Cry Wolf (2005) Poster

(2005)

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5/10
PG-13? Hey, it makes sense for once!
AngryChairr16 September 2005
A surprisingly intelligent suspense/horror film. Notice the dual title I gave to it? Yeah, that's because it takes elements from both to make a much better movie. I'm really surprised they canceled the critics' screenings for this because I honestly think it would get good reviews from quite a few critics. Maybe I'm wrong.

Either way, it starts off in post-Scream slasher mode before kicking things into gear. It quickly takes on the trappings of the urban legend/parable/whatever that the title is derived from, with a group of spoiled rich kids deciding to trick their private school into thinking there's a killer on campus. Trouble is...there actually might be.

The two leads, Julian Morris and Lindy Booth are both actually very good. Booth, who did almost nothing in the Dawn of the Dead remake, shines brightest, mixing girl-next-door charm with a lying, manipulative alter-ego. And it makes sense because her character uses the former so she can accomplish the latter.

Another surprising stand-out is...Jon Bon Jovi? Yeah, the guy can actually act. He skirts the line a few times but he's definitely believable as an English teacher. His story arc is also kind of funny when you consider his career, and what that likely entailed during the '80s. So once again, not a stretch.

The only flaw I could see with the movie is that it seems a little calculating. At points, it seems like it's intentionally trying to avoid teen horror clichés. For example, a victim is being chased and instead of running out a door, he tries to trick the killer into thinking he has. Smart. Probably too smart for a high school student, but at least it's a change from the same run, scream, hide, run again, knife to the throat routine.

Speaking of that tired old routine and the rating it usually causes, this is probably the first time in years where I actually felt a PG-13 rating was warranted. Making this an R horror movie would've killed any semblance of logic. Here the violence isn't necessarily what's supposed to frighten you. Human nature is. Their lies are what bring about the conclusion, which is infinitely darker than anything Jason Vorhees has ever done.
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7/10
Quite entertaining for such a small budget and no-name cast
TheMovieMark16 September 2005
Avoid suspicion. Manipulate your friends. Eliminate your enemies. That's the name of the game that these fictional students play on campus, and on a bigger level it's the name of the game they're playing with the audience. Well, except for the "eliminate your enemies" bit. Though there were some annoying chatters that I wish could have been eliminated from the theater.

Working with a minimal budget and a no-name cast (except for Bon Jovi and Gary Cole), director Jeff Wadlow has shown us, just like last year's Saw did, that when your ambition is bigger than your pocketbook then you can still create an extremely entertaining film. This isn't quite as frantic and intense as Saw, but I have no problem admitting that it sucked me in and forced me to thoroughly enjoy it.

Get ready to bait your pole for a little red herring fishing because this movie's teeming with 'em. If you don't mind being manipulated as you try to guess who the killer is then you should have a fun time. I thought I had it figured out several times, and within the last 10 minutes I finally did guess what was going on ... somewhat. There was another small twist at the end that kind of caught me off guard. The movie is constructed slickly enough to convince you that you've got the mystery solved, but the twists are just subtle enough to throw you off the trail and reveal that you're not as smart as you think you are.

I get tired of people complaining about PG-13 horror movies. "I want lots of cussing! I want lots of gore! I want nudity!" Really? Well, I want a decent story that I can sink my teeth into and follow with interest. I want an element of surprise. I want dialogue that doesn't rely on ye olde "f" bomb as an uncreative crutch. I don't want to be seething with anger over a stupid plot twist that makes no sense in retrospect to the rest of the movie.

Cry_Wolf succeeds on each of these points, and if you keep in mind the limitations that come with such a small budget and remind yourself that there are no Oscar winners in this cast, then you should get your money's worth. If you're looking for a gore-soaked bloodbath with topless women running all over the place then you're probably just going to troll the message boards and complain about how horrible this movie is, so just save us all your whining and go watch a Chucky movie instead.

