Cherry Crush

Transferring the twisted adult behaviours and distorted morality of the film noir genre into the realm of under-age high school students is tricky business, requiring subtle plotting and sensitivity to the fact that the crimes are being perpetrated by teenagers. Cherry Crush fails to convincingly transfer its story of greed, lust and death to a high school setting, instead creating an absurd and distasteful murder movie that won’t appeal to adult or youth audiences. Jordan Wells (Jonathan Tucker) is a rebellious private school student and budding photographer who’s been expelled for taking consensual erotic photographs of the female student body. Forced to attend a public high school, Jordan encounters Shay Bettencourt (Nikki Reed), a troubled student for whom he instantly forms an obsessive desire. Shay, who is involved in an affair with a much older man in order to ensure her acceptance into a prestigious arts school, uses her seductive powers to lure Jordan into a dangerous plot that can only end in disaster. Though the story contains all the hallmarks of traditional film noir, including a dangerous femme fatal, an overly complex crime and an innocent dupe caught in a web of his own naïve making, Cherry Crush doesn’t conform to the unique visual style of the genre, instead giving us a generic looking film. The only DVD extra is a behind the scenes "making of” feature, unless you count previews for other films and the fact that the film is presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound as "special features.” Cherry Crush is a predictable thriller that places adult motivations and behaviours on characters that are much too young. Save yourself a few hours and toss Cherry Crush in the trash compactor.