Cry_Wolf (2005)★★★★★

Somehow I never saw this when it came out, so maybe it’s just nostalgia here (those AOL Instant Messenger sounds take me way back, and I’d almost forgotten about Bon Jovi’s acting years) but I loved this movie. I was skeptical about a PG-13 horror movie, but this one delivers and proves that you can craft a good scary story without relying on swearing and gore.

I was happy about the Gary Cole cameo, but sad about the terrible Gary Cole British accent. Was it too expensive to find a real British actor to play Owen’s father? He was only in 30 seconds or so of the film. Despite that, the rest of the cast is wholly believable (okay, aside from Paul James’ hair) and has a chemistry that is, at least as far as most of these movies have shown me, hard to find.

A very young-looking (and British-sounding) Julian Morris is adorable as Owen, Lindy Booth has more character and charisma as Dodger than any other horror movie I’ve seen her in, and Jared Padalecki is once again solid in his role as Jared Padalecki Tom.

There were a few moments where the background visual effects were distracting enough to make it hard to follow the conversation on screen, but they didn’t detract from the movie overall. The background score was mostly well done, and the dialogue was believable throughout.

I love that it keeps you guessing from start to finish – you’re never quite clear what’s real and what’s a prank until the last minute. I’m feeling a bit speechless here because I was expecting this to be another passably interesting teen slasher film, so all I can really end this with is “A++ would watch again!!”