THE GIST

Cry_Wolf is not a slasher movie that is focused on how many deaths the killer can pile up. It's more of a mystery that is concerned with keeping the audience guessing for 90 minutes. I would've liked a little more tension and a few more scares, but I tip my hat to director Wadlow for a fine effort on such a small budget.
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7/10
Good story with a great twist
luha25 August 2004
I just came back from a screening for 'Cry Wolf.' I must say, at first I thought it was pretty predictable, but then it takes a cool twist that made me stop and think. Great re-telling of the fabled story of the "Boy Who Cried Wolf," this story has a fantastic set of characters headed by Julian Morris, great performance by Lindy Booth, and followed out with good supporting characters played by Bon Jovi, Jared Padalecki, the beautiful Sandra McCoy, and several others. Without giving anything away, I'd recommend anyone who likes good guessing-thrillers and fun jumpy scenes, to go see this movie . . . when it comes out, of course. Good story, good settings, great music.
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6/10
It's a good thriller with very cool twists
ipekmine18 March 2006
I'm glad that I didn't care the ideas of a few critics who said it's a boring, unsuccessful Urban-Legend-try. I think Cry_Wolf is way better than most of the thriller movies I've seen recently. The cast is well-chosen, the infamous names end up with good performance and Jon Bon Jovi does a great job as an actor. The twists in the story and the main idea is really, really cool. There aren't horror/thriller clichés in the movie, and surprises keep coming till the last minute as questions keep showing up in your mind through the 90 minutes, which sure keeps the interest high. All in all, I truly liked the movie and i can recommend it highly.
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7/10
Entertaining Tale of Manipulation
claudio_carvalho7 December 2006
When the troubled Owen (Julian Morris) joins the private Westlake Preparatory Academy, he meets the senior student Dodger (Lindy Booth), who invites him to participate of a game of lies with her friends. The objective of the lying game is to avoid suspicious, manipulate the friends and eliminate the enemies. The group decides to play a prank in all the mates of the high school, using a recent unsolved murder of a student in the campus. They send e-mails to all colleagues describing fake crimes with the same characteristics of the young woman committed by a serial killer called "The Wolf". Their teacher Rich Walker (Jon Bon Jovi) advises Owen how serious this joke could be. When the students of their group start to disappear, Owen, Dodger and Tom realize that the criminal became real.

"Cry_Wolf "was a great surprise for me, being an entertaining tale of manipulation. The engaging story has many unpredictable twists and a surprising conclusion. The promising teen cast has great performances, highlighting the gorgeous Lindy Booth, Julian Morris and Jared "Supernatural" Padalecki, besides the name of Jon Bon Jovi. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Cry_Wolf: O Jogo da Mentira" ("Cry_Wolf: The Lying Game")
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5/10
Scream meets Skulls
richard1973-125 January 2006
The brief read up I read I had it down as a typical low budget slasher, and it had bon jovi as an actor in it. So things weren't looking up before I even pressed play.

However it was quite good, it started off with a typical slasher killing of a girl in the woods, then after that a story and plot develops based on it.

A rich British lad has been expelled from school in England and faces a drugs charge, but good 'ol daddy twists a few arms and gets him shipped off to America and join a private posh school campus.

Here he meets a bunch of kids, and as a prank they decide to use the recent murder nearby in the woods as their joke.

So they send out a group email to the whole campus saying 'this happened at my old school there were 6 murders, the first was in the woods with a handgun, the 2nd murder was ... and so. They also give the killer a description of an orange ski mask and cameo jacket and using a knife for the 5 other murders, and went by the name WOLF.

As word spreads round the campus, 'is this real' or 'is it a joke?' it happens!! ohh one of the group goes missing!! And then other murders start to happen using their hoax descriptions! Quite a refreshing take on of the whole slasher/campus theme which holds a few twists and turns. Some are blatant too but never-mind.

Over all its an enjoyable movie which is filmed quite well. Cry Wolf looks to have a decent budget to it too, it's good to not see typical bad acting in this style of movie. If I were to sum it up, it's Scream meets Skulls.
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7/10
A different take on the slasher genre.
Ky-D30 December 2005
Though to call it a slasher film is really rather unfair to what the filmmakers have attempted. For, while the box art looks like a slasher, the plot description reads like a slasher and there are even a few stalk 'n slash segments in it, it really isn't a slasher. Picture 'The Game', 'Cruel Intentions', and 'Halloween' participating in a menage and this being the result of that union.

