecast in late 2000—making CHERRY FALLS the most expensive TV movie of all time.
This September, Low Cinema is proud to present a special 25th anniversary celebration of CHERRY FALLS, its first-ever American theatrical engagement (with Geoffrey Wright joining for Q+A after the September 6th screening.) Don’t miss this rare and unfairly overlooked teen horror classic, finally available to watch on the big screen just in time for back-to-school/hell season.
Film notes and poster by Steve Macfarlane, who will be moderating Q+A on September 6th.
After introducing the world to Russell Crowe with his indelible skinhead drama ROMPER STOMPER, Australian director Geoffrey Wright did what many foreign filmmakers do: he went to Hollywood. Wright’s first American movie was CHERRY FALLS, a deliciously nasty thriller starring Brittany Murphy as a high schooler trying to figure out the identity of a serial killer who only kills teenage virgins. Jay Mohr, Michael Biehn, DJ Qualls, Jesse Bradford and Candy Clark round out the no-less-iconic supporting ensemble.
While CHERRY FALLS was intended to ride the same post-SCREAM wave as I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and URBAN LEGEND, the finished version scandalized Universal Pictures, especially after the MPAA rejected multiple cuts in objection to Wright’s depictions of unsparing violence and teenage sex. It played a few more tolerant festivals in Europe before the studio gave up on the idea of a wide release and offloaded it to USA Films for telecast in late 2000—making CHERRY FALLS the most expensive TV movie of all time.
This September, Low Cinema is proud to present a special 25th anniversary celebration of CHERRY FALLS, its first-ever American theatrical engagement (with Geoffrey Wright joining for Q+A after the September 6th screening.) Don’t miss this rare and unfairly overlooked teen horror classic, finally available to watch on the big screen just in time for back-to-school/hell season.
Film notes and poster by Steve Macfarlane, who will be moderating Q+A on September 6th.
