Film Review: Cry_Wolf (dir. J. Wadlow, 2005)

As some of you know, I'm a real fan of the cheesy horror movie. This slasher-style movie is not as bad as many of the reviews I've read made me think it would be. It's similar in some ways to April Fool's Day (1986), in that one is never sure if the killer is really a killer, or whether the whole plot is an elaborate prank. I won't spoil the ending, which includes quite a twist, but I will say that one is never sure what, exactly, is going on, or who it is wearing the orange ski mask. Plot in one sentence: Students at a boarding school create a serial killer rumor, in an email sent to the entire student body, only to find themselves stalked by "the Wolf" they have created.

The thing I liked about this movie was the use of new technologies to keep the genre lively (that's the underscore in the film title). For example, the characters and the killer communicate using instant messaging. The cell phone ringing at an inopportune moment . . . you can't hide from the killer if your ringer is on, people. Not if the killer has you on speed dial. Remember that. And I was wondering how long it would be before we saw a scene where a character about to get killed sends a picture message of herself on her camera phone with the killer standing right behind her. The scene in the library stacks, with the motion-control-sensor lights going on and off as the killer approaches (?), is pretty creative.

The cast is limited in the usual horror movie way. Young actors, hired mainly because they are good looking. But one of the actors, Lindy Booth ("Dodger"), has a future in B-movies, I think.

Best of all: Jon Bon Jovi is in this movie, people. And he plays . . . get this . . . a journalism teacher.

Not a great movie, but not that bad, if you like this sort of thing.