A bunch of bored rich kids get their kicks playing liar games, whomever lies the best gets that pot. But when a new kid with a shady past arrives they decide to up the ante. They invent a serial killer around a recent unsolved murder in the nearby town and psych out the entire school as well as each other. But when people begin to disappear and a figure clad as their killer had been described starts playing with them, it seems like it might not have ever been a game at all.

The film works hard to turn slasher conventions around on themselves. The plotting does everything it can to throw views off the truth; who is the killer, is there a killer? Red herrings abound as the lies mix with the truth to keep the scent faint. Most of the script is well written and keeps viewers guessing, but on occasion it is simply too easy guess what the film is trying to hide from you, which is bit disappointing.

The acting is mostly very good for a cast of relative unknowns. Linda Booth is about the only one I immediately recognized and that being from her memorable death in 'Wrong Turn'. Her and Bon Jovi in a deliciously sleazy role. On a whole the females come off the best with each of them playing a distinct character while the males tend to blend together from time to time.

The production values are by no means big budget, they are more than adequate and there a number of effective artsy segments that do much to establish a distinct visual style for the film.

A brief note on the rating. The PG-13 rating is obviously meant to open up the film to a wider audience, but I can guarantee that many horror purists would skip it because of that. Being a gore hound, at first I was put off by a slasher film without graphic killings, but I can safely say that the film really doesn't need any more flowing crimson than it already has.

Slasher fans will arguably get the most mileage out of this, but even those without a taste for the sub-genre ought to be able to enjoy the layered plot.

8/10
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2/10
Stare at a pie.....same effect.
dmurph4121 February 2006
This is a movie about 5 or 6 Highschool kids that start a rumor that a killer is on campus. Each student dies one by one throughout the movie and so do their careers. If I were an actor in this movie I would have prayed they killed me off first so I could get the hell off set. This film was unrated, but could have been rated G...for "god awful". There was no violence or nudity, which took my focus straight out of the movie. Also the Chinese girl fits into this film as much as the fat kid who sits in front of you in philosophy class fits into his seat. Somehow these kids had the vocabulary of Harvard grads, yet when they try to execute their stupid game, they fail at a sixth grade level. I would rather sit through seven consecutive episodes of "Tyra" than go through that modern day torture again.
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7/10
Solid murder mystery
xredgarnetx25 December 2005
At first glance, CRY WOLF appears to be a slasher flick as a helpless female is hunted down by a masked killer in some deep dark woods. But in reality it is a straightforward murder mystery involving a bunch of prep school students who decide to play a deadly game of who's-the-killer after a local girl is found shot to death in the woods near their school. You may think you are watching a killer-on-the-prowl scenario, and in a way you would be right. But wait until the end. Nothing is as it seems. Absolutely nothing. The resolution is likely to leave you breathless. The director worked with what appears to be a very small budget and a mostly unknown cast, and does right by a script that at times reminded me of SCREAM or THE FACULTY or THE SKULLS. It even reminded me vaguely of TEN LITTLE INDIANS/AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, which tells you something about my age. The female lead, a manipulative redhead played expertly by Linday Booth, is very much in the Rachel McAdams mold and I expect to see more out of her. An almost unrecognizable Jon Bon Jovi plays her teacher/lover!
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2/10
Cry Wolf, ooh oooh, time to worry.
hitchcockthelegend2 September 2011
Of course, the title of this review will only make sense to those familiar with the pop song of the same name by Norwegian popsters A-ha. The cheesy song, warbled with gusto by the angular faced Morten Harket, is considerably better than the film of the same name. In fact, running the tune on a continuous loop for 94 minutes is far more appealing than ever having to sit through this movie again.

