Both a mystery so intricate that the multiple climaxes generate snickers and a slasher pic too subdued to satisfy the audience's thirst for blood, this tedious would-be teen thriller is set on the campus of a posh prep school where a group of kids post an email suggesting that a recent local murder is the work of a serial killer whose next victim will come from the student body. No sooner does the rumor begin to circulate than they start receiving threatening messages purportedly from the actual killer, and before long the members of the little conspiracy are beginning to suspect one another. While the closing revelations tie up all the plot threads, the utter implausibility of the revealed murder scheme (which is so elaborate and jerry-rigged it would have put Agatha Christie to shame), combined with the lumpish execution by director Jeff Wadlow and pedestrian acting of the cookie-cutter cast, will have most viewers crying foul rather than wolf. Not recommended. [Note: Available in either unrated widescreen or full screen versions, or a PG-13 rated full screen version, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Jeff Wadlow, producer Beau Bauman, and editor Seth Gordon, the 28-minute featurette “Before They Cried Wolf: The Filmmakers Short Films” featuring two of the filmmakers' shorts (“The Tower of Babble” and “Manual Labor”), “Wolves, Sheep and Shepherds” on casting (14 min.), three deleted/extended scenes (13 min.), the 13-minute behind-the-scenes featurette “Enter the Sinister Set,” a six-minute alternate scene, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent set of extras for an unremarkable thriller.] (F. Swietek)
Cry_Wolf
Rogue, 91 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.99, Dec. 20 Volume 21, Issue 1
Cry_Wolf
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