Cry_Wolf (2005)

Directed by: Jeff Wadlow | 87 minutes | comedy, horror, thriller | Actors: Julian Morris, Lindy Booth, Jon Bon Jovi, Jared Padalecki, Gary Cole, Jesse Janzen, Paul James, Sandra McCoy, Ethan Cohn, Kristy Wu, Anna Deavere Smith, Erica Yates, Jane Beard

The movie ‘Cry_Wolf’ is a doubter among the horror movies. The front of the DVD strongly suggests that this is horror of the ‘slasher’ genre. The opening of the film with a murder of a girl in the woods by a masked pursuer seems to point in the same direction. And there are more moments later when you as a viewer expect the massacres to be about to begin. Each time, however, the viewer is disappointed. ‘Cry_Wolf’ turns out not to be a movie where a maniac swinging a knife cuts the students of the school from the story into pieces. It seems as if the makers and actors of the film could handle the build-up of tension just fine, but doubted whether they should deliver old-fashioned ‘slasher’ scenes at the heights of the ‘suspense’.

A quote from director Jeff Wadlow provides more insight into his motivations for making the film this way. He reports that modern horror can be classified less as ‘camp’ than the earlier horror: “The films that work today feel more immediate. They’re less about camp and more about tapping into our societal fears.” And it is precisely these social fears that ‘Cry_Wolf’ is all about, the fears that arise from games within a group of students. This data is originally executed. Without using the usual clichés.

For example, there are exciting scenes in which motion sensors are used in a library where lights switch on at the position in which someone is walking. This causes the necessary fear for the sheltering students Dodger and Owen. In addition, the chase scene with Owen in the kitchen also has some unusual twists for the horror genre. Jeff Wadlow delivers a solid performance with his first full-length film. A nice follow-up to his 2001 graduation from the USC School of Cinema-Television and three short films in 2002 and 2004 (“The Tower of Babble” and “Manual Labor” were added as extras to the DVD of “Cry_Wolf” in the US). ‘).

The protagonists Julian Morris (Owen) and Lindy Booth (Dodger) also put down neat roles that are nice for the average American high school film. But they don’t get any higher than this in level. This is not to be expected from a newcomer like Morris and a fairly experienced interpreter of small roles like Booth. More experienced supporting stars like Jon Bon Jovi (‘Pay It Forward’), Anna Deavere Smith (‘Philadelphia’) and Gary Cole (‘One Hour Photo’) should raise this level. But their roles are too limited to accomplish this. Due to the relatively inexperienced cast, the film does not get what’s in it in terms of depth.

This also applies to the story in which there are just too many twists that it is almost no longer believable. Also, the role of Dodger is not clearly developed, is she a “bitch” type or the innocent red-haired vamp? Still, Jeff Wadlow has made an entertaining thriller with ‘Cry_Wolf’. But the crossover to horror he desires is not yet very prominent and the depth is lacking to speak of a good film. Talent and good ideas are there, though, and that’s why he might be a young director to keep an eye on.