Directed by Jeff Wadlow, who used the money he won at the 2002 Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival to fund the project, film has a smart premise and big ambitions. Unfortunately the premise, kids at posh prep school play a lying game and invent a serial killer-who surprise to surprise comes real, is not exploited to any level of decent entertainment, horror, thriller or otherwise. It's badly acted by Julian Morris (amusingly over emphasising his English accent like he is auditioning for Twelfth Night), Jared Padalecki (who acted better when ensconced in wax in House of Wax also released this same year) and Jon Bon Jovi (out acted by his hair), while its surprisingly short on frights; or blood for that matter.

Clearly trying to craft a thinking mans slasher, Wadlow instead gets confused and winds up with a standard film of red herrings and annoying by the numbers privileged teenagers. The script is a garbled mess, stretching credibility to unacceptable levels, and even when it gets into a groove of "complex" speak, it comes out as false. The one shining light is Lindy Booth, who positively sauces her way thru the movie, making a standard horror female character far better than it is on the page. But alas, she can't drag the others with her, hamstrung by a rookie director out of his league. The subsequent non film career of all involved speaks volumes. 2/10
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8/10
An enjoyable and clever underrated film due to poor and misleading marketing
ScottDMenzel20 September 2005
A group of friends at Wesley, a rich upscale high school, play a game called cry wolf every night. The game was created by the group's leader Dodger (Lindy Booth) who marks one of her friends as the liar with a red marker and it's up to the rest of the group to figure out who is the liar. One day Dodger and the new kid at the school Owen (Julian Morris) decide it will be fun to make up an entire lie about a murdering serial killer loose on campus. Owen and Dodger go along with the idea and send a mass email to everyone on campus letting them know that a killer by the name of "The Wolf" is murdering people on campus. But it isn't long before this little joke turns into a real threat that might cost everyone involved in the joke their lives.

Three words can be used to describe this film clever, suspenseful, and enjoyable! I really enjoyed this film and I didn't see it coming at all, I expected something mediocre at best when walking into the theater. While the marketing for this film is misleading and makes this movie seem like another brainless teen horror slasher flick, I assure you it's not like that. While I wouldn't call this movie 100% percent original, I would say that this movie is a pretty fresh idea with a lot of originality. This movie is great for a few reasons, the first reason is because the idea behind it is pretty new, the second reason is that the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat with suspense, and lastly the film keeps you guessing. I love movies that make you keep you thinking and just when you think you know what's going to happen, your proved wrong. This film contains a lot of twists! And I haven't seen a movie that kept me guessing all the way till the end in a long time.

The acting for this cast of newcomers is actually pretty good especially for the genre at hand. I really enjoyed Julian Morris's character Owen; he played the part very well and he was very believable. I also really enjoyed Lindy Booth who was excellent as Dodger, she had such a controlling power about her and she really brought it out on screen. Also I have to mention that she was incredibly cute! Also the other surprise here was Jon Bon Jovi who actually can act and sing which is always an incredible pair but he was good as the sleazy journalism teacher. There are several others to mention here and that would probably take far too much time to list them all but they were all good at the roles they played.

"Cry_Wolf" was directed by newcomer Jeff Wadlow a recent USC film graduate. I must say that I liked what he did with the film. He knew how to build the suspense and capture the character's fears and excitement. I really liked some of the camera shots especially the whole collage thing when all of the people started to read the email about the serial killer on campus. Nice work there! Also Jeff co-wrote the film with Beau Bauman and I must say the film was a pretty fresh idea and I loved the whole idea behind the film considering it seems like an idea that could happen now with computers and cell phones everywhere.

So to sum it up, "Cry_Wolf" is not what the trailers lead you to believe; instead it's a suspense thriller with good acting, a semi original story, and a great ending. The movie contains several twists that keeps the audience always on the edge of their seats asking the question "What's going to happen next?" It might not be an Oscar worthy film but it's a damn good thriller to say the least. It keeps you guessing and interested from start to finish and what more can you ask for from a mainstream Hollywood film?

