ANALYSING FILMS: Cherry Falls

 Film Analysis: Cherry Falls (2000)

Director: Geoffrey Wright

BBFC 15/18 MPAA R 

Opening Length: 11 minutes

Budget: $14 m 

Box Office: n/a

Theatrical Distribution:  European only, US TV movie

Production Company: Rogue Pictures, Good Machine, Industry Entertainment

Distributor: USA Films, October Films

Synopsis: In the small town of Cherry Falls, a psychotic murderer is killing off the virgins of the local high school. (IMDB)

LINKS:  wikipedia , imdb, The Numbers.com

Trailer:

Key aspects of the opening:

• This was the only ident shown, as one of the production companies. The ident only lasted 5 seconds, which is unconventional and very short for a main ident in a film. 
• The use of a single ident is unusual, especially considering the time of filming and co-financing of the project.
• The first shot is an Extreme Long Shot (ELS) of a spire. This framing is conventional as films often open with an ELS or establishing shot, to set the scene. 
• There are no titles before the opening shot excluding the ident. The title of the film is seen 4 minutes in, to transition to the main part. The font connotes a gothic and eerie style, and the white connotes innocence and purity, an interesting contrast against the dark background.
• The lack of names or other idents is highly unconventional, and could be due to the straight to DVD format of the film. 
• This ELS provides exposition of the town. The covered sign is a small detail perhaps connoting the hiding of town secrets. The picturesque, bright setting is unconventional for the opening of a slasher film. 
• The shot of the sun setting further creates a sense of peace, as well as creating an ellipse to transition into the night. 
• The shots and sounds of nature and water are typical for a slasher, as they conventionally take place in a forest or isolated location. The cryptic shots build up narrative enigma as well. 
• The full moon has connotations of the supernatural, magic and horror. This ends the sequence and the pitch black shows the change of timing into night. 
• There is an audio-bridge of instruments with a wailing song. This creates a gothic atmosphere and contrasts the bright opening images. This is amplified by the diegetic sound of the church bells and water. Once it becomes dark, the music quickly switches to a fast paced track matched with the drawn out wailing from before, creating contrast and discomfort for the viewer. There is a voice-over of a conversation, and the character is introduced around 10 seconds later, further building up the narrative enigma and suspense.