Phonearl
Good start, but then it gets ruined
Stevecorp
Don't listen to the negative reviews
Caryl
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
GL84
After he arrives at Westlake College, a new student falls in with a group of friends that play practical jokes on each other, and when the group members start to fall prey to a mysterious killer like the one described in a school-wide prank, they start to wonder if it's a game or a real madman on the loose.There are only a couple really decent things about this movie. The most obvious one is the rather fun stalking scenes on display throughout here which become rather decent in places. Among the more enjoyable is the extremely classy sequence inside a library with motion-activated lights overhead which continually signal someone is in the area with them which makes the scene really stand-out and suspenseful, a later chase through a kitchen diner has the same potential, and the big stalking encounter in the parking lot of the dance party makes for a rather impressive action. Even some of the set-up scenes from the use of computers and instant messaging does manage to get some more tense scenes later on and gives this some fun for the finale as it sets up a classic twist that works. The original premise is pretty decent and could've actually helped it out, but that's about it for the film since this is such a huge letdown that it's hard to know where to start. Among its biggest obstacles is the PG-13 rating which is incredibly problematic here as it never works for a slasher film, for the toning down for the rating robs it of what's the primary focus here in the bloodletting and sleaze. Both of these are barely hinted at, since it can't become too gory for the younger crowd, a serious detriment to the genre as a whole and would really be better off not being around anymore. The potentially decent storyline is also wasted here as well, since it twists and turns itself around on itself so many times that not only does it contradict itself too many times, it simply makes the whole thing a confused and really pointless affair. The constant lying does the film no favors, as it bogs down the film by never making sure that keeping it's smart script ahead of everyone else was a top priority. By the time the second or third twist ending comes out, it's tiresome and annoying and would've just been better off giving us more horror elements instead of playing the ridiculous mind-games. That's another big problem here in that for a film that claims to be a horror film there's nothing else in here beyond one classy set-piece and another one that's decent enough. Everything is wasted, which is such a shame as the potential could've been there. The most obvious of this is the bathroom attack. The set-up is classic and certainly suspenseful, but it's telegraphed so far ahead of time that it's just a matter of impatience until it comes out and gets the surprise, only to find that it was just a bore instead. Not enough horror elements to really be scary, too many twists for its own good and a rather weak story sink this one badly.Rated PG-13: Mild Violence and Language.
Python Hyena
Cry Wolf (2005): Dir: Jeff Wadlow / Cast: Julian Morris, Jared Padalecki, Lindy Booth, Jon Bon Jovi, Sandra McCoy: Stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID horror film about telling one too many lies. One of those lies was the filmmakers claiming that this was worthwhile entertainment. After a murder occurs at a university a group of students play a murder game but actual murders do transpire. Contrived formula with a complete idiotic ending. Director Jeff Wadlow makes good use of lighting on the location but the cast play off the biggest bunch of jackasses since the last dumb horror film. Julian Morris arrives new on campus and gets caught up in this idiotic game. How unfortunate for her that it involves being caught on camera during the making of this film. Jared Padalecki and Lindy Booth play moron students taking part in this game because they have nothing better to do. Jon Bon Jovi appears as one of the teachers and this certainly will not go down as a positive career move. He should record a song for this film and call it "You Give Horror Films a Bad Name." Its whole rumor message was dealt with much more successfully in the teen film Gossip, which is a far better viewing experience. That film dealt with the issue of gossip and the whole cry wolf syndrome in a much more effective and entertaining way. Don't cry wolf. Scream for a better horror film. Score: 3 / 10
Dom Nickson
Spoiler Alert!!! This film is literally the most untalked about slasher film I know of and honestly, it deserves more recognition. The idea about this film is a group of friends who make a story about a serial killer on campus and killing the friends one by one. The problem becomes big when the lead guy finds out that somebody really is killing the friends one by one in the exact way they do in the story. The whole story is confusing but very entertaining and enjoyable. I enjoyed the film for what it was and I didn't really like the big twist at the end because I think it fits well if the twist didn't really exist. It seemed like a big rip off of the slasher film April Fool's Day. I give this film a 6 out of 10 due to the dumb twist at the end.
Nitzan Havoc
For those of you who only read the first line - WATCH THIS MOVIE if you haven't yet.Just as the game in the story is all about deception, manipulation and off-throwing - so is the movie! It starts off just like any other teen-horror film. All the indicators are present. Small esoteric isolated town, typical gang of friends, even some minorities (not to be racist or anything, that's just the way it is), a nerd, a jerk, and even a Prom Queen-New Guy affair to top off the clichés. What could go right, huh?The dialogs unfortunately appeared to to be out-of-character and really hurt my suspension of disbelief. The high level vocabulary (while always a nice surprise in such films) should not have been used by the "idiot"/"jerk" of the gang...Then, suddenly - the audience who have been expecting nothing more than another mediocre McDonalds apple pie, get a gourmet chocolate soufflé. It begins with the brilliant shooting (i.e. enactments of the scenes described by the dialogs, the Email being written as the information in it is verbalized, etc.) While not all that original, I think the director has managed to renovate and upgrade the technique.However, the absolute best part (and the main reason I've given this film 9/10) is the game. As corny as it might sound - while the kids are playing their pranks on each other, the real prank victims are us. At first, like 27 minutes into the film, I snapped my fingers and "called" who the killer was. "I have too long a history of whodunits", I said to myself, "this has been a disappointingly easy guess". Was I ever wrong... Towards the end - so many twists, changes, confusions, half truths and lies... I dare you to guess the ending halfway through! If at first we were accomplices to the gang's pranks, by the end we were taken out of the picture completely, just like the actual victims.It's not the sort of film like Saw IV where you have to rewind and re- watch in order to understand what happened. By the end of "Cry_Wolf", all questions are asked, and answered.Genius story! A little more work on the dialog and the acting of some of the teenagers, and I'd have given it 10/10. Like I've said at the beginning - WATCH this film. The BEST teen-horror/twist film I've ever seen! The genre has obviously come a long way since Scream & I Know What You Did Last Summer.