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Cry_Wolf" is a 8/10. Buy the big popcorn and sit back and enjoy the suspense.
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6/10
Old fashion movie with original idea
skirmantux14 June 2006
This movie is strange. When I remember this movie, it looks like 1998 style horror movie and it's to bad, because this movie is 2005 release. Another bad thing about this movie - the same non-original scenes in student town. It so boring. The director have to take original places, not a college town. The third bad thing - actor. They acted really bad. They not entertaining. producer have to take better horror movie stars. Poor Jon Bon Jovi, he goes to the wrong movie. Maybe he was just for money? Best thing in movie - original idea about imagine serial killer in town, who's killing students in college town. And I think this is it...
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3/10
Please don't bother
ajsmudger117 June 2007
I'm a fan of slasher/ horror films. Not this one, though. Truly poor, predictable and badly acted. There are a handful of what one might term plot 'twists'. I watched it with a group of 3 friends and we guessed every single one of them. One of the major ones we guessed within 20 minutes of the film starting. And it boasts some of the worst English accents I've heard in a while. Do not watch this film - you will want the 90 minutes of your life back afterwards. Also, it was incredibly like a film I remember seeing a while back called Gossip, I think. That wasn't particularly good either, but it at least had the bonus of some originality over this one. This is one of the poorest example of teen horror/ slasher films I have ever seen. Even that bloke from Supernatural and Jon Bon Jovi can't redeem it.
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7/10
Pleasantly surprised
Verona26 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I must say I was not expecting this sort of storyline- "a long con" as it were, sophisticated and well acted. Everyone should know that Dodger is trouble from the beginning- especially when like Eve in Eden, she's sitting there, plotting and holding an apple (although the Eve stereotype isn't true). But it really is a movie that keeps you guessing, instead of it being some run of the mill teen-slasher flick. I must say I was pleased that Jared Padalecki doesn't die in this one, as he has died in every other movie I've ever seen him in.

All the actors were great considering the fact they are young, and even Bon Jovi was good.

Fun movie which is a great throwback to Hollywood's classic "Whodunnit's".
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7/10
Surprisingly Enjoyable
morbidlove2120 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The reviews for the movie were mostly unflattering. The plot was predictable, the "twists" and "surprises" weren't entirely twisty or surprising enough. And yet, I was charmed by this movie. I enjoyed the acting and the story,no like the game they played and the overall outcome. The body count is low considering this is in the slasher genre, but all in all I think it's worth a watch.
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1/10
Cry Wolf Droppings!
bobhartshorn3 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
From the visionary director of Manual Labor and Catching Kringle comes the ultimate in bloodless terror!

If anaemic shocks fused with telegraphed twists and sub Scream shenanigans is your idea of horror movie heaven, then Cry Wolf will drive you into a frenzy!

Set in a boarding school for bratty rich-kids, the storyline deals with the fabrication of a Serial-Killer-On-Campus scare-story by a group of dopey students. After passing it off to the rest of the school as the never-ending-truth via e-mail, they come a cropper when a real mad knife-man comes-a-knocking. Doh!

Following some weak-kneed thrills and wishy-washy attempts at horror, we arrive at a super-unshocking, super-silly denouement with some hypocritical moralising thrown in for good measure.

In all fairness, the material does have a whiff of potential and in more capable, creative hands it could have been a good piece of trashy fun. But with butterfingers Jeff Wadlow behind the wheel, it never stood a chance and he ploughs this particular vehicle headfirst into a sewage-tank.

Spearheading the cast of teen-androids is the stunning non-entity that is Julian Morris, an actor so lacking in distinction, charisma and screen presence, that he makes Orlando Bloom look like a modern-day reincarnation of Spencer Tracey. His balsa-wood like delivery and rigor-mortis-from-the-neck-up expressionism, hasn't made me laugh so much since Madonna made an ass of herself (yet again) in Swept Away.

This young 'thesp' must have friends in very high places to keep getting the rate of work evident on his CV. Why producers and directors are still casting him in leading-man roles is a mystery bigger to me than that of UFO's, Jack the Ripper and the Loch-Ness Monster.

