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The Movie:
A teen horror movie that feels a few years dated (even though it's coming out on schedule), "Cry Wolf" (not to be confused with the new theatrical release, "Wolf Creek") was not screened for critics, but audiences came out despite that negative sign, bumping the $1m film to a $10m gross, and it'll pick up what one can only guess will be quite a bit more on DVD. The film isn't without some spooky moments and a decent twist or two, but the performances are mediocre and the characters are one-dimensional and not particularly compelling in any way.
The film focuses on the Westlake Preparatory Academy, a school full of wealthy kids, including new Brit arrival Owen (Julian Morris). He quickly finds himself in the midst of the group, which is lead by the snobby Dodger (Lindy Booth). The group of kids plays a game of deception at night in the campus chapel and while their made-up mystery is a way to find entertainment in-between homework and other activities, it's not long before students are disappearing and the "game" that the students thought they were playing turns out to be real.
Is it their teacher (Jon Bon Jovi!) behind it all, or is it Owen's tempermental roommate (Jared Padalecki)? Interestingly enough, despite being marketed as a horror picture, the film is more of a mystery with some horror elements (in other words, it's not particularly graphic and ended up with a PG-13 instead of an R) thrown in.
Overall, "Cry Wolf" doesn't do anything terribly wrong, but doesn't do anything that well, either. The film's characters never seem particularly bright, and director/co-writer Jeff Wadlow never gets enough of a rhythm or suspense going. Overall, a pretty forgettable, average horror/mystery feature.
The "unrated" edition runs 1 minute longer than the theatrical release edition.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Cry Wolf" is presented by Universal Home Video in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The presentation quality was fairly good, as sharpness and detail remained satisfactory; while the picture never appeared crystal clear, it at least looked mostly crisp, with only a couple of moments of softness that didn't appear intentional.
Other flaws were few and minor: some slight shimmering appeared in a couple of scenes, as did a couple of tiny artifacts. No print flaws, edge enhancement or other issues were noted. Colors looked somewhat muted (although warmer, golden tones appeared in some scenes), but appeared accurately presented, with no smearing or other concerns.
SOUND: The film's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack offers up quite a few "jump scares", but the sound mix isn't put to particularly creative use. Surrounds, which could have been used for some creepy ambience, are never really brought into play. Audio quality remained fine, with clear dialogue and effects that sounded well-recorded.
EXTRAS: Commentary from director/co-writer Jeff Wadlow, co-writer Beau Bauman and associate producer Seth Gordon, the two shorts that got the filmmakers the money to do "Cry Wolf", deleted scenes, set tour and casting featurette.
Final Thoughts: "Cry Wolf" has a few moments, but this familiar mix of mystery and horror could have used some script revisions and recasting. Overall, it's an average horror/mystery that may make for a decent rental for fans of the genre. The DVD edition provides fine audio/video quality, as well as a decent helping of supplements.
Film Grade
The Film C-
DVD Grades
Video 87/B
Audio: 87/B
Extras: 80/B-
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