This is a first!!! A slasher flick where the slutty ones survive and the goody goody bite it!!! Yippee!!! I’ve been waiting a long time for this puppy. The bad news is: after its one on one battle with the big bad censors, the end product is softer than what I expected. The good news is: even without the extreme gore and abundant teen flesh that the movie was supposed to have, it still comes through like a lap dance on a Monday morning.

If Twin Peaks and Scream were to have sex, Cherry Falls would be its adorable bastard child. I loved the small town vibe with its odd characters and its skeletons in the closet. Something off's in this town. Even the sexuality is a tad out there. Is it me or were the mom and Jody’s boyfriend flirting? And why was the mom always pecking her daughter on the mouth? And didn't the dad seem to get a little "too close for comfort" to his own daughter at one point? There’s a taboo sexual energy floating about in this flick. Toe sucking never looked this appealing!

I also loved the mystery (wassup with the Sheriff?), the hip dialogue (my fav is when one dude calls another dude a butt pirate) and adored the tense filled stalk sequences (I spilled my beer all over my crotch when the first chase scene popped up). This movie also has a great sense of humor (loved the slut’s monologue to the virgins) and a bad ass mean streak (this killer doesn’t f**k around). One second you're laughing and the next you’re on the edge of your seat…way groovy.

It’s also refreshing to see a slasher flick that doesn’t follow the "Scream" mold to the letter. Yes, many elements are familiar but the overall product feels different. First off, the killer here is scary (Ghostface wuz kind of tame looking). He/she is even scarier when his/her identity is revealed. This person is f**cking whacked out! What a great performance. I also appreciated that unlike all the Scream imitators, this killer doesn’t go on a monologue spree to explain his/her motive. Here we’re treated to somber flashbacks and one hell of a tense moment. The killer’s motive itself is a credible one and once all the pieces of the puzzle are out on the table, it makes for an even more messed up movie. The last twenty minutes of this flick had me grinning with delight from ear to ear. Fun shite!

The teens all look and feel real (except for Ken…see ACTING). The way the kids react to the death of one of their classmates echoes reality. Lots of us are desensitized little shits and it actually made me think to what I would say if I learned that one of my own compadres was hacked to bits (I’d probably crack an off-color joke too). The film addresses relevant and serious issues (peer pressure and loss of virginity are two more) but always has its tongue planted deep in…you pick where.

The film’s major flaw has to be the whodunit. Anybody that graduated "SLASHER MOVIES 101" won’t have too hard of a time figuring out who the murderer is. They didn’t cover it up too well. I also didn’t like the way the killer died. Way too easy for such a mean mutha.

In the original cut, Annette’s death was pretty nasty. She had her throat pushed on a broken window. The MPAA didn’t dig that and they had to re-shoot her death in a different way. Now she gets her head banged by a door (and that too was toned down…no more blood gushing).

The orgy massacre was also dried up. Only off-screen murders left.

They had to submit this movie 5 times to the MPAA before they got the R rating.