Morris' ineptitude in front of the camera is matched wholesale by Wadlow's behind it. With an insistent use of bleached into oblivion film stock, his visuals are washed out to sea taking any blood & guts (real or metaphorical) with it and damning every inch of celluloid with an aesthetic so bland and vapid, that it makes the colour palette of your average Hollyoaks episode look like it was blueprinted from the Wachowski brothers' SpeedRacer.

The Uzi-fire editing (no doubt deployed by the front office after viewing the finished product) cuts everything up so aggressively, and into such sloppy small pieces, that nothing on show gets more than a split nano-second of screen time to breathe before it wilts and dies in a hotbed of arrested non-development.

A laughably miscast Jon Bon Jovi in the role of a school teacher, and an accent-wandering walk-on part by Gary Cole as Morris' father (you can do better than this sir), bang the final nine-inch-nails into the coffin of a stiff that is yet to see a sequel. Phew.
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6/10
Fun film with Twists
ninievans2 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I watched the trailer and thought the idea was good, and was really not expecting much from the film, but I am glad I watched it. Its better than it seems and the writers actually thought about what they were doing. I really enjoyed Dodgers performance. She was very manipulative, and believable. I love movies that shock me in the end, and that's why I gave a film like this a higher rating than it probably should get. Jon Bon Jovi's character was also interesting. I think the characters should have got developed a little better, but they didn't ruin the film for me, because the supporting characters aren't in it that much.If your bored and you like slasher movies, then definitely watch this.
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2/10
Incredibly bad slasher film
kannibalcorpsegrinder7 April 2017
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.
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6/10
Same old with a different taste
thisisshe20 September 2005
There were no advanced screenings of Cry_Wolf. Of course, like most people, my idea was that it was a horrid movie that the studio didn't want to open to bad reviews. Well, now I've changed my mind. Instead, think of this as a Sixth Sense kind of thing- twist ending.

The movie centers around Westlake Prep school and a bunch of rich kids. Dodger( Lindy Booth) is the head of this little group, and obviously needing to prove something by being extra devious. The rest of the kids are the stereotyped teens that always appear in moves, the jock, the sarcastic girl, the goth/punk kid- who has way too many piercings to be allowed in prep school, and the token black guy,. The school is shocked by a murder of a local girl just about the time our main character Owen shows up. He's invited into Dodger's world and their game, where they try to lie to each other and accuse to win money. Soon they decide to bring the game school wide and invent a serial killer- The Wolf. But then what they invent becomes real.

I really liked the pace and the colors of this movie. The school was surrounded by trees and forests in fall, which at night added to the feel of the film. Everything hides in the shadows. Something I had trouble believing, and not because it wasn't well done, was Gary Cole, who is Owen's absent father, is British. It's hard to see someone like him trying to use an accent and it just doesn't fit. The director hints at what's to come in the rest of the movie during a scene in the library. A book hanging off the shelf, Sartre's No Exit, is thrust between the two characters- of course the obviousness of the placement makes me wonder if the director has heard of subtlety.

