Review of Cry_Wolf (2005) by James S — 13 Aug 2010

On the surface this would appear to be yet another low rent slasher flick. Pretty teens get targeted by knife wielding killer at their preparatory school....but with Bon Jovi as one of their teachers.

It's actually got quite a bit more to it than that. The pretty teens start a rumour concerning a ski masked serial killer following the death of a local girl in the nearby woods, only for their fictional character to take on a startlingly real form. Attempts to kill follow.

The film is obsessed with using the IM technology that was popular 5 years ago to forward it's story and the whole thing is very, very cheesy but Cry Wolf does manage to generate a substantial amount of viewer interest to see it through to the end. Julian Morris is a rather non-descript lead but Lindy Booth as the red headed femme fatale is rather good. Jon Bon Jovi as a teacher merely adds to the cheddar factor but he's rather inoffensive at least.

Cry Wolf goes rather easy on it's gore factor, instead using classic misdirection. The finale is actually really well thought out and contains at least one twists that you genuinely don't see coming, giving the film a refreshing take on the slasher genre. Sadly, the other twist seems a little obvious in comparison but does at least make sense.

Definitely worth seeking out, Cry Wolf won't race to the top of your greatest horror movie of all time but it won't leave you feeling like you just wasted the last 90 minutes either.