This movie was not a horror movie, nor a thriller. It should be classified as suspense. The blood and gore is very limited so the faint of heart would be safe with this. Scream and other 90s horror movies set up the sarcastic, poking fun at themselves story lines with snappy one liners. It was the "new" spin on horror. Cry_Wolf doesn't do this. Perhaps because they're trying to fit in with movies of the 2000s, with the twist endings. It's almost impossible to see a movie these days without a twist ending. Even without all of that, I still enjoyed the idea. The end was odd but so well explained someone who had missed the rest of the movie would understand. With not much in the thriller/horror genre out right now in theaters, Cry_Wolf is good for satisfying your craving. But if something a little more straightforward and gory, I'd recommend a trip to the video store instead.
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5/10
Nay
Superunknovvn26 May 2006
This is one of those movies that try hard to confuse the audience to dissemble obvious twists in the plot, but fail completely. Never does "Cry_Wolf" fool you. You know exactly where it's going and you also know that the final explanation is not going to work after all the "facts" that have been given to us earlier. It sounds confusing, but if you see the movie you'll know what I mean. The worst thing about "Cry_Wolf", however, is that Jeff Wadlow isn't able to pull off one good scare or a thrilling suspense scene. The whole thing just isn't exciting in any way, it's merely tolerable enough for you to keep your eyes on the screen. Needless to say that the characters and the performances are as flat as the story itself (this is, after all, a cast that includes Jon Bon Jovi). There have been far better horror movies (if you want to call it that) in the past 6 years and you'd be well advised to watch the other "Wolf"-movie of 2005, "Wolf Creek", instead of this forgettable affair.
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10/10
Twists make the movie particularly intriguing
andyudis18 June 2005
We saw the movie at an early preview, and had no idea what we were getting into. At first, Cry Wolf seems like it's going to be a traditional, straight-forward slasher movie, but soon you begin to realize that there are layers within layers, and the result is a movie that's increasingly suspenseful and intriguing from beginning to end. It would be highly unfair to give away the plot. It's appropriate only to say that each of several of us was surprised by the ending. Most of the actors are talented unknowns, with a couple of established actors (Jon Bon Jovi, Anna Deavere Smith) artfully used (Bon Jovi in a major role, Smith in a minor one). The movie cleverly weaves in current technologies (especially instant messaging) in a way that heightens the suspense and is sure to enhance its appeal to young audiences. Great production values, cinematography and editing -- all elements contribute to a movie that's one of the best of its genre.
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6/10
cry_uncle
holt-bill17 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Not too bad. Lots to like. Sound track was pretty good. Forced use of sound track in places. I decided to see it because the themes appealed to me: manipulation, class, technology.

I like movies like Cry_wolf that don't mess around or drag on necessarily, but go ahead and give me some character development here or there. The movie was all business between the credit sequences. The plot was earned logically but not emotionally. They had their i's dotted and t's crossed as far as incidental dialog supporting the plot twists. But slow down and build a stronger case for why the existing group of friends want to royally yank this guy's chain. You have great material: entitled rich kids vs. troubled outsider. Cut out the friends and paste in the supporting cast from School Ties and I am hooked.

In the master manipulator sweepstakes I'll take Racehl Weiss in the shape of things rather than Lindy Booth. I have an actor friend so I feel weird criticizing performances knowing nothing of the craft, but Lindy showed glimpses of delivering the character and might have stretched more.. Her final shot was top-notch subtle!.... More please! All the elements were there for suspense. The library motion sensor lights were the best suspense device since the kid dropping fire crackers in Pulp Fiction. How come I felt no spine tingling? Note to Messers. Gordon, Tirone, and Wadlow: Rent a couple of Hitchcock films! Do I need nudity? No. Would a playful make out scene between the principals draw me closer to the characters and flavor the tension and the plot twists more? Yes it would.

If there was generally a bit more character development among the circle of friends, maybe I would have felt more involved and helped persuade me how they all got sucked in to Dodger's plot. How about give Dodger an inferior fellow manipulator for her to trounce instead of a bevy of aimless and tongue clucking nobodies. Skip the ominous janitor coverage. They referenced Scooby doo, so I think they knew how one could perceive their movie.

Oh and don't high school students ever have fun and laugh with their friends? Why not be afraid to show it more so I am that much more terrified when they are about to die.

There was good stuff here. Beef it up and you could have had an amazing thing.

Bits: I heart Gary Cole, but not so hot with the English accent, him. I just hate to see the ones I like miss the mark.

Overhead shot of the forest looked lifted from the Blair witch 2 credits. I was looking for some similar savagery of man in nature themes going on but instead I got simulated savagery of man on a campus that has a dance going on then is closed then is open.

I liked the use of cell phones and instant messaging. Technology has brought us new psychological issues that we haven't figured out how to deal with completely yet.

Notice the male lead did not make it into my comments.

Can anyone explain the relevance of Sartre reference they bludgeoned us with in the library scene? Jon Bon Jovi did a fine job.
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4/10
"The Horror Movie Rules Kill Cry_Wolf"
Matt_Layden7 January 2006
After a new student makes a fool out of everyone during a friendly game, the university students decide to take the game to the next level. They create a false rumour based on a real murder, but when one of the students receives threatening instant messages, the game is taken to a whole new level. Their rumours are coming true, as they think the killer is one of themselves, they try to survive the doom they had already planned out for themselves.

Their was a horror film back in the eighties, that featured a killer killing off teens in a mansion. The title of the film gave away the entire premise and the ending, so there was really no fun to be had with it at all. It was called April Fool's Day and Cry_Wolf is that exact same film, only almost 20 years later. Cry_Wolf is not to be confused with Wolf Creek. Although both are horror movies, with wolf in the title, which came out roughly the same time and are in the end, not entertaining. In the case for Cry_Wolf, this film suffers from the old horror movie rules.

Wolf could have been a decent horror film for the year of 2005, but it's shortcomings are too many and it's high points are too few. While the overall look of the killer is decent, the orange ski mask and army jacket give the killer a more realistic look then say someone wearing a fencing mask? But we hardly ever see this killer and when we do, the film has to go into this "cool for the sake of it" effect and distorts the image.

Non of the characters are likable. Jared Padalecki plays the same character that he did in House of Wax and no other actor stands out from the other, they are all the same. Although Bon Jovi was not particularly bad in this film, he really had no place in it either.

Wadlow seems to believe that he had something interesting here and tried to tweak it into a something more then a slasher horror film. In some movies this works, but for Wolf, it unfortunately doesn't. Wadlow has some talent, his previous short films are much better this one, he feature debut. Wolf lacks any scares to really scare, and intelligence to make you think, any deaths to make you have a good time. The horror movie rules kill this film, for instance, if you do not see a death on screen, usually they are not dead. Case in point Scream 3, once this is set into motion, you can pretty much figure out the ending.

If the horror movie rules don't give away the ending, then the title will. Much like April Fool's Day, Cry_Wolf treads the same line. You know who's in on the whole thing half way through. The red herrings are too obvious, which lead you to know who's who slasher film. But if that is not enough, the filmmakers try to surprise you with a twist, as every movie has the need to do these days. Thank you Shyamalan. But this twist seems forced as a last ditch effort to make the film seem more then what it actually is. With the ending trying to be smart and different, it ends up being inane and not very original.

If you're looking for a scary movie, look elsewhere. If you are in the mood for a killing frenzy, rent old school slasher flicks instead. If you want to see cry wolf, watch April Fool's Day...at least in that movie the deaths are a lot more imaginative and visible. Wadlow does indeed have some talent, but he had a misstep with this film. One can only hope that he sticks to a more comedic tone like "Manual Labor" and stay far away from crap that is known as Cry_Wolf
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Cry Wolf
johnathanloy18 February 2022
I actually enjoyed watching this. It's not that bad. It's kinda what you should expect from a slasher/mystery movie from 2005. I wasn't expecting an award nominee movie. But the plot twists add a cool addition that are pretty unexpected. Probably wouldn't ever watch it again, nor is it a "must-watch". But if you're bored without anything to do I'd give it a watch.
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7/10
A daily comment from Midget Emma: Cry Wolf (2005)
A good mystery movie!!

Cry wolf was a movie that some people would expect to be just another teen slasher movie but its not. It has a twist, some unexpected actors in it(Bon Jovi). This movie will keep you in suspense and thinking until the last line. There is twists and turns at every scene.

It all starts when a girl from a high school is murdered. Some students decide to make up a rumor that a murderer called "the wolf" is killing people from the school. Thats when it starts to get crazy. From there the twists start and it is a roller-coaster ride until the last line.

The actors sold it so well, even Bon Jovi did a good job. The guy who played Owen was great and the girl who played dodger was also a great actress. Jared Padalecki(who i know from supernatural) was great as a high school student.

The only problem is its a bit slow at times.

I recommend that everyone see it ASAP. It has great actors and a nice twist at the end.

7/10
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